Every experience affects us both consciously and unconsciously. Some experiences – like near death experiences, serious illnesses, deeply humiliating moments, or even anxiety driven fearful thoughts – can leave us traumatized. Our psyche suffers. We experience distress and emotional damage.
Fortunately, Somatic Psychology can help in these instances. Here’s how.
What exactly is somatic psychotherapy?
Somatic psychotherapy is an encompassing therapy which digs into both mind and body to find connections to an individual’s psychological past through the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The ANS is easily disrupted by trauma. Somatic psychotherapists study the effects of instability caused by trauma on the ANS.
Somatic psychology postulates that the human mind and body tends to hold on to past traumas for as long as possible. To the trained practitioner the results of a traumatic experience is evident in body language, expressions and even posture. Some traumas manifest as unexplained physical pain. Some lead to hormonal imbalance which results in sexual dysfunction. Other symptoms include digestive issues, immune system dysfunction, and psychological conditions like depression, anxiety or addiction.
How Somatic Psychotherapy Works
Traumatic events leave scars on the emotions and mind, and, in some cases requires therapy by experienced professionals at Counselling Kingston (or professionals in your area) to address the issues and receive support and guidance.
Somatic psychotherapy involves finding the physical area connected to the traumatic event and determining ways to alleviate symptoms. Once the specific area is identified any of a wide range of therapeutic activities might be engaged in. These include focus on body sensations, dance and breathing techniques, healing touch, voice work, and forms of physical activity (sports and/or exercise).
Benefits
The most significant benefit is the individual’s return to normality through transforming a bad experience and framing it in a context that no longer harms the psyche. This form of therapy instills the idea that the patient is worth way more than what he/she has given himself/herself credit for. It provides physical benefits such as stress reduction, nervousness and often results in a boost in concentration.
Titration and Pendulated methodology
Titration allows the patient to feel secure by projecting him/her into a safe space or resource state. As the patient is guided by the psychologist through the traumatic memory, his/her reactions are tracked and analyzed as the memory is slowly being revived. There will usually be subtle physical effects initially that become more pronounced as the therapist probes the mind.
The pendeluted method is one in which the therapist carefully observes two important states the patient goes through – homeostasis and instability. The objective is to move the patient between these two states while physical symptoms are recorded and observed. With some patients it is difficult to return them to homeostasis. If this happens a painful process called “discharge” must be engaged in so that the suffering the patient is subconsciously experiencing can be flushed from the system.
After successful somatic therapy sessions patients often describe the feeling of having a huge weight coming off of their shoulder. They can now enjoy a life of being free from all the baggage that they have been holding onto so tightly for so long.
Careers in Somatic Psychology
As a fairly new field of study, somatic psychology is not available in many psychology departments at leading colleges and universities. There is still skepticism surrounding the practice although this is slowly in the decline. Schools that do offer this program do so as part of a specialization program at the Master’s level once the practitioner has taken a standard undergrad course of study in psychology.
Shift Frequency © 2019 – Educational material