It has recently been discovered that stress, trauma, and emotional pain can manifest physically and add even more stress, therefore creating a vicious cycle of suffering for the patient. This is why we at Trauma and Beyond Center ® created a somatic treatment center that focuses on our patient’s overall well-being through a holistic approach to healing.
Pain and Suffering
Emotional pain can cause physical pain, and suffering physical injuries and illnesses can have psychological effects as well. There is no doubt that the connection between the mind and the body is an unbreakable bond. We believe that to effectively address one means having to take into consideration the importance of the other.
Trauma and Beyond Center’s somatic treatment center is a safe and welcoming space where our patients receive appropriate and thoughtful care from our highly trained therapists. Each program begins with an assessment and from there proceeds to a selection of different trauma treatment methods that will work in tandem with traditional talk therapy.
What is Somatic Therapy Treatment?
Trauma, depression, stress, and anxiety don’t just live in a person’s brain. These conditions affect not just the mind but the physical body as well. While traditional talk therapy may be an effective way of addressing mental health problems, severe cases often need a more extensive and proactive approach to treatment. Severe or complicated cases need a literal hands-on approach that will guide them back to health and happiness.
Somatic therapy is a holistic therapeutic approach that takes into consideration the person’s mind, body, and emotions in their path to healing. It uses the body as the starting point of the treatment by incorporating attention to physical movements, sensations and activities to address the person’s psychological issues.
Why Choose Somatic Therapy Treatment?
A huge chunk of our life is experienced through our physical body through sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. Our nervous system plays an integral role in these experiences as well. It allows us to process these experiences and provide us with a clear picture of the world around us.
The idea behind somatic therapy treatment is that the symptoms of trauma are the effects of instability of ANS (autonomic nervous system). These traumatic events disrupt the ANS. The ultimate goal of somatic therapy treatment is to recognize, acknowledge, and release the physical tension that may have been trapped in a person’s body after experiencing a traumatic event.
The body processes emotions very differently from the mind. Case in point, depression manifests itself in the mind as a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. The body, however, manifests depression as a physical feeling of weight and pressure. Combine those and you begin to see a fuller picture of the emotional experience of a person and how it affects their lives.
This form of therapy comes with various benefits. It recasts and reframes negative experiences, past or present, and provides the patient with a better sense of self, resilience, confidence, and hope. The patient becomes calmer and more resilient to stress. It reduces physical discomfort and stress, therefore letting the patient become more physically active while developing a greater ability to concentrate.
What to Expect in a Somatic Therapy Session?
Somatic therapy sessions delve into the bodily tensions, sensations, and gestures through an integration of awareness dialogue, touch, or movement. By observing the bodily responses and listening to what the person’s body is telling them, they are guided to choose movements that let them be more at ease and be free in their lives.
There are many types of somatic therapy. From traditional Eastern practices to recently developed Western techniques, somatic therapy takes many forms in almost every culture. Below is a list of different types of somatic therapies that have been developed.
- Body-mind centering
- Kinetic awareness
- Dance
- Yoga
- Massage
- Sensory awareness
- Martial arts
- Postural integration
- Ayurveda
- Reiki
- Trigger point therapy
- Polarity therapy
- Acupressure
- Neurosomatic therapy
- Meditation in movement
- Somatic experiencing
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
- Trauma Resiliency Model
Trauma and Beyond Center ® is a firm believer that helping someone fully heal from their emotional wounds, we must first begin to heal from the inside. Our somatic treatment center is made up of a team of caring and highly trained therapists and specialists that have our patients’ well being as our top priority. Let us be a part of your journey to a happier and healthier life, free from the shackles of your past trauma.
If you feel that you need help managing your anxiety, depression, or PTSD, call us and we will be happy to speak to you about our somatic treatment program and all of our treatment programs for anxiety, trauma, and other mental health issues. Call us at 818-651-0725.
