The use of the word “trauma” is sometimes misunderstood. In many situations, a person may say they experienced trauma from bad experiences, factors that don’t really contribute to a change in the way their brain functions. For those who have been diagnosed with trauma, it can be both devastating and seemingly impossible to recover from on your own. Treatment is available, and it can provide you with significant relief.
Somatic trauma recovery is one such treatment. It’s designed to provide regulation and improved thought processes. If you are struggling with addiction or mental health disorders brought on by trauma, our team at English Mountain Recovery may recommend the use of this treatment process.
What Is Somatic Trauma Recovery?
Somatic therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on the body and how emotions appear within the body. These therapies explore the premise that your body holds and expresses experiences and emotions. When there are traumatic events or unresolved emotions, they become trapped within your body, creating challenges.
This is very different from traditional talk therapies. In therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy, the focus is on your mind, encouraging you to become aware of the often negative and inaccurate thoughts and patterns that stem from it. You learn to recognize those negative thoughts and change them. With somatic therapy, we’re looking at your body instead. It focuses on several elements:
- Your body is where your trauma is trapped.
- You become aware of the bodily sensations you have as a result of your trauma.
- You learn how to feel safe within your body while, at the same time, exploring your emotions, thoughts, memories, and trauma.
This process does not replace other forms of mental health treatment. It’s one of several that your therapist will use at English Mountain to foster full mind, body, and spirit healing.
What Happens During Somatic Therapy?
During somatic therapy, the goal is to release the damaged and trapped emotions within your body. This is done using mind-body techniques. There is a range of different methods that may help to form that connection between your mind and body and create relief for you. Numerous methods exist for doing this, such as the use of hypnosis, acupressure, and even breathwork.
Here’s what you may experience:
- Body awareness or tracking. During this process, your therapist guides you in noticing the physical sensations you have when you think about trauma or other negative emotions. That includes areas of your body that tense up, tingle, or become hot. This is where you hold stress and emotional discomfort.
- Grounding. You’ll then learn grounding, a method that helps you connect to the current sensations you feel, like the ground under your feet. You’ll focus on your breathing as a way to reduce heart rate and anxious thoughts.
- Titration. In this method, you’ll experience very small elements of your past trauma memories. The goal is not to relieve them, but rather to notice how your bodily sensations change as a result. This allows you to work with your therapist through those moments and sensations in a safe and manageable way.
- Pendulation. This process involves moving your brain from those stressful feelings and sensations back to a state of being calm. This allows you to restore balance.
- Resourcing. In this element of the process, you’ll recall positive emotions and memories or other elements that help you feel safe. This process introduces stability and calmness, which is necessary before you can process negative, pent-up emotions.
- Movement. In this stage of the process, the focus is on using gentle movements like stretching or vocalizations to release the pent-up energy stored from your trauma.
This process involves exploring physical sensations, tracking what is happening to you, naming what is present in tension and pain, and then developing a way to release it. Sometimes, this can create a sense of relief that is hard to achieve in any other form of therapy. It also helps you build awareness. That way, when you begin to tense up and feel that overwhelming feeling, you remember what is occurring and why, and you can make changes as a result.
Who Should Use Somatic Therapy?
At English Mountain, we strive to provide every person with the level of support they need. To do that, we encourage the exploration of a wide range of therapies. You may benefit from somatic therapy in several situations:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Self-esteem-related concerns
- Trust and intimacy issues
- Challenging grief
If you have any of these mental health disorders, or you have developed substance use disorders in relation to them, we may recommend treatment for you.
Talk to Our Team Now About Treatment Options Available to You
English Mountain offers a variety of treatment strategies to help you start to feel better and reclaim your life. Connect with us now to learn more.
