How is Somatic Therapy different than traditional talk therapy?
We all have parts of us that we’re more aware, or conscious of, than others. Traditional therapy takes a “top down” approach: it focuses on engaging the mind (by talking) and trying to create change there that translates into change in less conscious aspects of Self (like emotions, old patterns, core wounding, etc.). Somatics does the opposite: It helps us to connect with the less conscious aspects of Self first and create change at a deeper level that automatically expands upward.
“Trauma is just an agreement that your body makes with life. And all agreements are subject to change.”
~Kaira Mayestra
Somatics is the key that unlocks the door to engaging in direct connection with the unconscious, the emotional brain - where most of our deepest wounds and patterns are found, where the agreements that constitute trauma are recorded. Yes, talking is involved, but we don’t stop there. In sessions, I’ll teach you the language of somatics so that not only will you be using it in sessions, you’ll be able to use it all the time. When we have this key and learn how to use it, we can experience healing at a depth we never thought possible and make new agreements that are aligned with the life we want to live. The past no longer has to dictate the future.
“No matter how much insight and understanding we develop, the rational brain is basically impotent to talk the emotional brain out of its reality.”
~Bessel van der Kolk, PhD
Be with what is & change the impact of what was…
Your system is brilliant (even if it feels like a pain in the ass sometimes). It developed the patterns it did in order to help you survive what you’ve experienced., and it boasts a 100% success rate to date. It doesn’t function based on logic or reason. It’s going to cling to what it wants, which, in the case of the nervous system, is familiarity. And when what we know, when what we’re most accustomed to, is chaos and dysregulation, we’ll find ourselves stuck, continuing to self-sabotage and repeat old patterns. It doesn’t matter how much we know intellectually, the laundry list of coping skills we can recite, and the number of self-help books sitting on our shelf or podcasts we listen to.
With somatic therapy, we rewire the nervous system COMPLETELY. Whether you tend to run hot and high strung, avoidant and lethargic or any combination of the two, you can experience life in a way where you can genuinely feel safe, where you can experience emotions without them taking over and where you can manage your life’s demands as they come with greater ease. No more waiting for the other shoe to drop. No more shying away from those difficult emotions and suffering from missing out on the joy as well (emotions are a package deal). You cannot get this wrong.
And why settle there? Why not make some new agreements that pave the way for that life you dream of to start to unfold and become your reality?