SOMATIC THERAPIES

Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses both psychotherapy and physical techniques for holistic healing. Somatic therapy practitioners believe that mind and body are intimately connected , though not always in apparent ways. Somatic therapies of different kinds have been practiced for centuries. Fundamentally, yoga and meditation can be considered somatic therapies, and both are often incorporated into guided treatments. Modern somatic therapy can take many forms:

SOMATIC EMBODIMENT

Embodied psychotherapy is about accessing and using information from our bodies and our nervous system to increase the self-awareness. It is a "bottom-up" approach used to reprogram long-held beliefs and narratives in order to be able to live a more embodied (connected to the body) life.

TRAUMA RESILIENCY MODEL (TRM)

TRM focuses on biological basis of trauma and the automatic responses that the human body uses when faced with perceived threat. It is designed to help individuals learn specific skills to return the body, mind, and spirit back to balance after experiencing traumatic events.

TENSION AND TRAUMA RELEASING EXERCISE (TRE®)

TRE is a simple innovative series of exercises that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension, and trauma. Created by David Berceli, PhD, TRE safely activates a natural reflex mechanism of shaking or vibrating that releases muscular tension, calming down the nervous system.

POLYVAGAL THERAPY

Polyvagal therapy is based on Polyvagal theory developed by Stephen Porges, PhD. It educates us about the vagal system and the vagus nerve, which runs from our brains to our stomachs. It teaches how to become aware of body reactions which manifest in fight/fight/freeze responses of our nervous system and uses exercises to optimize the regulation of the body’s physiological state.

THE HAVENING TECHNIQUE ®

The Havening technique integrates the neuroscience of trauma with physical touch, including the sensation of brushing down the arms, the shoulders and hands, and the face (self-havening) to calm the body and the mind to heal trauma.

EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING (EMDR)

EMDR is a psychological treatment that facilitates the accessing and processing of traumatic memories and other adverse life experiences to bring these to adaptive resolution by attending to traumatic material in brief sequential doses while simultaneously focusing on external stimulus (therapist directed lateral eye movement/hand tapping/audio stimulation)