Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach that views the mind and body as an integrated whole. Unlike traditional "talk therapy," which focuses on the cognitive story of our lives, somatic therapy focuses on the nervous system. It is based on the understanding that trauma and chronic stress can become "trapped" in the body, leading to symptoms like anxiety, chronic pain, or emotional numbness.
By learning to listen to physical sensations, you can "renegotiate" your body's response to stress and return to a state of balance.
Somatic Awareness
Somatic therapy relies heavily on Polyvagal Theory, which describes how our autonomic nervous system (ANS) shifts between different states of safety and threat.
Ventral Vagal (Social Engagement): The "Safe and Social" state. You feel calm, connected, and curious.
Sympathetic (Fight or Flight): The "Mobilization" state. Your heart rate increases, and you feel anxious, frustrated, or panicked.
Dorsal Vagal (Shutdown): The "Immobilization" state. You feel numb, disconnected, depressed, or "checked out."
The Science of the Nervous System
How Somatic Therapy is Used in Sessions
A somatic session may look quite different from a standard office visit. It is a slow, rhythmic process of building "body literacy."
Sensing Over Story: While you may talk about your week, the therapist will frequently interrupt to ask, "As you tell that story, what do you notice happening in your chest/shoulders/breath?" * Boundary Work: Sessions often involve exploring physical space. You might practice literally pushing your hands out to "set a boundary" or noticing how your body reacts when someone moves closer or further away.
Completing the Stress Response: If you have "stuck" energy from a past fright, your therapist might guide you through gentle movements—like shaking your hands or slowly pushing against a wall—to help your body finally "complete" the fight-or-flight energy it never got to discharge.
Self-Regulation Coaching: You will learn "glimmers"—small cues of safety—to look for in your daily life to help pull your nervous system out of a chronic "on" or "off" state.
Resourcing:
Before diving into difficult emotions, you and your therapist identify "resources"—internal or external things that make you feel safe, grounded, or resilient.
How it’s used: This could be a memory of a loved one, the feeling of your feet on the floor, or a specific breathing pattern. It acts as an "anchor" you can return to if you start to feel overwhelmed.
Titration and Pendulation:
To prevent re-traumatization, somatic therapy works in very small "doses" (Titration).
How it’s used: You might briefly touch upon a stressful memory, then immediately Pendulate (shift your attention) back to a neutral or pleasant physical sensation.
The Goal: To expand your "Window of Tolerance" without blowing past your nervous system's capacity.
Somatic Tracking:
This involves observing physical sensations with curiosity rather than fear.
How it’s used: If you feel a "knot" in your stomach, your therapist might ask you to describe its shape, color, or temperature. Instead of trying to "fix" it, you simply sit with it until the sensation shifts or dissipates on its own.
Some Somatic tools used in our sessions
WE accept the following insurances:
Anthem
BlueCross and BlueShield
Health First Colorado
Medicaid
Medicare
Rocky Mountain Health Plans
United Medical Resources (UMR)
UnitedHealthcare UHC | UBH
We also accept self-pay clients. See our individual rates above.
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WE accept the following insurances:
Anthem
BlueCross and BlueShield
Health First Colorado
Medicaid
Rocky Mountain Health Plans
United Medical Resources (UMR)
UnitedHealthcare UHC | UBH
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We also accept self-pay clients. See our rates above.