The Power of Somatic Therapy
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy + Training experience
I recently completed my Level 2 training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) - a somatic trauma-processing model. Level 1 was focused on “shock trauma” (i.e. car crash, a fall, a medical incident… traumatic events with a beginning, middle, and end) and Level 2 was focused on developmental and attachment trauma (relational ruptures and trauma that typically occurs repeatedly, over time). I’m extremely excited about this work and integrating it into my practice - the SP model can pair really smoothly with IFS and EMDR, and is also a thorough trauma-processing model on its own.
You might be wondering why I chose to pursue training in SP when I already have training and certification in two other evidence-based trauma-processing models. Because of the way trauma impacts our brain and our body, a somatic approach helps us reach where it’s stored to fully clear it out. Both EMDR and IFS have a somatic component, but I’ve found SP, an entirely somatic model, to help the trauma-processing experience feel more thorough and complete. I really look forward to providing it both as a standalone practice, and also integrating it with EMDR and IFS to enhance the depth of that transformative work even more.
Story time (I’ll keep it vague, intentionally):
In 2019, I experienced an extremely traumatic event, and my avoidance (a common PTSD symptom) of reminders of this trauma afterward eventually turned into a pretty serious phobia. It took a long time for me to even bring it up to my own therapist because I really didn’t want to have to think about it, and would often feel panic when thinking about it.
Avoidance of the topic felt more comfortable at the time, but it also created a bigger roadblock from being able to fully live my life, and kept me feeling really “stuck”. Eventually, some new life changes were happening and I couldn’t really avoid this topic any longer, so I brought it up to my therapist (who is amazing, shout out to Lori). We processed the traumatic event over several sessions using EMDR, and I’m forever grateful for that because over time it wasn’t scary anymore. I didn’t have to feel “stuck”, and I regained a sense of freedom and choice in my life that I had really been missing. Writing this brings tears to my eyes, but not out of anxiety - I’m immensely grateful and am in absolute awe of both the impact this trauma had on my life, and the healing work of EMDR I was able to do to get to where I am now.
As a client and as an EMDR certified therapist myself, I truly believe in the power of EMDR, and have watched it help so many survivors reclaim their life, choice, agency, and safety in their body.
And then SP training happened. 😊
In Level 1, we’re asked to bring a topic to work on - Ideally something traumatic, but also maybe rated a 5 or 6 out of 10 to ensure we’re able to stay within our Window of Tolerance during processing.
I chose this topic because I had already done a lot of EMDR work on it, and was curious what else I could work through with it.
SP is a somatic model, meaning it focuses less on the cognitive/narrative, and instead follows the guidance of the body, with the understanding that the body knows exactly what it needs or what it was missing. This might look like noticing tension in your right arm, for example, and staying attuned to that through a structured process until the body can let us know what it needs. It might need something to be released, or it might need to do a particular action that wasn’t able to happen at the time of the trauma.
Through my training practice sessions, I learned my body needed both. My body was able to release what I didn’t even realize was still stuck, and I’m not sure EMDR on its own could have brought me there. I was able to fully process what was still stuck in my body from that traumatic experience, and I’m able to revisit this topic now in my life with more ease and confidence that I didn’t know was even possible.
My SP Level 2 experience was equally as transformative in a completely different way. Level 2 is focused developmental, relational, and attachment trauma, and the protective strategies (IFS protective parts) we develop in relationships.
The impact of childhood adversity, chronic stress, and attachment disruption creates these strategies. These strategies show up in the body all of the time, and the more we tune into them and follow the body, we can heal younger wounds that have been stuck. It’s very similar to the roadmap of IFS, but purely somatic, leading to more precision and depth in the healing process.
“Early attachment experiences and the environment shape biology, brain development, somatic structures, perception, meaning making, and patterns of relating. This learning sits deep within, in our implicit and procedural memory. Difficulty managing relationships, depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, and addiction have roots in these early experiences and the resulting adaptations.”
~ The Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
My experience in Level 2 required me to look at my own attachment style and relational patterns through impulses, vulnerability, regulation, and endings. I have generally Secure attachment (after years of personal work) but can lean into Avoidant attachment during stress, and for someone like me, looking directly at this stuff did not sound like a very good time 😂
It was extremely challenging the entire time, and also truly profound for my life and my personal relationships. I’m still soaking in the effects this work has had on my system, and particularly in my relationship to myself. A good friend recently said I seem “more at ease with myself” lately and I believe I owe a lot of that to SP work. I have more awareness of my own parts and childhood wounds to tend to, can feel safer in my body, and can lean into more trust that I’m in good hands with me.
Pause for a deep breath.
This is a lot of information, a little self-disclosure, and hopefully some relatable feelings. In my work as a trauma therapist, I can provide SP, EMDR, and IFS individually on their own, or as a combination, to find what works best for different clients. If any of this resonates, reach out to see if we might be a good fit. I’d love to help.
