Clinical Interventions: Somatic Therapy

Neurobiology has proven to us that we must “come to our senses” when it comes to restoring mind and body after trauma. Expressive arts therapy is a somatically-based approach that addresses not only through brain-wise methods, but also the body’s sensory experience of trauma in ways that no other methods can. This presentation provides you with the basic concepts necessary to apply expressive approaches to help clients access embodied awareness and to effectively address experiences that leave individuals stuck in terror, isolation, and shame.

This grouping contains a diverse array of disorders, tied together more by nonspecific, underlying traits and convenience than common origins or modes of treatment. Individuals in this group can display a wide array of characteristics: excessive worry over the somatic symptoms they are experiencing, anxiety over the prospect of having an illness, somatic symptoms of inconsistent pathophysiology, mental factors that may affect a physical condition, or even deceptiveness, in the case of factitious disorder, as the individual presents an illness or condition that isn’t actually being experienced.

Classroom Productions (Producer). (2016). Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders. [Video/DVD] Microtraining Associates.

Somatic Intervention skills are an essential addition to every relationship therapist’s toolbox. There is no conversation worth having if the nervous system isn’t in a settled state. When couples become emotionally charged it’s because they’re feeling threatened. Their nervous systems become alert, ready to defend. This defense serves to keep vulnerable feelings buried and interferes with their ability to effectively engage with their partner. In this presentation, I will offer strategies to enable couples to settle their nervous systems in order to delve more deeply into the sources of distress so that constructive solutions can emerge.