Somatic Experiencing Therapy
Somatic experiencing therapy is an effective approach to healing trauma. This trauma-informed therapy focuses on your body and how it is harbouring and storing your experiences and communicating that to the world. Similar to somatic psychology techniques, this approach works to expel trauma from the body but also offers you tools, both internally and externally, that are useful for your everyday experiences. The number of counselling sessions with our somatic practitioners in Vancouver will depend on your history with trauma.
How does Somatic Counselling work?
Somatic therapy is different from other therapeutic methods because it focuses on what your body is communicating, as well as your words. Attachment dynamics, adverse experiences, and trauma are mirrored in your body through your posture, movement, and nervous system. These tend to become patterned, which can say a lot about your past experiences. Understanding posture, movement, and your nervous system will allow you to shift your awareness from negative to positive and dramatically progress your mental health and emotional well-being.
Safety is first established to ensure that your sessions are both contained and also effective.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Sensorimotor psychotherapy shares the same foundation as somatic therapy by focusing on the body but includes talk therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) after body traumas have been identified. The idea is that you are more ready to emotionally and cognitively process your trauma after it has been addressed in your body. With such an integrative approach, it’s common that your somatic therapist will separate your trauma response into three different levels: physiological, emotional, and cognitive.
How Does Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Work
In a 1-on-1 context, your trauma therapist in Vancouver will first treat the body for stored trauma, focusing on your posture, movement, and nervous system. Then, together, you’ll both investigate underlying causes and how to better manage the physical, emotional, and cognitive expressions of your trauma. With this approach, our counsellors truly address the interconnected web of trauma.
By working with the psychological component of your goals and targeting the body to become more regulated, this treatment can help you to cope and live in the present.
Somatic Experiencing Therapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy work well with trauma patients but can be applied to other issues.
Safety is first established to ensure that your sessions are both contained and also effective.
