Somatic therapy recognizes that asperger's syndrome is stored and expressed in the body — and that healing requires attention to bodily experience, not just thoughts.
The Somatic Perspective on Asperger's Syndrome
Traditional talk therapy addresses asperger's syndrome primarily through cognition. Somatic approaches add the body's wisdom:
- Asperger's Syndrome creates physical tension, postural patterns, and nervous system states that maintain it
- The body 'keeps the score' — especially when asperger's syndrome has trauma origins
- Bottom-up (body to mind) processing can access material unavailable to cognitive approaches
Somatic Therapy Approaches for Asperger's Syndrome
Somatic Experiencing (SE): Developed by Peter Levine, tracks bodily sensations to resolve trauma and asperger's syndrome.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Integrates somatic techniques with attachment theory for asperger's syndrome.
EMDR: Uses bilateral stimulation to process traumatic memories contributing to asperger's syndrome.
Body-oriented CBT: Adds somatic awareness to standard cognitive-behavioral work.
When Somatic Therapy Is Especially Helpful for Asperger's Syndrome
Somatic approaches are particularly valuable when asperger's syndrome has trauma origins, when talk therapy has plateaued, or when physical symptoms are prominent.