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