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