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