Posted on August 6, 2025
Somatic practitioners are body-based therapists who help people heal from stress, trauma, and emotional dysregulation by working directly with the nervous system and body, rather than focusing only on talk therapy.
🧠 What Does “Somatic” Mean?
The word somatic comes from the Greek word “soma”, meaning body. Somatic therapy is based on the idea that trauma, emotions, and stress live in the body, not just the mind.
🔧 What Do Somatic Practitioners Do?
They use techniques that help you:
- Regulate your nervous system
- Release stored tension or trauma
- Reconnect with body signals (interoception)
- Move out of chronic fight/flight/freeze/shutdown states
- Feel safe and present again
👐 Common Somatic Techniques
| Technique | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Grounding | Helps reconnect with the present moment (e.g. touching surfaces, feeling feet on the ground) |
| Breathwork | Uses controlled breathing to calm or activate the nervous system |
| Titration | Gently visiting small parts of a trauma to avoid overwhelm |
| Pendulation | Moving between tension and safety to retrain the body’s resilience |
| Touch therapy | Gentle, intentional physical contact to support nervous system regulation (if client consents) |
| Movement | Light physical movement to discharge tension (e.g. shaking, stretching, or walking) |
👩⚕️ Who Are Somatic Practitioners?
They may be trained in specific somatic modalities such as:
- Somatic Experiencing (SE) – created by Peter Levine
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
- Hakomi Therapy
- TRE (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises)
- Body-Mind Centering
- Feldenkrais or Alexander Technique
- Dance/Movement Therapy
Some are licensed therapists, others are coaches or bodyworkers with certification in trauma-informed care.
🛠️ Who Can Benefit from Seeing One?
- People with chronic anxiety, depression, or trauma
- Those who’ve tried talk therapy but feel stuck
- Anyone in shutdown, freeze, or hypervigilance
- People with physical symptoms of stress (tight chest, nausea, fatigue)
- Anyone who wants to feel more connected to their body and emotions
🔄 Key Philosophy
“The body always remembers what the mind forgets.”
Somatic practitioners help you listen to the body — and heal through it — not just about it.
Summarized by AI, Not reviewed and verified by a Human.
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