Thank you for your interest in the Somatic Trauma Therapy sessions. 

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I am currently doing a year long course with The School of Holistic Therapies which will award me the title of Somatic Trauma Therapist in 2024. The course is based on Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing® and Babette Rothschild’s model of trauma resolution and is accredited by The Federation of Holistic Therapists and is underwritten by Balens.

 

Whilst studying, I will be offering sessions at the reduced rate of £35 per session. If you are a LGBTQI+ person on low income, you may access the LGBTIQI+ fund to receive a further 30% off per session.

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If you would like to work with me, please read the below and get in touch via email.

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I look forward to hearing from you! 

 

What is Somatic Trauma Therapy?

 

For those of you not familiar with Somatic Trauma Therapy, it is a type of body psychotherapy that places importance on what we experience in the mind and the body as well as the connection between the two. “Somatic” itself means “of or relating to the body.”. The goal of somatic experiencing therapy, therefore, is to help an individual notice physical sensations stemming from their problems and use that awareness to work through painful feelings and emotions. Over time, somatic trauma healing therapy aims to help individuals improve their body awareness and learn somatic therapy techniques to release physical tension.Those that practice somatic therapy believe that when we have a traumatic experience, “it gets stored on a cellular level”.

 

Do I have to commit to a minimum number of sessions?

 

No. If you decide Somatic Trauma Therapy isn’t for you, we don’t have to continue the sessions. Some people are more suited to one type of therapy than another, which is why it’s important that you read this page before deciding to go ahead so that you are aware of what is involved.

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Can the sessions be done online?

 

Yes, we can work both in-person (from North Junction Street) and online, according to your preference. Both are £35 per session.

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Are the sessions confidential?

 

Our work together will be confidential within the confines of the usual safeguarding considerations which means that disclosure might need to be made if I become aware of serious criminal activity, you are at serious imminent risk of harm from yourself or someone else or that someone else is in danger. I will discuss my client work with my supervisor but clients will never be identified to the supervisor.

 

How does Somatic Trauma Therapy differ from talk therapies like counselling and CBT?

 

Typical talk therapies such as CBT engage only the mind, encouraging people to become aware of disturbing thoughts and behaviour patterns and work to change them. In Somatic Trauma Therapy, the body is the starting point to achieve healing (this is known as bottom-up approach, as opposed to CBT’s top-down approach). Somatic therapy cultivates an awareness of bodily sensations, and teaches people to feel safe in their bodies while exploring thoughts, emotions, and memories.

 

Do I have to relive traumatic events?

 

No, doing so could be re-traumatising. Somatic Trauma Therapy is focussed on bodily sensations. However, uncomfortable sensations connected with past memories/trauma might come up. The focus of the therapy is in facilitating you to release these emotions from the body.

 

What do you consider trauma to be?

 

What's traumatic is personal. Other people can't know how you feel about your own experiences or if they were traumatic for you. You might have similar experiences to someone else, but be affected differently. 

 

Trauma can include events where you feel:

• frightened

• under threat

• humiliated

• rejected

• abandoned

• invalidated

• unsafe

• unsupported

• trapped

• ashamed

• powerless.

 

Ways trauma can happen include:

• one-off or ongoing events

• being directly harmed

• witnessing harm to someone else

• living in a traumatic atmosphere

• being affected by trauma in a family or community.

 

Your experience of trauma might relate to parts of your identity, including if you've been harassed, bullied or discriminated against. If you've experienced trauma and identify as LGBTQIA+, Mind’s information on LGBTQIA+ mental health may be helpful for you.

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How is Somatic Trauma Therapy carried out?

 

A somatic therapist helps people release damaging, pent-up emotions in their body by using various mind-body techniques. It is natural, although not a requirement, to cry, laugh, move and release emotion in a variety of very individual ways. Willing participants must be aware that when emotion is released they may feel very vulnerable but it is always the job of the therapist to therapeutically hold them, non-judgementally and make them feel as safe as possible and to never push beyond a client’s willingness.

 

Massage might be part of your session, if appropriate, to explore emotions in the body in this way.

 

Is there research evidence that Somatic Trauma Therapy works?

 

Existing research on Somatic Trauma Therapy is extremely promising and encouraging. However, this field of study hasn’t benefited from research funding in the same way CBT and counselling has but hopefully this will change in the future as we start to understand the benefits this type of therapy has on traumatised individuals.

 

*Text excerpts above were taken from Harvard, Mind and Forbes websites.