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U n b o u n d 

somatic & integrative
 

Somatic Therapy:

Facets, Not a Single Technique

 

"Somatic Therapy" has become something of a buzzword in recent years. While its growing popularity has helped bring greater attention to the importance of the mind-body connection, it has also led to misunderstandings about what somatic work actually is.

 

The word soma simply means "of the body." Consequently, a somatic approach is any therapeutic practice that intentionally includes the body's experience as part of the healing process. This is a much broader concept than many people realize.

 

Today, "Somatic Therapy" serves as an umbrella term encompassing many different models, techniques, and philosophies. Some approaches have been more extensively studied than others, while many continue to evolve through therapeutic practice and emerging research.

Like any area of healing, spiritual practice, and/or therapy, the effectiveness of treatment depends less on the label and more on the skill, discernment, and ethical practice of the individual practitioner or counselor.

 

Unfortunately, somatic therapy is sometimes inaccurately pigeonholed. A surprisingly, and seemingly somewhat common, misconception is that somatic therapy is simply a hands-on approach in which years of trauma, painful stories, or limiting beliefs are somehow "held" in the body and then released through one emotional experience. While emotional experiences can certainly occur during the work and process, I would be cautious of any approach that suggests years of painful experiences, limiting beliefs, ingrained behavioral patterns, or nervous system adaptations can be comprehensively transformed

through hands-on work alone.

 

As practitioners/counselors, we are not exorcising decades of behavior, beliefs, or coping strategies from the body. Meaningful therapeutic change is typically a gradual process involving increased awareness, nervous system regulation, emotional integration, and the development of new patterns over time.

 

In reality, many therapeutic practices can be considered somatic because they intentionally include the body in the process of healing. By example, breathwork is somatic. Developing greater awareness of bodily sensations is somatic. Mindfulness is somatic. Inner Relationship Focusing (IRF) is somatic. Even everyday activities performed with mindful attention, such as walking, stretching, or sweeping out your garage, can become somatic practices because they involve embodied awareness.

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One of the pioneers who helped expand the field was Peter Levine (whom I respect and have learned from), whose model, Somatic Experiencing®, brought greater attention to the role of the nervous system in trauma recovery. His work emerged partly in response to an important gap in traditional psychotherapy, which often emphasized cognitive understanding and psychoanalysis while giving comparatively little attention to physiological regulation, embodied awareness, and what the nervous system may be communicating.

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Perhaps, rather than trying to fit "somatic therapy" into a narrow definition, a more useful question may be: Does this therapeutic approach help me become more present, more embodied, and more connected to myself? If so, it may be incorporating somatic principles in a meaningful and effective way.

 

At True Core, when appropriate we incorporate on-table, somatic exercises, Inner Relationship Focusing (IRF),

Parts Work exercises, and mindful therapeutic touch, such as cranial or sacrum holds by example, to help support nervous system regulation, increase embodiment, deepen therapeutic presence, and facilitate lasting positive re-patterning. These practices are never viewed as "quick fixes," but rather as thoughtful tools that complement and support the broader therapeutic, True Core process of healing, trauma recovery, growth, and integration.