How is Somatic Psychology Different?

If you have read my previous blogs, you must have understood what somatic psychology means. But how does it differ from other approaches of psychology? Let’s understand that in this article. 

Traditionally, in psychology, the dominant method being used was cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).  Psychologists using CBT work with the thinking part of the mind. They might ask what's happened and look at particular types of beliefs that may or may not be helpful for you. You may have beliefs that “I’m not good enough,” or “I can't do this,” and your psychologist will work with you to try to shift that belief system so you feel able to do whatever it is that you couldn't do or to help you feel better. CBT and other cognitive narrative therapies are fantastic because our story needs to be told and needs to be heard, and I really acknowledge that. Working somatically is about bringing in another part of our emotional intelligence, which is what gets stored in our bodies.  

Everything we've ever experienced, including thoughts and emotions, directly impacts on our cellular construction in our bodies. Working somatically looks different in a session from cognitive therapies. For example, if you're sharing something that's happened to you, I might notice that you start to hunch over, you start to look down or around or your breathing might change. I might ask you, “What are you noticing in your body right now as you're sharing this?” Because as you're sharing a story, when there are emotions attached, there's a lot going on in your body, and you may or may not be aware of it. In somatic psychology, you will be invited to become aware of what's happening in your body – to notice how your body is remembering this experience. We might stop, pause and check in. What are you noticing in your body right now?  

In a typical session, I will be giving you strategies about how to check in and notice what's going on in your body. That can be some mindfulness, a body scan, some breathing work to increase your awareness or perhaps some movement. We will bring in some resourcing so you feel able to listen to your sensations without getting overwhelmed. It’s bringing in resources to help you to become more aware of what's happening in your body and feel safe and resourced to access what's happening.  

I might ask you, “What are you noticing in your body?” And you might say something like, “I'm feeling anxious in my stomach. Like there's this little churn as I'm talking about this.” Or you might say something like, “I can feel tightness in my chest.” A lot of people talk about their chest and their throat being constricted. Then I might invite you to stay with that, not try to fix it, but to stay with that and simply notice the sensations just as they are and where they are, how far they go into the body. “Are they connected to other sensations, like perhaps tension in your back?” And then we’ll just spend a bit of time with that. And then I might say, “Is there an emotion that is connected to that?” And you might notice an emotion – perhaps sadness. Or you might not have words, and that's fine too. You don't need language; you don't need to know. It's an inquiry.  

Just having the sensations seen, without disconnecting from ourselves, is healing in itself and allows the body to start to show us how it wants to let go of emotional pain. It's as simple as that. But it also can be helpful to notice if there's an emotion there. And then I might ask, “If there's a story that the sensation wants to tell, what might that be?” Clients might say things like, “I feel unseen,” or “I have no voice,” or “I feel trapped or choked.” Then we can start to work with those sensations.   

We explore the experience that is underneath the story that you've been telling. And then we can work with that experience to give you some support so that you can feel like you have been seen and heard, and you can learn how to acknowledge yourself and say, “Okay, I see you, I feel you.”  

I might also say, “So how does that sensation want to move?” Because all sensations are energy in motion. Some sensations may want to constrict, others might want to flop, others might be like an electric current that wants to go out – maybe hit something. Sensations often want to expand or contract, or perhaps we feel stuck. With the sensation you might have, you might just kind of want to bunch up around it and then huddle. It can be anything.   

This is the thing. We've got to get out of our heads. We need to go on a journey that follows our somatic wisdom to understand how we need to heal. We may do some movement work or sensation work. It just depends on where you're at and what feels comfortable for you.   

So that's how a somatic psychological approach differs from a traditional cognitive or behavioural approach. If you're curious about that and think that might be helpful for you, get in touch, and I'd love to hear from you.  

Until next time, stop, take a slow breath, listen to your body.