Traditional talk-based psychotherapy has been a cornerstone in treating trauma, offering invaluable tools for processing the complex emotional aftermath of traumatic experiences. However, relying solely on cognitive approaches can overlook the critical aspect of nervous system activation that underpins distressing symptoms. Unresolved trauma primarily resides within the physiological realm before it manifests psychologically, making it evident that accessing insights intellectually alone is often insufficient for releasing traumatic memory imprints entrenched in the body's physiology. Holistic modalities that incorporate creative expression, movement, and body-centered practices present the missing links for a more comprehensive approach to trauma healing, extending beyond the confines of verbal counseling models.
Babette Rothschild, an early pioneer of somatic trauma therapies, succinctly captures this perspective: "Trauma is held in the body. The only way out is through the body." Trauma, understood as a highly sensory, nervous system-based phenomenon, encodes immobilizing sensations, fragments of sensory imagery, and intense emotions, all energetically stored at a cellular level. Identifying paths to directly access the nervous system, beyond the cognitive loops of repetitive retelling—which can often retraumatize—opens up gentler avenues for resolving trauma in a more holistic manner (Rothschild, 2017).
While the logic of the left brain in supporting a coherent narrative is crucial for contextualizing traumatic experiences, the repeated rational description of visceral flashbacks rarely transforms their intense hold, which can shatter present functioning. Introducing somatic intelligence to ease the "felt sense" beyond words alone accesses intuitive inner flow states, renegotiating trauma's legacy and fostering healing.
The Roots of Trauma
Traumatic distress, whether stemming from sudden shocks that rupture worldviews or chronic developmental wounds that distort nervous system maturation, emerges from a disintegrated connection between the body and its environment. This disconnection pushes individuals from a bearable equilibrium to extremes. When internal relationships that coordinate sensation, perception, and meaning-making fracture under unendurable duress, the coherent sense of safety necessary for healthily navigating life breaks down (van der Kolk, 2015).
A major goal of trauma-informed therapies is to gently nurture the nervous system's recalibration, allowing for "pendulation" between energized engagement and restorative stillness. By incrementally stabilizing the capacity to tolerate remembering traumatic events from resourced, grounded places within, we diffuse their perpetual tendency to hijack executive functioning.
Somatic Modalities: A Path to Healing
Several innovative somatic (body-based) therapies complement standard talk approaches with experiential processes that directly contact the trapped residue of traumatic events, often accessed only nonverbally. These include:
Sensorimotor Therapy, which prioritizes tracking the subtle physical intuition or "felt sense" within the body. Gentle movement experiments carefully expand the windows of tolerance around intense sensations like rage, collapse, and dissociation (Ogden et al., 2015).
Trauma-Informed Yoga, employing bodily postures, breathwork, and mindfulness to redirect awareness to the connection with bodily tissues and deeper wisdom, emphasizing agency and empowerment (Emerson & Hopper, 2011).
Expressive Arts Therapies, which incorporate modalities like art, music, dance, or dramatic enactment to externalize traumatic content from somatic roots without the need to fully verbalize the narrative. These structured embodiment practices help discharge overwhelming energies, opening space for emerging emotions that are easier to face (Malchiodi, 2020).
Nature-Based Eco-Therapies, utilizing pristine natural settings and wilderness rituals conducive to healing traumatic psychospiritual wounds. Research indicates that even brief exposure to forests significantly lowers stress hormones, heart rate, anxiety, depression, and fatigue, restoring health (Park et al., 2010).
Network Psychophysiology, monitoring nervous system arousal markers to detect trauma physiology beyond conscious reach, allowing tangible access to the body's signals of rising distress. This restores self-agency in managing activation levels through at-home training protocols (Peper et al., 2021).
These disciplines, engaging somatic experiencing from myriad vantage points, share an emphasis on compassionately working to expand the "window of tolerance" for intense emotions without overwhelming the client. This "bottom-up" processing unfreezes immobilized responses, healing the bifurcations of the mind disconnected from the body that prolongs traumatic reactions by compartmentalizing functioning without integration.
Essentials for Successful Somatic Approaches
While somatic modalities offer significant promise for more comprehensive trauma healing, proper precautions are necessary to guard against adverse reactions when first mobilizing intense physiological imprints. Counselors and therapists employing body-centered methods require specialized trauma training to handle the potential overwhelm or shutdown that may occur when encountering mobilized energy cathartically.
Establishing a caring and present alliance helps stabilize the capacity for exploring turbulent inner landscapes, guided, not flooded by, the currents arising from processing trauma somatically. This preparation allows individuals to access the soulful fluidity from within, guiding others tenderly through their healing journey until they emerge on the other side, their resilience and wholeness reclaimed.
In the embrace of aligned support, motivation, and accountable expertise, the courage to face physiological legacies of trauma holds the promise of reclaimed authority.
For professionals working with trauma survivors, integrating somatic approaches into your practice can significantly enhance your ability to support comprehensive healing. The NeuroNarrative Approach™ offers a framework for incorporating body-based modalities within a trauma-informed context. To learn more about how you can deepen your understanding of somatic approaches and expand your skill set, visit www.treymalicoat.com. Explore classes, coaching, retreats, and intensives designed to equip you with the tools and insights needed to guide your clients toward holistic healing and resilience.
Peacefully,
Trey
References:
Emerson, D., & Hopper, E. (2011). Overcoming trauma through yoga: Reclaiming your body. North Atlantic Books.
Malchiodi, C. A. (2020). Trauma and expressive arts therapy: Brain, body, and imagination in the healing process. Guilford Publications.
Ogden, P., Fisher, J., & Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. (2015). Sensorimotor psychotherapy: Interventions for trauma and attachment. W. W. Norton & Company.
Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2010). The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): Evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15(1), 18-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-009-0086-9
Peper, E., Harvey, R., & Faass, N. (2021). TechStress: How technology is hijacking our lives, strategies for coping, and pragmatic ergonomics. North Atlantic Books.
Rothschild, B. (2017). The body remembers: The psychophysiology of trauma and trauma treatment. W. W. Norton & Company.
van der Kolk, B. A. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.