Somatic Therapy: Healing Trauma Through the Wisdom of the Body
Trauma isn’t just something we think about—it’s something we carry. It lives in the body as tension, heaviness, numbness, or restlessness. Even long after a distressing event has passed, the body can hold onto its imprint, keeping us stuck in cycles of anxiety, grief, or disconnection.
This is where Somatic Therapy comes in.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, which focuses primarily on thoughts and emotions, somatic therapy helps process trauma through the body. It recognizes that healing isn’t just about understanding what happened—it’s about helping your nervous system feel safe again (Kuhfuß et al., 2021).
For those who struggle to put their pain into words, somatic therapy offers a gentle, body-based approach to processing emotions—one that doesn’t require retelling painful stories to create meaningful shifts.
What is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is an approach that integrates body awareness, movement, breathwork, and mindful attention to support healing. Rooted in neuroscience and trauma research, it helps people release stored tension and process unresolved emotions that are held in the nervous system (Harvard Health Publishing, 2023).
How Does It Work?
When we experience trauma, our nervous system shifts into survival mode, activating fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses. But if these responses aren’t fully processed, they can get stuck in the body, showing up as chronic stress, anxiety, dissociation, or even physical pain (Kuhfuß et al., 2021).
Somatic therapy guides people back into connection with their body in a safe, intentional way—helping them release trapped energy, restore balance, and cultivate a felt sense of safety (Rothaus, 2020).
Who Can Benefit from Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy can be deeply supportive for people navigating (Harvard Health Publishing, 2023) :
Trauma & PTSD (childhood trauma, relational wounds, loss)
Anxiety & chronic stress
Depression & emotional numbness
Grief & loss (including pregnancy loss & miscarriage)
Body disconnection & dissociation
Chronic pain & tension held in the body
Case Study: Moving Through Grief After a Miscarriage
To understand how somatic therapy supports healing, let’s take the story of Sarah (a fictional case based on real experiences).
Sarah came to therapy after experiencing a miscarriage. She described feeling emotionally and physically stuck—waves of grief would hit unexpectedly, yet she felt disconnected from her emotions. She also carried persistent tension in her chest and stomach but couldn’t explain why.
Phase 1: Finding Safety in the Body
Rather than asking Sarah to recount her miscarriage in detail, we focused on noticing what her body was already holding.
She described a tightness in her chest and a deep heaviness in her stomach.
We explored these sensations gently, using breathwork and grounding techniques to help her feel safe in her body again.
Instead of trying to “fix” the discomfort, she observed it—letting her body process at its own pace.
By the end of the session, her breathing had softened, and she described feeling more present and less overwhelmed.
Phase 2: Releasing Held Emotions
As we continued working together, we incorporated gentle movement and guided breathwork.
One exercise involved placing a hand on her chest and noticing any shifts in sensation. Slowly, Sarah felt emotions rising—first as a lump in her throat, then as quiet tears.
Instead of pushing them away, she let them move through her—a sign that her body was completing a process it hadn’t been able to before.
Phase 3: Integration & Moving Forward
Sarah reflected that she felt lighter—not because the grief had disappeared, but because she wasn’t carrying it alone anymore and was feeling less fragmented.
Her physical tension had eased.
She was able to express her emotions more freely rather than suppressing them.
She started finding small ways to honor her loss without feeling overwhelmed by it.
This is the power of somatic therapy—it allows emotions to be processed through the body, so they no longer feel stuck.
What to Expect in a Somatic Therapy Session
Each session is different, but a typical process may include (Kuhfuß et al., 2021):
1. Present Moment Awareness
Noticing physical sensations and breath patterns.
2. Exploring Sensations
Bringing curiosity to areas of tension, numbness, or discomfort.
3. Gentle Movement & Breathwork
Using slow movements, stretching, or grounding techniques to support emotional release.
4. Integration
Allowing the nervous system to regulate and restore balance.
How is Somatic Therapy Trauma-Informed?
One of the most beautiful aspects of somatic therapy is that it honors your body’s pace. You don’t have to talk about your trauma to heal from it—instead, we work with the body’s natural processes in a way that feels safe, empowering, and gentle (Rothaus, 2020).
A trauma-informed somatic approach prioritizes:
Safety first – Never forcing emotions or sensations before you’re ready.
Choice & autonomy – You are always in control of your process.
Collaboration – Therapy is a shared experience, not something done to you.
Nervous system regulation – Supporting balance rather than re-triggering distress.
Post-Session Integration: What to Expect
After a somatic therapy session, many people notice subtle but profound shifts:
Feeling freer and lighter—as if something that had a grip on you has loosened.
Deeper emotional clarity—understanding emotions in a new way.
Connecting past experiences to present feelings—helping things make sense.
More grounded & regulated—less reactive to triggers, more attuned to self.
Healing isn’t about “getting rid” of emotions—it’s about letting them move through you so they no longer hold you back (Kuhfuß et al., 2021).
Final Thoughts: Healing is a Body-Based Process
Trauma isn’t just held in the mind—it’s stored in the body. Somatic therapy helps release what’s been trapped, restoring a sense of wholeness and self-trust.
If you feel stuck in your emotions, disconnected from your body, or weighed down by past experiences, somatic therapy offers a compassionate, body-centered path to healing.
You don’t have to “think” your way through healing—instead, you can feel your way through it.
If this approach speaks to you, I invite you to reach out. Your body holds the wisdom to heal, and I would love to support you in that journey.
References
Harvard Health Publishing. (2023). What is somatic therapy? Harvard Health Blog. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-somatic-therapy-202307072951
Kuhfuß, M., Maldei, T., Hetmanek, A., & Baumann, N. (2021). Somatic experiencing – effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy: A scoping literature review. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1929023. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1929023
Rothaus, M. (2020). Cultivating aliveness after pregnancy loss. In Somatic Art Therapy (pp. 123-138). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003004837-8
