Somatic Therapy in San Luis Obispo
What is Somatic Bodywork?
Somatic bodywork blends psychotherapy with healing touch. Physical sensations and feelings are considered along with mental and emotional processes. Your body is profoundly intertwined with your psyche. It reveals deeply held, implicit information that can be difficult to access through talk therapy alone. Tapping into this information can unlock long held patterns of unwanted symptoms, and the added element of healing touch provides an increased sense of safety, ease, and accelerated progress. Your therapist is both an AMFT and a state certified massage therapist with 27 years of bodywork training and experience.
How is it Different From Massage?
Somatic bodywork occurs while you are fully clothed and relaxed on a massage table. It involves light touch modalities such as cranial sacral therapy, gentle acupressure, and light myofascial release. In contrast, massage therapy typically involves massage oils, and it provides a more active form of full-body, muscular manipulation. If you are primarily seeking this type of active soft-tissue work, it is recommended to pursue traditional massage therapy instead. Somatic bodywork is for those who are interested in the psychotherapeutic benefits.
Why add Bodywork to Psychotherapy?
Bodywork can noticeably accelerate your psychotherapy progress. It has the unique quality of being able to speak directly to your nervous system in a way that words cannot. It provides a transmission of relaxation that is difficult to achieve through conversation alone. It facilitates a powerful reset for your body and mind which is crucial because many symptoms can be the result of chronic nervous system patterns of fight, flight, and freeze.
In traditional talk therapy, it can take 30 to 40 minutes for a client to relax enough to turn their attention inward and begin any depth work. This only leaves 10 or 20 minutes left in the rest of the session. It is typically is not enough time to make significant gains. In contrast, when bodywork therapy is applied, it only takes about 2 to 5 minutes for a client to feel safe and relaxed enough to take a deeper dive. This way of working conserves your time and is simply more efficient.
Somatic Bodywork for Trauma
Healing touch is beneficial for a range of issues, including trauma. Your therapist specializes in the areas of PTSD and complex trauma. If you have an extensive trauma background that involves physical abuse, it is best to discuss your history with your therapist. Open communication with your therapist is crucial to determine if somatic bodywork is right for you. If needed, other modalities can be offered as a starting point. We can work towards incorporating bodywork, as appropriate to your situation.
