Somatic Therapy
Your body plays a huge part in your healing. Somatic therapy helps you understand the physical responses, protective patterns and feelings that can sit beneath the words, so you can begin to work with yourself more deeply, at a pace you can manage.
What is it?
01Somatic therapy invites you to step out of the constant thinking and turn your attention towards your body. It creates space to listen to the story showing up through your sensations, tension, movement and breath, without needing to explain or analyse everything straight away.
"Soma" comes from the Greek word for body. Rather than trying to switch your mind off, this approach helps you make room for what you're experiencing physically, alongside your thoughts and emotions.
You can understand what happened to you and still feel its impact. You might know why conflict frightens you, yet find yourself bracing before anyone has raised their voice. Or you might feel a knot in your stomach, go blank or shut down without knowing what set it off. Sometimes the body responds before the mind has an explanation.
What we live through can shape how we breathe, hold ourselves and respond to other people. Protective responses can become familiar patterns, even when our circumstances have changed. Somatic work helps you notice and explore these responses with curiosity, including the ones you may have spent years overriding.
A skilled practitioner supports you to recognise what is happening inside you and approach it at a manageable pace. You might notice where a feeling sits, how it changes or what helps you feel more settled. Your boundaries, comfort and choices guide the process.
Somatic therapy includes approaches such as Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Hakomi, as well as body-focused work within broader psychotherapy. Methods differ, so ask what a practitioner's approach involves. Somatic Experiencing has its own page in The Body + Somatics.
What may it help with?
02Somatic therapy is commonly explored for trauma and complex trauma, chronic stress, anxiety, feeling constantly on alert, and feeling numb or disconnected. It can be particularly relevant to people who recognise that their distress involves their whole body, or who have gained insight through talking but still feel caught in familiar responses.
You don't need a clear story behind every sensation to begin.
How does it work?
03Somatic therapy works with the relationship between physical responses, emotions and thoughts. It is often described as "bottom-up", because attention to bodily experience is an important starting point. Understanding your story can help; noticing how that story affects you in the present adds another way to work with it.
After overwhelming experiences, reminders can bring on protective responses even when danger has passed. You may brace, feel an urge to escape or become still and disconnected. Somatic approaches explore these responses without treating them as a personal failing. [1]
Your practitioner may help you develop interoception, the ability to notice internal sensations. Together, you might pay brief attention to tightness in your chest, then return to something steadier, such as the support of the chair or your surroundings. In Somatic Experiencing, gradually approaching manageable amounts of distress is often called titration. [1]
The skill is in the pacing. Sustained attention to a difficult feeling isn't always helpful, particularly if you become overwhelmed or disconnected. A practitioner should recognise this, help you reorient and adjust the work. Closing your eyes may be offered, but keeping them open may feel more supportive. You have a choice.
Over time, the aim is to recognise responses earlier and build more flexibility in how you meet them. You don't have to force a release, produce a particular reaction or recover forgotten memories. Your physical experience deserves attention without requiring an immediate explanation. The mechanisms behind different somatic methods are still being researched.
What does the evidence say?
04There is a growing research base for body-oriented trauma therapies, alongside important limits in what we can conclude. Somatic therapy covers several methods, so it helps to look at the evidence for the particular approach being offered.
- A 2021 review of Somatic Experiencing included 16 studies, only two of which were randomised controlled trials. It found preliminary benefits for post-traumatic stress symptoms, with early indications of benefits for mood, physical symptoms and wellbeing. Study quality was mixed, and stronger research is needed. [1]
- A 2017 randomised controlled trial involved 63 adults with PTSD. Participants receiving 15 weekly Somatic Experiencing sessions had greater reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms than those on a waiting list. No adverse reactions were reported in this trial, but it was small and didn't compare the approach with another therapy. [2]
- A 2023 review brought together 29 studies of body- and movement-oriented approaches for PTSD, a broader group that includes practices such as yoga. It found a moderate average improvement in PTSD symptoms, with benefits for depression and sleep. Results varied considerably, and study quality limits how confidently we can interpret them. These findings don't establish that every somatic method is effective. [3]
What does a session or practice look like?
05Sessions are usually one-on-one, in person or online, and often last around an hour. They may begin with a conversation about how you are feeling and what you would like support with. Your practitioner will explain how they work and agree on a starting point with you.
As you talk, they may invite you to pause and notice what is happening physically. The questions might be:
- Where do you feel that in your body?
- What do you notice as you give that sensation a little attention?
- Would it help to look around the room or feel the support beneath you?
- Is there a part of your body that feels more comfortable or neutral?
You may be invited to close your eyes and turn your attention inward, if that feels comfortable. You might also explore a gentle movement, your posture or your breathing. Some practitioners use touch, with your clear permission. Touch is optional, and you can withdraw consent at any point.
If noticing sensations feels unfamiliar, that is something to work with together. Many people have learnt to override their needs or disconnect to get through difficult experiences. There is no need to rush yourself into feeling more.
Sessions may leave you feeling settled, emotional, tired or stirred up. Tell your practitioner how you feel during and between appointments so they can adjust the pace. Agree on how you will finish sessions, what support is available afterwards and how you will review progress.
Risks and considerations
06- Pacing and experience matter. Strong sensations can become overwhelming. Ask how the practitioner works with trauma, panic and dissociation, and how they respond if inward attention makes things harder.
- Check qualifications and accountability. Look at their underlying professional training, specific somatic qualifications, supervision and experience. Check Ahpra registration where applicable, or ask about professional membership and complaints processes.
- Your boundaries remain yours. Touch, movement and closing your eyes should be offered with explanation and choice. You should never feel pressured to continue because a reaction is described as necessary for healing.
- Keep your wider care connected. Discuss somatic work with your treating team, especially for complex symptoms. Some studies excluded people with psychosis, active suicidal thoughts or substance use, so their findings don't establish suitability in these situations. [1, 2]
Questions to ask a practitioner
07The right practitioner should welcome questions. You are choosing someone to work with parts of your experience that may feel vulnerable, and you deserve to understand their approach.
- What are your qualifications, and which somatic approaches are you trained in?
- What experience do you have supporting people with what I'm going through?
- What would a typical session look like, and can we begin gently?
- Do you use touch? How do you ask for consent?
- What will you do if I feel overwhelmed, disconnected or shut down?
- How will we decide on the number of sessions and review whether they're helping?
- Do you offer online sessions?
Founder’s Insight
"Somatic therapy was a game changer for me, and it's one of the approaches I have the deepest respect for. I could understand my history, analyse my patterns and talk about what had happened over and over again. But that understanding wasn't creating lasting change in how I felt or how my body reacted.
For years, I could consciously know what I wanted to do and still find myself doing the complete opposite. The behaviour felt ingrained. I could recognise it afterwards, but understanding it didn't stop me repeating it. That's an incredibly frustrating place to be.
Somatic therapy helped me work with what felt like the subconscious part of those patterns: the reactions that happened before I had time to think, the hurt I'd carried and the ways I'd learnt to protect myself. My body often felt more intuitive than my thoughts. When I stopped trying to explain everything and paid attention to what I was feeling, I began recognising layers I hadn't even known were there.
Some of those feelings were deeply uncomfortable. Working through them with support, rather than overriding them or talking my way around them, was where things began to shift. I honestly don't know whether I would have reached those layers without bringing my body into the process.
Talking has a place in healing. But for me, I could talk in circles for years and still feel stuck. Somatic therapy gave me a way to work directly with the physical and emotional responses that insight alone hadn't changed.
That's why I'm so passionate about people knowing this approach exists. You don't need to understand every reaction or have the perfect words before you begin. Sometimes, what needs your attention is something you haven't yet learnt how to put into words."
You’ve read about it. Now what can you actually do?
You don’t need to have the perfect plan. Choose the next step that feels most useful for where you are right now.
Always speak with a qualified health professional before starting something new. If you are struggling right now, find immediate support.
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This is educational information. It is not a recommendation that this approach is right for you. Always speak with a qualified health professional.
