Somatic Therapies: Why the Body Deserves Healing
When trauma resides in our bodies—through tension, chronic pain, or emotional disconnection—talk therapy may feel incomplete; somatic therapies offer a deeper path home through physical presence, safety, and embodied healing.
What the Latest Research Tells Us
1. Interoceptive Awareness Builds Resilience
Paying attention to bodily signals like breath, heartbeat, or muscle tension supports emotional resilience and nervous system regulation in trauma healing contexts. A 2024 scoping review in Frontiers in Psychiatry emphasizes how interoceptive awareness underpins recovery from PTSD. BioMed Central+4PMC+4ResearchGate+4
2. Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) Reduces Trauma Symptoms
A 2023 systematic review concluded that dance and movement therapy helps alleviate both psychological and physical trauma symptoms, improving body awareness and sensory‑motor integration. Digital Commons+4PubMed+4WorkSafeBC+4
3. Tapping Techniques (EFT) Show Promising Effects
A 2023 meta-analysis in Frontiers in Psychology supports Emotional Freedom Techniques as effective in reducing PTSD symptoms. Additional reviews demonstrate EFT’s efficacy in treating anxiety and depression. Wikipedia+15Frontiers+15MDPI+15
Why Somatic Healing Matters
Trauma is not only psychological—it is deeply somatic; it can manifest as a clenched chest, constricted breathing, or a sense of disconnection. Somatic tools invite you to re-establish safety through grounded body awareness, anchoring healing before words arise.
Therapies that integrate somatic awareness with modalities like EMDR, Brainspotting, or IFS tend to deepen healing; they move trauma from the nervous system into narrative and integration.
Somatic approaches often bypass heavy cognitive demand, offering accessibility and adaptability for those uncomfortable with traditional trauma narratives.
How EMDR, Brainspotting, and IFS Support the Body
EMDR incorporates bilateral stimulation (through eye movement, tapping, tones) to calm the body’s stress response while facilitating trauma processing.
Brainspotting locates trauma‑impacted positions in the body using eye gaze, engaging somatic release in a paced and intentional manner.
IFS leans into embodied awareness—such as noticing muscular tension or warmth when exploring internal parts—to deepen integration and compassionate agency.
Together, these approaches affirm that trauma is held in the nervous system and highlight that healing requires synergy between body and mind.
FAQ: Somatic Therapy for Trauma
Do I need to retell my trauma?
Not always; somatic therapies can focus entirely on present physical sensations instead of narrative recall.
What if I check out during sessions?
Somatic approaches guide grounding through safe sensing and anchored presence first; presence gradually returns with stabilization.
Can somatic approaches integrate with EMDR or Brainspotting?
Absolutely; grounding body awareness before and after these therapies often enhances emotional safety and therapeutic depth.
References
Leech, K., Stapleton, P., & Patching, A. (2024). A roadmap to understanding interoceptive awareness and post‑traumatic stress disorder: a scoping review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1355442. PMC+1
Tomaszewski, C., et al. (2023). Impact of dance/movement therapy on adults with psychological trauma: a systematic review. Journal of Traumatic Stress. scholarsarchive.byu.edu+8PubMed+8ResearchGate+8
Stapleton, P. (2023). Emotional Freedom Techniques for treating PTSD: updated meta‑analysis. Frontiers in Psychology. PubMed+9Frontiers+9Frontiers+9
Chen, W. T., et al. (2025). EFT effectively treats PTSD and reduces anxiety and depression: meta-analysis. Springer. ResearchGate+3Health+3Wikipedia+3
Seok, J. W., et al. (2024). Efficacy of Emotional Freedom Techniques in reducing anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms. Journal of Clinical Medicine. MDPI
