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Somatic practices, derived from the Greek word soma, meaning "body," are gaining popularity as effective tools for managing stress, enhancing performance, and improving mental and overall well-being. These approaches emphasize the intrinsic connection between physical sensations, emotions, and mental states. However, as somatics is an emerging field, there is often confusion about the different types of somatic practices, their applications, and the professionals who use them.
Two prominent approaches within this realm are somatic therapy and somatic psychotherapy.
Somatic Therapy: A body-focused approach that uses techniques like touch, breathing, or movement to help release physical tension and address trauma or stress stored in the body. It emphasizes the mind-body connection for healing, emotional regulation, and empowerment.
Somatic Psychotherapy: A therapeutic practice that integrates traditional talk therapy with body awareness, exploring physical sensations, posture, and movements to uncover and process specific emotional or traumatic experiences.
While they share a foundational focus on the body’s role in healing, they differ in depth, methodology, and purpose. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for anyone exploring somatic modalities for coaching, personal growth or healing.
This article aims to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of these approaches, their benefits, and how they can address different needs. Whether you're seeking stress relief, emotional resilience, or deeper psychological healing, this guide will help you make an informed choice about the somatic path that best aligns with your goals.
What Is Somatic Therapy?
Definition and Purpose
Somatic therapy is a broad term encompassing a variety of body-centered practices designed to promote physical and emotional well-being. It focuses on the body’s role in storing stress, emotions, and trauma and seeks to release these through intentional practices that increase self-awareness and relaxation.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, somatic therapy is less focused on analyzing thoughts and more on exploring the physical sensations associated with emotions or stress. This empowers clients to self-regulate, build emotional resilience, enhance self-awareness and reduce the need for external support. If interested, you can learn more about somatic therapy here.
How It Works
Somatic therapy often works non-verbally or with minimal dialogue. The client is often asked to try out various body-centered exercises, movements or breathing techniques with the guidance of the coach or therapist. Most of the emphasis is on the physical sensations in the body, and not the story in the mind. The goal is to help individuals connect with their bodies, notice patterns of tension, and learn techniques to release stored stress or trauma.
Common Somatic Therapy Techniques
Breathwork: Techniques to regulate the nervous system and enhance mindfulness. Also, certain breathwork styles are designed to release stored trauma.
Body Awareness Practices: Guided body scans or focusing on physical sensations.
Movement-Based Modalities: Practices like yoga, Feldenkrais, or Continuum Movement.
Energy Work: Modalities like Reiki or Qi Gong.
Tension Release Exercises (TRE): Gentle physical exercises to release chronic stress.
Spiritual Practices: Zen, Yoga, Tai Chi.
Who Is It For?
Somatic therapy is ideal for individuals seeking:
Stress reduction and relaxation.
Greater connection to their body.
Relief from mild physical or emotional tension.
Personal growth and self-awareness.
Release of minor trauma and stuck energy
Clarity, direction and purpose.
It’s often used as a stand alone or complementary practice alongside other forms of therapy or wellness practices.
What Is Somatic Psychotherapy?
Definition and Purpose
Somatic psychotherapy takes the principles of somatic therapy and integrates them into a clinical framework for addressing mental health issues. This approach combines body-based techniques with traditional psychotherapeutic methods like talk therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), narrative exposure therapy or psychodynamic therapy.
It’s particularly effective for addressing trauma, as it recognizes that the body often holds unresolved emotional experiences.
How It Works
Somatic psychotherapy is a structured, integrative process designed to address specific traumas and mental health issues that are affecting the clients quality of life. Practitioners work with clients to explore how emotions, thoughts, and trauma are stored in the body and how these influence mental health. Techniques are often used to gently bring awareness to these patterns and support healing through both verbal and non-verbal processes detailed below:
Common Somatic Psychotherapy Techniques
Somatic Experiencing® (SE): Focuses on releasing trauma stored in the nervous system.
Hakomi Method: A mindfulness-centered approach that integrates body awareness with talk therapy.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Addresses trauma and attachment issues by working with bodily sensations.
Polyvagal-Informed Practices: Helps regulate the nervous system and restore a sense of safety.
Mind-Body Integration Techniques: Combines movement or touch with verbal processing.
Who Is It For?
Somatic psychotherapy is particularly effective for individuals dealing with:
PTSD or complex trauma.
Anxiety and depression.
Chronic stress or dissociation.
Deep-seated emotional wounds or attachment issues.
This approach is suited for those seeking long-term healing and transformation for more severe and long standing mental health challenges. The scope of work with the practitioner will be very specific.
How Are the Core Approaches and Techniques Different?
Somatic Therapy
Approach:
Focuses on the body’s sensations, movements, posture, and energy to release stored tension and promote healing and growth.
Encourages clients to develop greater awareness of bodily sensations and how they correlate with emotions.
Typically works on a non-verbal or minimally verbal level, emphasizing experiential practices.
Helps clients to better understand and transform their present moment experience to one which is congruent with the future they want to create.
Techniques:
Breathwork
Guided body scans or mindfulness
Movement practices (e.g., somatic yoga, Feldenkrais, or Continuum Movement)
Massage or hands-on bodywork
Energy work (e.g., Reiki)
Exercises to release tension from the nervous system (e.g., TRE – Tension and Trauma Release Exercises)
Vocal toning and sound therapy
Somatic Psychotherapy
Approach:
Combines body-based interventions with psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, or other psychotherapeutic methods.
Explores how emotions, trauma, and stress are stored in the body and how they influence thoughts, behaviors, and mental states.
Involves both verbal processing and somatic (body-centered) techniques.
Techniques:
Somatic Experiencing® (developed by Peter Levine)
Hakomi Method (a mindfulness-based approach to psychotherapy)
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (focuses on trauma and developmental issues)
Polyvagal-informed practices (working with the nervous system to regulate trauma responses)
Mind-body integration techniques, often using physical movement or touch alongside talk therapy.
Cognitive behavioral therapy, narrative exposure therapy, dialectic behavior therapy.
What Are The Practitioner Qualifications?
Somatic Therapy:
Practitioners do not require formal licensure in mental health fields but often have specialized training in body-based modalities. Some modalities, like TRE or The Feldenkrais Method, have specific training and certification processes. Others are more general. Each practitioner will likely have a unique set of techniques, training and experience that they draw from. Common backgrounds include:
Bodyworkers (e.g., massage therapists or yoga instructors)
Movement practitioners
Breathwork facilitators
Hypnotherapists
Trauma-informed coaches
Somatic healers
Somatic Psychotherapy:
Practiced by licensed mental health professionals (e.g., psychotherapists, psychologists, counselors) who have additional training in somatic modalities. Practitioners in this lane must meet state or national licensing requirements for psychotherapy. In addition they can have advanced certifications in methods like Somatic Experiencing® or Hakomi. Their training includes in-depth study of trauma, psychology, and the nervous system, alongside somatic interventions.
What Are The Focus Areas of Each?
Somatic Therapy:
Personal growth and development
Stress reduction and relaxation
Increasing mindfulness and bodily awareness
Releasing physical tension associated with stress or minor trauma
Enhancing general well-being and energy flow
Aspects of chronic illnesses
Leadership development and executive presence
Used to supplement other therapies and interventions
Increased clarity, confidence and sense of purpose
Personal or spiritual exploration.
Somatic Psychotherapy:
Clinical treatment of trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions.
Healing the psychological impacts of childhood trauma or attachment wounds.
Addressing chronic stress, dissociation, or body-based symptoms (e.g., somatic pain, fatigue).
Working with the nervous system to reestablish a sense of safety and emotional regulation.
Often involves deeper, long term, more structured therapeutic goals.
What Are the Goals and Outcomes of Each?
Somatic Therapy:
Increase present-moment awareness and bodily connection.
Help clients develop healthier relationships with their bodies and emotions.
Foster relaxation, vitality, and overall well-being.
Provide a space for releasing minor emotional or physical tension without delving deeply into psychological narratives.
Additional tools and approaches for managing chronic health challenges
Somatic Psychotherapy:
Resolve deep-seated psychological issues through integration of body and mind.
Help clients process and release unresolved trauma stored in the body.
Rewire patterns of emotional regulation and stress response.
Cultivate a sense of safety, agency, and wholeness in the client’s mental and emotional life.
Often supports long-term therapeutic change, rather than immediate relief.
What Are The Key Differences Between The Two Approaches?
Aspect | Somatic Therapy | Somatic Psychotherapy |
Practitioner | Non-clinical body-based practitioners | Licensed mental health professionals |
Primary Focus | Physical and emotional well-being | Psychological healing and trauma resolution |
Depth of Work | Typically more surface-level; focuses on awareness and release | Deep, integrative; addresses complex psychological issues |
Client Issues | Stress, mild trauma, physical tension, confidence, growth | PTSD, depression, anxiety, chronic trauma |
Techniques | Breathwork, movement, mindfulness, massage | Talk therapy + somatic methods like SE or Hakomi |
Which One Is Right for You?
The choice between somatic therapy and somatic psychotherapy depends on your personal needs, goals, and the level of support required. In addition, the most important component of healing and growth is the relationship between the client and the practitioner so finding a suitable fit is very important. Below are some general guidelines that might help you choose:
Choose Somatic Therapy If You:
Seek stress relief and relaxation.
Want to deepen your connection to your body.
Are managing daily stressors or exploring personal growth.
Prefer experiential practices like breathwork or movement.
Desire a non-clinical, body-centered experience to complement clinical approaches.
You want to enhance confidence, clarity, and emotional balance.
Aim to live a more embodied and authentic life.
Have an interest in embodied spiritual development
Somatic therapy is ideal for those looking for a gentle introduction to body awareness and a supportive environment for personal exploration. In my own practice, often I work with clients who do have a general understanding of their bodies and are looking to deepen their growth and embodiment.
Choose Somatic Psychotherapy If You:
Are dealing with deep emotional trauma or mental health conditions like PTSD, anxiety, or depression.
Need clinical support to resolve long-standing psychological patterns.
You want to integrate mind-body techniques with traditional talk therapy.
Are ready for a structured, long-term therapeutic process.
Seek emotional resilience and deeper healing.
Somatic psychotherapy is well-suited for individuals ready to address complex psychological challenges with the guidance of a licensed mental health professional.
Final Thoughts
Both somatic therapy and somatic psychotherapy offer powerful tools for healing and transformation. Choosing the right approach depends on your personal needs, goals, and the level of support you require.
If you’re seeking relaxation, self-awareness, and personal growth, somatic therapy might be your path. If you’re ready to address deeper psychological challenges, somatic psychotherapy provides the structure and expertise for lasting healing. No matter which route you choose, these body-centered practices remind us that our bodies are more than vessels—they are integral to how we experience and heal from life’s challenges.
About Me
I am a somatic therapist & integrated wellness coach for leaders, influencers, and high-performers. I have over 8 years experience and have trained & coached 1000's of people in my topic areas. My journey began when I sought out to heal my own serious physical and mental health illnesses, which took me on a deep journey through Asia, engaging with Zen masters, healers and experts around the world. My work bridges the best of Eastern and Western practices, and is designed to create meaningful and lasting change in the lives of my clients.
Schedule a free consultation to explore which somatic practice suits your needs.
Disclaimer: The above article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author. It is intended for general informational purposes and does not constitute psychological or medical professional advice. I don't diagnose medical conditions, nor do I interfere with any treatments given by your medical professional.
If you already are under the care of a doctor or under medical treatment, follow the advice and treatment recommended by your doctor. For any medical emergency, please call relevant authorities.
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