What is Somatic Trauma Therapy? A Complete Guide to Body-Based Healing

What Is Somatic Trauma Therapy?

Somatic trauma therapy is a body-centered healing approach that recognizes trauma isn't only a story we tell—it's something our physical bodies record. When we experience overwhelming stress or trauma, our nervous systems can store those experiences in ways that continue to affect our emotions, relationships, and sense of safety long after the original event has passed.

Unlike traditional talk therapy, which works primarily with thoughts and memories, somatic trauma therapy focuses on body sensations, breath, and nervous system regulation to address how trauma is stored physically. Talk therapy processes the narrative aspects of trauma while somatic therapy addresses the body-based responses. Somatic trauma therapy works well with energy healing modalities like Reiki, which work in our body’s biofields. Deep healing is possible.

The word "somatic" comes from the Greek word soma, meaning "body." This approach is grounded in neuroscience research showing that trauma responses live in the body's autonomic nervous system, not just in our conscious (or unconscious) memories. By working directly with the body's wisdom, somatic therapy can help complete interrupted stress responses and create new pathways for safety and resilience. Our nervous systems will never feel safe until our bodies do, which is why this work is crucial for helping ourselves recover from trauma, old or new.

In my own practice, I integrate somatic trauma therapy into Sacred Space Sessions—personalized healing experiences that combine body-based trauma work, Reiki, and nervous system restoration. Somatic trauma therapy often works best in combination with other healing modalities, which is why I offer it within an integrated framework, and why so many talk therapists encourage or incorporate it.

The Science of Trauma in the Body

How the Nervous System Responds to Trauma

When we encounter a perceived threat, our autonomic nervous system automatically activates one of several survival responses:

Fight: Mobilizing our energy to confront the threat

Flight: Focusing our energy on escaping danger

Freeze: Immobilizing when fight or flight aren't possible

Fawn: Appeasing or complying to avoid conflict and danger

Collapse: A state of withdrawal or numbness when other responses are not possible (this one is sometimes mistaken for calmness, but is in fact complete shutdown)

These responses are healthy and adaptive in genuinely dangerous situations–they keep us alive. However, trauma can occur when these natural responses become stuck or incomplete, leaving the nervous system in a chronic state of activation or shutdown. When trauma leaves us traumatized, our work is to complete these cycles and so that we can move into healing.

The Polyvagal Theory Foundation

Much of modern somatic trauma therapy is informed by Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory, which describes three main branches of the autonomic nervous system:

Ventral Vagal (Social Engagement): Humans’ most recently-evolved biological system that supports connection, safety, and calm

Sympathetic (Mobilization): The fight-or-flight system that mobilizes our energy for action

Dorsal Vagal (Immobilization): The oldest system in our brains, which can trigger freeze, collapse, or shutdown responses

Somatic therapy works to help the nervous system naturally return to ventral vagal activation—the state where we feel safe, connected, and capable of engaging with life. In other words, it helps us move out of crises mode when the crisis has passed.

Research shows somatic trauma therapy approaches like Somatic Experiencing demonstrate significant effectiveness for decreased anxiety and depression, improved emotional regulation, and PTSD symptom reduction. Modern neuroscience research validates these body-based interventions by confirming trauma's impact on the nervous system and the effectiveness of body-based healing approaches.

Trauma's Physical Manifestations

Trauma doesn't just live in our memories—it creates lasting changes in how our bodies function and feel. When the nervous system remains stuck in survival responses, these patterns become woven into our daily experience in ways that can seem unrelated to the original traumatic events. Sometimes we even start to think that our trauma responses are our personalities: “I’m just an anxious person/ people pleaser / fighter!” Understanding that these may be manifestations of our unhealed trauma helps explain why trauma recovery requires addressing the body, not just the mind. Trauma may show up in the body as:

Physical symptoms:

• Chronic tension, pain, or holding patterns (tight jaw, aching neck, etc)

• Digestive issues and sleep disturbances

• Immune system challenges

• Fatigue or restlessness

• Headaches and muscle pain

Emotional and behavioral patterns:

• Hypervigilance or constant alertness (always scanning the environment)

• Difficulty relaxing or feeling safe

• Emotional triggers that feel disproportionate

• Disconnection or numbness

• Difficulty with boundaries or relationships

Core Principles of Somatic Trauma Therapy

Body Wisdom and Innate Healing

Somatic therapy is built on the understanding that our bodies have an innate capacity for healing and self-regulation. Rather than seeing trauma symptoms as pathology, this approach recognizes them as the nervous system's adaptive attempts to survive overwhelming experiences. Somatic trauma therapy works with the innate healer inside all of us to gently begin to flow again. Our bodies’ trauma responses helped us, and we want to keep them intact–but that doesn’t mean we want them overwhelming us when we don’t need them.

Present-Moment Awareness

Instead of focusing primarily on trauma narratives or past events, somatic therapy emphasizes what's happening in the body right now. This present-moment focus allows for direct nervous system regulation without requiring you to retell traumatic stories–which can itself be re-traumatizing. (Inexperienced talk therapists can often accidentally do this, which sets healing back.) Somatic therapy work is gentle, because gentleness is the only thing that keeps the nervous system feeling safe enough to heal.

Titration and Pendulation

Two key concepts guide how somatic therapy works with the nervous system's natural rhythms:

Titration involves working with small, manageable amounts of activation at a time, preventing re-traumatization and supporting the nervous system's natural healing rhythm.

Pendulation refers to the natural oscillation between states of activation and calm, tension and release. Somatic therapy supports this organic process rather than forcing outcomes.

We do small bits of work at a time, directed by your tolerance, because huge leaps often become leaps backwards. Real, lasting change comes from respecting the body’s responses.

Resource Building

Before addressing trauma material, somatic therapy emphasizes building internal and external resources—tools and experiences that support nervous system regulation and resilience. This is work that is meant to help you in your daily life, and empowering you with tools and methods you can actually use is crucial.

Major Somatic Therapy Approaches

Several evidence-based somatic approaches have emerged from decades of research into trauma and the nervous system:

Somatic Experiencing (SE): Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, SE focuses on completing thwarted defensive responses and restoring natural fight, flight, and freeze responses. This approach emphasizes tracking bodily sensations and supporting the body's innate healing mechanisms to discharge trapped survival energy.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Created by Dr. Pat Ogden, this method integrates body awareness with cognitive and emotional processing. It focuses on how trauma affects movement, posture, and physical organization, helping clients develop new patterns of embodied experience.

NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) Developed by Dr. Laurence Heller, NARM addresses developmental and relational trauma by working with five core needs: connection, attunement, trust, autonomy, and love-sexuality. This approach helps heal early attachment wounds that affect adult relationships and self-regulation.

All somatic approaches share common principles: working with present-moment body awareness, supporting the nervous system's natural healing capacity, and recognizing that the body holds both the trauma and the resources for healing. The specific method matters less than finding a practitioner trained in trauma-informed somatic principles who can create safety for your unique healing process.

What to Expect in a Somatic Trauma Therapy Session

Creating Safety and Connection

Sessions always begin with establishing safety and connection. The practitioner helps create a therapeutic environment where your nervous system can begin to settle and trust the healing process. If you don’t trust your practitioner, the work can’t get done. It’s their responsibility to create a space that feels truly safe for you. (It’s okay to feel uncomfortable or nervous about the work, but if you don’t feel safe, it’s time to find another person to work with.)

Present-Moment Tracking

Rather than discussing traumatic events, you'll be invited to notice what's happening in your body in the present moment:

• Physical sensations (warmth, coolness, tension, relaxation)

• Breath patterns and rhythms

• Movement impulses or stillness

• Energy levels and distribution

• Emotional tones or qualities

Gentle Interventions

Depending on your needs and the specific approach, sessions might include:

Body awareness exercises: Learning to track and befriend your bodily sensations

Breathing practices: Supporting nervous system regulation through conscious breath

Movement exploration: Following your own natural impulses for gentle movement or positioning

Grounding techniques: Connecting with the earth, a chair, the floor, or other support

Boundary work: Exploring healthy limits and self-protection

Resource identification: Discovering what helps your system feel safe and regulated

Integration and Closure

Sessions typically end with integration time—allowing your system to process and settle into any shifts that occurred during the work. This prevents overwhelm and supports lasting change. Often times my clients tell me that they walk out the door feeling reorganized internally, and better resourced for the challenges they are facing.

Benefits of Somatic Trauma Therapy

By addressing trauma where it lives in the body, somatic therapy creates changes that can ripple through every aspect of your life. Rather than just managing symptoms, this approach helps restore your nervous system's natural capacity for regulation and resilience. The benefits often build over time, creating lasting shifts that support both healing from past experiences and thriving in the present:

Nervous System Regulation

• Improved ability to self-regulate emotions and stress responses

• Reduced anxiety, hypervigilance, and chronic activation

• Better sleep quality and digestive function

• Enhanced capacity for calm and presence

Physical Healing

• Release of chronic tension, pain, and trauma-related symptoms

• Improved energy levels and immune system function

• Better body alignment and reduced physical holding patterns

Emotional and Relational Wellbeing

• Greater emotional range and resilience

• Improved capacity for intimacy and healthy boundaries

• Enhanced communication skills and self-compassion

• Reduced depression and anxiety symptoms

Long-Term Transformation

• Deeper sense of embodiment and body wisdom

• Increased capacity for joy, pleasure, and life engagement

• Stronger sense of self and personal agency

Who Can Benefit from Somatic Trauma Therapy?

Somatic therapy isn't just for people with severe trauma histories—it's effective for anyone whose nervous system has learned patterns of chronic activation or shutdown. Whether you're dealing with specific traumatic events, ongoing stress, or simply feeling disconnected from your body, somatic approaches can help restore balance and resilience. Some people that often seek out the treatment include:

Trauma Survivors

Somatic therapy is particularly effective for those who have experienced childhood trauma, sexual or physical abuse, emotional or verbal abuse, car accidents, medical trauma, natural disasters, or who have been exposed to ongoing violence. My work is primarily with women and queer folks, although other practitioners specialize in other populations who are often inundated with trauma.

Complex PTSD and Developmental Trauma

For individuals with complex trauma histories (like myself), somatic approaches can address attachment difficulties, emotional dysregulation, dissociation, hyper-awareness (often called “being sensitive”) and chronic health issues.

Stress, Anxiety, and the Trauma of Living Through Today’s Multi-System Collapse

I would argue that we are all living through traumatic times. For understandable reasons, many of us are living with chronic stress and burnout, anxiety and panic, depression, chronic pain, and sleep issues. Our hearts ache. While individual treatments are not the answer to systemic issues, when we care deeply for ourselves, we can better care for those around us, and this is how we build the society we want to live in.

High-Achieving Folks

Somatic therapy is particularly beneficial for conventionally-successful people experiencing chronic stress from high-pressure environments. This often manifests as perfectionism, difficulty relaxing, imposter syndrome, and burnout.

Anyone Feeling Disconnected from Their Body

Somatic therapy supports anyone seeking to rebuild their relationship with bodily sensations, emotions, and physical presence, regardless of trauma history. It’s a way to come home to the wisdom in your body.

Somatic Therapy and Complementary Modalities

Integration with Energy Healing

Somatic trauma therapy combines well with energy healing modalities like Reiki. Somatic therapy provides nervous system grounding and body-based regulation, while energy healing supports energetic flow, balance, and spiritual connection. This combination addresses trauma on multiple levels—nervous system, energetic, and spiritual. In my own practice, I integrate these approaches in Sacred Space Sessions to offer comprehensive healing support.

Integration with Talk Therapy

Somatic approaches complement traditional psychotherapy really well, provided you’re working with a skilled therapist that you trust. Talk therapy processes cognitive and narrative aspects of trauma while somatic therapy addresses the body-based trauma responses. This combined approach can offer healing addressing both the body and the mind.

Integration with Medical Treatment

Somatic trauma therapy also works alongside medical treatments by supporting nervous system regulation that can enhance medical interventions like medication, physical therapy, and functional medicine. It can address trauma-related physical symptoms during interventions like surgery, and can both improve overall health and resilience and reduce the stress that can interfere with medical treatment.

Somatic trauma therapy is a beautiful modality that works well with others.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is somatic trauma therapy safe? Yes. Somatic therapy is gentle and non-invasive, working at your body's natural pace. Skilled practitioners emphasize safety and never push you beyond your comfort zone.

Does somatic therapy replace medical or psychiatric care? No. While somatic therapy can be a powerful complement to medical and mental health treatment, it is not meant to replace professional care for serious conditions.

Does insurance cover somatic therapy? That can vary depending on your provider and a specific practitioner’s schooling. Some insurance plans cover somatic therapy when provided by licensed mental health professionals, especially with trauma-related diagnoses. It's always best to check directly with your insurance company about body-based trauma treatment coverage.

What should I wear to a session? Comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that allows for gentle movement. You remain fully clothed throughout the session.

How many sessions do I need? This varies based on individual needs and goals. Some people notice benefits after a few sessions, while others engage in longer-term work for deeper healing. The more sessions you do, the more your nervous system learns to regulate—but even one session can make a difference. Somatic therapy, like many healing modalities, builds on itself. Many practitioners will also give you practices that you can do at home.

Do I need to share my trauma story? Nope. This is one of the best parts. Somatic therapy focuses on present-moment body awareness, not retelling past events. You can benefit without ever discussing specific traumatic experiences.

How much does somatic therapy cost? Session prices vary widely depending on your location, practitioner experience, and session length. Sessions can range from $150-$450, with higher rates in major cities or for longer sessions. Some practitioners might offer sliding scale fees, and some might accept HSA/FSA funds.

How do I find a somatic therapist near me? Start by searching "somatic trauma therapy near me" or check Psychology Today's directory with somatic specialty filters. Look for practitioners trained in recognized approaches like Somatic Experiencing or Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Ask about their specific somatic training and trauma experience—or try the old "asking around" technique with local wellness providers. The most important thing here is to work with someone your body feels safe around.

Can I do somatic therapy online? Yes! Many somatic practices work well virtually. Online somatic therapy has become increasingly sophisticated and accessible. (It’s how I work in my Sacred Space Sessions.)

Choosing a Qualified Somatic Practitioner

Finding the right somatic therapist is crucial for safe, effective healing. Because somatic work involves nervous system regulation and trauma processing, practitioner qualifications and approach matter significantly. Look for someone whose training, presence, and ethics align with trauma-informed care principles.

Training and Credentials

Look for practitioners who have:

• Formal training in recognized somatic therapy approaches

• Ongoing supervision and continuing education

• Understanding of trauma and nervous system science

• Personal therapy experience and trauma-informed training

Therapeutic Qualities

Skilled somatic practitioners will have:

• Nervous system regulation: Their own regulated presence supports your healing–meaning, you feel good when you’re around them

• Attunement: They have an ability to track and respond to your nervous system states–meaning, you can tell they are responding to you in real time

• Cultural competence: Awareness of how trauma intersects with identity and oppression–meaning, you don’t feel weird about them, or find yourself giving them side-eye at things they say or do

• Boundaries: Clear, consistent, and respectful professional boundaries–you should not feel pressured or judged

• Collaboration: Sharing power and decision-making rather than operating from authority–the wisdom is in your body; they are just helping you unlock it

Red Flags to Avoid

Be cautious of practitioners who:

• Promise quick fixes or miracle cures

• Push you beyond your comfort zone or capacity (nervousness is okay–fear is not!)

• Lack proper training

• Demonstrate poor boundaries or unprofessional behavior

• Just don’t feel like quite the right fit for you

Practitioner fit is crucial here. While it’s healthy not to be immediately, fully comfortable around anyone new, it’s important that you generally feel good about someone, and feel safer and more cared for over time.

Somatic Trauma Therapy: the Path Forward

Somatic trauma therapy offers a profound path for healing that honors both the body's wisdom and the nervous system's capacity for resilience. By working directly with the trauma that is stored in your body, this approach can help restore your natural capacity for safety, connection, and vitality.

Whether you're dealing with specific trauma, chronic stress, or simply feeling disconnected from your body, somatic approaches offer tools for returning home to yourself. The journey may take time, but each step toward nervous system regulation and embodied presence creates ripples of healing that extend into every area of your life.

Your body holds both the imprint of your experiences and the innate wisdom for healing. Somatic trauma therapy can provide the safe space and skilled support for that natural healing capacity to unfold.

May this work be of benefit.

Love,

Liza

p.s. Somatic trauma therapy helps restore balance where trauma has left its mark in the body. In my own work, I integrate these approaches into Sacred Space Sessions—personalized healing experiences that combine somatic therapy, Reiki, and nervous system restoration. If you’d like regular insights on nervous system healing, trauma recovery, and embodied living, join my free newsletter.