What is somatic psychotherapy — and how is it different from “regular” talk therapy?
Somatic psychotherapy is a body-informed approach to healing. Where traditional psychotherapy often focuses on thoughts, beliefs and the stories we tell about our experiences, somatic work pays close attention to the body — the sensations, rhythms, posture, breath and implicit responses that carry emotional and traumatic memory. The word soma literally means “body,” and somatic approaches treat the nervous system as the primary route to change.
How somatic therapy works (in practice)
Somatic therapists combine gentle tracking of bodily sensations with techniques such as breath work, guided movement, orientation (what the body notices around it), mindful attention, and sometimes gentle touch. The aim is not to unearth facts or re-tell a painful story, but to help the nervous system re-regulate — to finish incomplete defensive responses (fight/flight/freeze), discharge stuck energy, and restore safety cues in the body. This “bottom-up” pathway (body → nervous system → mind) complements — and sometimes succeeds where — purely cognitive strategies have stalled.
Conditions commonly treated
Somatic approaches are used for trauma and PTSD, anxiety, complex stress, chronic pain, somatisation, depression and symptoms related to long-term dysregulation of the nervous system. Practitioners also report benefits for people who haven’t found relief with talk therapy alone, or who experience dissociation, chronic tension, or body-focused symptoms. Systematic reviews and clinical trials have shown promising results for somatic modalities, though researchers call for more large, unbiased trials to strengthen the evidence base.
Leaders and influential voices
Several pioneers and contemporary leaders have shaped somatic psychotherapy:
Peter A. Levine — developer of Somatic Experiencing® (SE), which focuses on completing trapped defensive responses in the body; SE has randomized and controlled studies showing positive outcomes for PTSD.
Richard C. Schwartz — creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS). IFS is part “parts work” psychotherapy but often integrates somatic awareness to help clients access Self leadership; emerging research suggests promise for trauma and related disorders. Australian Psychological Society
Arielle Schwartz — a clinical psychologist and trainer who writes and teaches about integrating somatic practices (yoga, EMDR integration, body awareness) into trauma therapy. drarielleschwartz.com
Gabor Maté — while not a somatic therapist in the same technical sense, Maté’s trauma-centred work powerfully emphasises how early stress and attachment wounds become embodied; his writing is frequently cited by somatic clinicians for its clinical and humanistic framing of trauma. Dr. Gabor Maté
Why people choose somatic psychotherapy
People choose somatic therapy for many reasons:
They feel “stuck” by symptoms that talk therapy hasn’t resolved.
Their distress shows up primarily in the body (tension, pain, panic, dissociation).
They want an approach that respects how trauma is held physiologically rather than just intellectually.
They prefer an experiential, present-moment way of healing that builds felt safety and regulation skills. Clinical studies and reviews suggest somatic modalities can produce symptom reduction and improved coping — particularly for trauma-related conditions — though the field is still maturing scientifically.
