Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy It is understanding the biography, the narrative and the pathology presented by the patient, through the investigation of the biology that is operating ‘behind the scenes’ of the complaint that brought them to the clinic.
How does it work?
Our body is constructed out of holistic mechanisms, working together as a “big whole” composed out of “small wholes” which are creating it, communicating within it, and allowing for inner and outer homeostasis. That constant strive for homeostasis starts at the level of the single cell, continues in a group of cells which are communication within themselves (as a nuclear family), to entire “tribes”, creating a big community which strives to be coherent. Our evolutional strive for survival and our capacity for regeneration are a result of the same mechanism.
Our sensory memory (but not the cognitive one) is present in our body from the level of the single cell. It lies at the root of all things.
Starting from the prenatal stage in the womb, the encoding and gathering of information signals passes through the cells. That encoding begins when its recordings are being gathered and passed on to the body’s various systems (the nervous system in particular), and the information being processed in different ways. That encoding becomes a “stamp” in different areas of the brain.
All is engraved in the body. The body remembers all.
The memory is created at the preverbal stages, before the neocortex has developed.
This encoding is established by a combination of nerve processes, as well as metabolic, biochemical and emotional processes, as a direct product of it and of other components of this marvelous diamond called somatic memory.
Interpersonal and environmental resonance, innate and acquired regulation capacities, relational systems made of various components, different glands in the body and brain such as: the hippocampus, the amygdala, the hypophysis, the adrenal gland and more, are all part of this process.
An axis of relationship between the brain, the heart, the colon and the kidneys. All of these and more are inseparable parts of this wondrous world of somatization. Of this gathering of information from the entire body (=”the second brain”, the polyvagal theory and more).
There are diverse ways and approaches for combining or basing the treatment upon an emotional somatic process. Verbalization, touch, talk – anything that allows accessing the body as the primary dimension, where it will serve as the main working platform, through which we will examine the issue due to which we came together at the clinic.
In current days, many neurobiological studies demonstrate this subject, which was introduced as a ground breaking truth back from the days of classic Freudian emotional therapy, Wilhelm Reich, Gerda Boysen and Stanley Keleman, to Peter Levine, Stephen Porges, and many others.
This type of holistic therapy is a comprehensive and thorough treatment, binding together all of the dimensions that assemble us: body, mind and spirit. All of them are woven on the fabric of time, space and movement, as an essential key for the healing potential.
Here are a few examples for different kinds of somatic therapies, some of which have gone through official verification and validation:
Somatic Experiencing ®
EMDR ®
Anatomy Trains ®
Somatic Education (Essential Somatics ®)
Bodily Psychotherapy (of different approaches)
And more.
Hebrew