“Somatic Psychotherapist” is simply another way of saying a Body-Mind Psychotherapist. “Soma” is a Greek word that means “body.” “Somatic” means “of the body.”

Psychotherapy until recently had been primarily focused on the mental or emotional conditions and functioning of an individual in relationship with self, another or others. However, to thoroughly address these issues, the body is an important and integral part of any treatment or therapeutic program. Research has now shown that our brains store both positive and negative emotional experiences in the portion that regulates our senses and organs. Thus, what the brain has stored in memory will be directly reflected in the area of the body that was impacted by that experience.

For example: think of how a lemon tastes. Chances are, your mouth will begin to fill with water automatically as your salivary glands respond to the memory of a lemon’s tartness. Once we have physically tasted the lemon, the experience registers in our brain and each time the recorded memory is triggered, the sensory response also occurs. Trauma, joy, grief, love and all the emotions and felt-sense awareness we are capable of experiencing are stored and accessed by the brain and the body simultaneously. As you can see now, just addressing one’s emotions and/or thoughts is truly not enough to completely heal from troubling or painful experiences we have encountered in the process of life itself.