If you’ve been exploring therapy for trauma, anxiety, stress or burnout, you may have come across the term somatic psychotherapy.
Perhaps you’ve seen videos online of people shaking or doing unfamiliar body exercises. Or maybe someone recommended you to “try a somatic therapist.”
If so, you might be wondering…
“Does this mean I won’t be talking?”
“Will my therapist ask me to focus on my body the whole time?”
“What do I need to prepare before my first session?”
If these questions have crossed your mind, you’re not alone. They’re some of the most common questions I hear from people who are curious about somatic psychotherapy.
The reassuring news is this:
You don’t need to prepare anything. You don’t need to know the right words. You don’t even need to understand your body before you begin. Simply come as you are.
So… what is somatic psychotherapy?
Somatic psychotherapy is an approach to therapy that recognises that our experiences are shaped not only by our thoughts and emotions, but are also experienced through our bodies and nervous systems.
This doesn’t mean we “throw the mind out of the window.”
Far from it.
Talking, reflecting and making sense of our experiences remain an important part of therapy.
What makes somatic psychotherapy different is that we also become curious about what our bodies might be communicating alongside our thoughts and emotions.
Somatic psychotherapy invites us to become curious about these moments—not because the body is “more important” than the mind, but because together they tell a fuller story of our experience.
Why include the body?
Our bodies are constantly taking in information, both from within us and from the world around us.
Often, this happens before we’re consciously aware of it.
Have you ever realised you were clenching your jaw before you realised you were stressed? Or noticed your heart racing before you recognised that you were anxious?
Sometimes our bodies notice these changes before our minds have found the words to describe them.
From a neuroscience perspective, this makes sense. Our nervous system is continuously sending information from the body to the brain. In fact, there are more pathways carrying information from the body to the brain than the other way around.
Rather than seeing the body and mind as separate, somatic psychotherapy recognises that they are in constant conversation with one another. By paying gentle attention to both, we gain a fuller understanding of our experience.
One of the things I hear most often from clients beginning somatic psychotherapy is,
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel.”
Some worry they’re giving me the “wrong” answer when I ask what they’re noticing in their bodies.
Others tell me,
“I don’t really feel anything.”
I always reassure them that there isn’t a right or wrong answer.
Learning to notice our inner experience is a little like rediscovering a language we’ve seldom used. It isn’t a language we need to learn from scratch—we already have it within us. Over time, perhaps because we’ve been busy surviving, looking after others, or constantly thinking our way through life, we simply become less familiar with listening to it.
In therapy, we’re not trying to force that language to appear.
We’re simply creating a space where it can gradually become familiar again, at your own pace.
What actually happens during a session?
There isn’t one single way to practise somatic psychotherapy because every person—and every session—is different.
Together, we’ll move at a pace that feels comfortable for you. Depending on what you’re bringing into the session, we might explore things like:
- noticing sensations in the body
- becoming aware of your breathing
- gentle movement
- imagination and imagery
- learning self-touch as a source of support
- noticing how your body receives support
Some sessions may be spent mostly talking.
At other times, we might pause for a few moments to notice what is happening in your body as you speak.
These pauses aren’t about analysing you or searching for the “right” answer. They’re simply opportunities to become curious about your experience in a different way.
There is no need to force any particular outcome.
Sometimes, the most meaningful moments arise simply from noticing what is present and trusting your nervous system to unfold in its own way. Therapy provides the space for that unfolding to happen with curiosity, safety and support.
Common misconceptions
One concern I sometimes hear is that I’ll be watching and analysing every little movement, almost like reviewing CCTV footage.
That isn’t what happens.
Talking and connecting with another person is one of the ways our nervous system experiences safety. Through conversation, we engage what is known as the social engagement system—the part of our nervous system that supports connection, communication and co-regulation.
This is why somatic psychotherapy isn’t about replacing talking with body awareness. Instead, the two work hand in hand.
Rather than analysing you, we’re becoming curious together about your experience.
Do I need to prepare?
No.
You don’t need to read books beforehand.
You don’t need any prior experience.
You don’t need to know the “right” things to say.
Simply bring yourself.
We’ll begin wherever you are, and together we’ll discover what feels helpful for you.
Who might benefit?
Somatic psychotherapy is commonly known for its work with trauma. However, it isn’t only for people who have experienced trauma.
It can also be helpful for people navigating anxiety, chronic stress, grief, depression, burnout, or persistent physical symptoms.
Ultimately, somatic psychotherapy isn’t about fixing your body.
It’s about becoming curious about your experience, listening to what your body and mind may be communicating, and gently reconnecting with yourself.
If you’ve found yourself wondering whether somatic psychotherapy is “for you,” perhaps the answer doesn’t lie in having the right diagnosis or knowing exactly what you’re feeling.
Perhaps it begins with a simple curiosity.
You may have noticed that your body seems to carry tension long after a stressful day has ended. Or that your mind understands something logically, yet your body continues to react as though it isn’t safe.
These experiences aren’t signs that something is wrong with you.
They may simply be your body’s way of communicating an experience that hasn’t yet found words.
You don’t have to understand everything all at once.
Sometimes, healing begins not with finding the answers, but with becoming curious enough to listen.
As you finish reading, perhaps take a moment to notice yourself.
Not to analyse.
Not to change anything.
Just to notice.
How is your body meeting the chair beneath you?
What is your breathing like in this moment?
Is there anywhere in your body that feels supported?
Or perhaps somewhere that is asking for a little more kindness?
There is no right answer.
Just an invitation to notice.
About the writer
Dominica is the founder of Soulmatics and a body-oriented psychotherapist based in Singapore. She works with adults and young adults navigating trauma, anxiety, burnout, grief and relational challenges, integrating somatic psychotherapy with counselling to support her clients in a therapeutic process that honours the Bodymind. Outside the therapy room, she enjoys drawing and running. You can read more about her here.