SZN 2. Ep. 8/ Trauma and somatic healing
Trauma and somatic healing
By: bridget montgomery, lcpc
In order to understand how somatic therapy treats trauma, one must first understand how trauma shows up in the body. Dr. Gabor Maté explains trauma as “not something that happened to you but what happens inside of you as a result of what happened to you”. Trauma is an emotional and psychological response caused by severely distressing events, such as accidents, violence, attachment wounds from primary caregivers, child abuse or neglect. Exposure to trauma, whether from acute stressors, continual traumas or from complex interpersonal trauma, can have lasting effects on the inner and external experiences of people. Trauma can cause the past to remain in the present and embed in the body long after the exposure to trauma subsided. The jarring, unexpected, undeserved, shockingness of trauma reverberates through our biology and can carry detrimental effects if not treated.
Trauma is held in the systems of our body, it is remembered somatically. When we walk through life having a felt sense of trauma in our body, how we show up and navigate the world is impacted. Our identity may change because of the trauma. While people react differently to traumatic experiences, if one lacks sufficient coping skills or social support, has additional traumatic experiences, or when trauma has not been worked through or released, it can remain within different systems of the body. It is housed in our feelings, emotions, sensations, thought processes and perceptions that originate in multiple areas of the brain, the autonomic nervous system, the gut, etc. We can stay in a hyperarousal state, responding to life as though constantly threatened or a withdrawn state, feeling unprotected and insecure in a variety of personal and social contexts.
A traumatic event can be anything that overwhelms our ability to regulate our nervous system. When the body is fixed in an alarmist, threat response mode, the amygdala, the area in the brain that processes emotions like fear, stays hyperactive and triggers a subconscious fear response via the sympathetic nervous system. Trauma interferes with the prefrontal cortex brain circuits that involve focusing, flexibility and being able to stay emotionally regulated. A constant sense of danger or helplessness prompts the adrenal glands to secrete more stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline. The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis (HPA-Axis) can dysregulate causing numerous conditions such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, autoimmune disorders and metabolic symptoms. In somatic therapy, a thorough client assessment is given to determine how trauma shows up uniquely in the body. Informing and educating a client on the biological components of trauma allows a deeper awareness of oneself. Providing information on the biological components of trauma allows for a greater understanding of the impact and holistic healing needed for the body and mind.
A basis for healing in somatic therapy begins by cultivating a client’s sense of safety in the body. A basic definition of safety includes “the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury”. Beginning with breathwork, regulation, grounding/soothing exercises or meditation, the client is guided into a relaxed state in order to feel safe enough to explore more of one’s inner landscape. A calm state, aware and receptive, allows for an opening for healing to begin. When body, mind and breath are calm, the amygdala, the sympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve are regulated or neutral. The parasympathetic nervous system kicks in- allowing for the body to rest and digest. Some symptoms of distress may begin to subside. For example, gut issues may decrease or one may gain a more positive outlook. Over time, it is best to support clients to develop their own use of somatic tools that they most enjoy and will use independent of the therapy session. Clients who learn to regulate their nervous system and who can shift into a relaxed state, learn to be calm and resilient in previously strongly triggered situations.
Once a client feels internally safe they are more likely to tolerate feeling what they feel, and knowing what they know. The therapist can work to support them to be empowered and resourced. Somatic interventions include various forms of trauma processing, neurofeedback, meditation, dance, yoga and movement exercises. Somatic therapists may address the wounded self, the connection to self and how a client may use self-expression to treat trauma in the body. Somatic therapy deepens a client’s self- awareness through attuning to their symptoms, feelings, emotions, sensations and cognitions as a baseline to prompt growth and change. In a coherent state, the body is at its optimal range of functioning: neurotransmitters are firing properly, hormone and immune systems are functioning in a normal range, the digestive system is operating properly in a calm, less threatened way. The more clients understand their biology, the larger the picture of themselves becomes apparent and the more they can attend to the various, intricate ways of healing from the past.
