Why trauma therapy should include the body
The effects of trauma are as diverse as the people who experience them, and can appear in individuals of every age and from every walk of life. Traditionally, trauma therapy has focused on the emotional, behavioral, and mental response to trauma, using methods like cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR, group therapy, and hypnotherapy, to name a few common treatment options. While these therapies can be highly beneficial for individuals who have experienced trauma, they don’t address the whole picture.
Traumatic experiences don’t only affect the mind, they affect the body, too. There’s the obvious physical trauma that can occur during violent abuse or in a car crash, but there’s also the less-understood lasting-bodily-effects of trauma. Trauma stores itself in the body, often manifesting as physical and emotional symptoms even years after a trauma has passed.
“Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from themselves.”
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
If you have ever experienced a panic attack, a flashback to a traumatic event, or a traumatic trigger, you know exactly what this means. Trauma can feel like sudden nausea, physical tension, and even chronic pain. While working to overcome the mental anguish of trauma can help to alleviate some of these symptoms, many patients seeking treatment for their trauma also benefit from a body-centered approach to healing.
A number of somatic have begun to gain more traction, becoming more readily used by therapists treating patients with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of trauma. These methods combine traditional talk therapies and trauma processing techniques with mindfulness exercises and verbal processing of physical sensations.
At All of You Therapy, we take a holistic approach to trauma therapy, engaging both with the emotional struggles of our patients, and with their very real physical manifestations of past pain, grief, and neglect. By creating a safe space for our patients to explore how their minds and bodies respond to the world, we can help to grow self-awareness, self-understanding, self-love, and self-confidence all while working through the trauma.