What is Somatic Therapy?
“Soma,” the Greek word for “body,” forms the root of somatics—the study of how we perceive and inhabit our bodies from the inside out. In therapy, developing body awareness expands our understanding of what happens beyond thoughts and emotions. Every experience has a physiological layer; for example, anger or fear might show up as tightness, tingling, or shifts in breathing and heart rate. Attuning to these sensations helps us view healing as a whole-body process rather than only a mental one.
Our nervous system has an innate capacity to regulate and recover from challenges. When that system becomes disrupted, people often seek therapy. By engaging the body directly, we can reconnect with this natural resilience and support the body’s organic ability to move through stress and return to balance.
My Philosophy on Art and its Role in the Therapeutic Process
Therapy is a self-reflective process. The act of making art is a tactile and playful arena to explore how you make choices and react to stimuli. Consequences and change can make life choices overwhelming. As Oscar Wilde says, life imitates art and vice versa, making art a wonderful space to build our decision-making muscles. Research suggests that creative processes engage multiple interconnected networks of the body including the Default Mode Network, Central Executive Network, and the Salience Network. These networks are responsible for our every day actions and are largely wired from early childhood and memorable or challenging events. These networks are hard wired and difficult to change. Through the medium of art- these networks can be rewired and employed in more beneficial ways.