Body Psychotherapy (Somatic Therapy): Healing Through the Mind-Body Connection
Body Psychotherapy, also known as Somatic Therapy or Body-Oriented Psychotherapy, is an umbrella term for therapeutic approaches that recognize a simple but powerful reality: our bodies remember what our minds often try to forget.
Stress, trauma, anxiety and emotional experiences are not stored only in our thoughts. They also affect our nervous system, posture, breathing, muscle tension and physical sensations. Body psychotherapy helps people reconnect with these bodily experiences in a safe and therapeutic way, allowing emotional healing that goes beyond talking alone.
At My International Therapy, many of our therapists integrate body-based techniques within evidence-based psychotherapy, particularly when working with trauma, chronic stress, anxiety disorders, psychosomatic symptoms and emotional dysregulation.
What is Body Psychotherapy? What to expect in sessions?
Body psychotherapy is not one single therapeutic method. Instead, it includes a family of approaches that use awareness of the body as part of the healing process.
Rather than asking only “What are you thinking?”, a body-oriented therapist may also ask:
- What are you feeling in your body right now?
- Where do you notice tension?
- What happens in your breathing when you speak about this memory?
- What does your nervous system need in this moment?
The goal is not simply relaxation. It is to help the nervous system regain flexibility, process unresolved emotional experiences and create a greater sense of safety.
Different Types of Body-Based Therapies
Body psychotherapy includes several evidence-informed approaches. Each has its own techniques, but they all recognize the importance of the body in emotional healing.
Somatic Experiencing® (SE)
Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing focuses on gently releasing survival energy that remains trapped after traumatic experiences.
Rather than revisiting trauma in detail, the therapist helps clients notice subtle bodily sensations while remaining within a window of emotional tolerance.
Somatic Experiencing is often used for:
- PTSD
- Medical trauma
- Accidents
- Chronic anxiety
- Burnout
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy®
Created by Dr. Pat Ogden, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy combines attachment theory, neuroscience and body awareness.
It is particularly effective for developmental trauma, childhood emotional neglect and attachment wounds.
Sessions explore how emotions, posture, movement and implicit memories interact, helping clients develop new patterns of regulation.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
Although EMDR is primarily known as a trauma therapy, it is also deeply connected to the body.
During EMDR sessions, therapists regularly invite clients to notice:
- bodily sensations
- emotional activation
- nervous-system changes
- shifts in physical tension
Many EMDR therapists naturally integrate somatic techniques before, during and after trauma processing to ensure emotional safety and regulation.
Trauma-Informed Body-Based CBT
Many modern Cognitive Behavioural Therapists now integrate body awareness into traditional CBT.
This may include:
- breathing regulation
- grounding exercises
- interoceptive awareness
- mindfulness
- nervous-system regulation
- emotional regulation skills
This integrative approach combines the strengths of cognitive work with physiological regulation.
Mindfulness-Based Approaches
Mindfulness interventions teach clients to observe bodily sensations without judgment.
These approaches help strengthen emotional regulation, reduce reactivity and improve resilience to stress.
