"If you make a new body, you make a new self
— a new personality"
—Kathy Kain, Berkeley California. Teacher of somatic therapy
Somatic therapy is essentially a self-awareness process with a particular focus on the body. You may notice in the body – sensations, automatic reactions, or physical patterns in both muscular and organ systems, and their accompanying emotional states. With guided practice to help you sense and remain present in the body during the "activation" of these patterns you may see them begin to come under your control, or regulation. This new level of body awareness allows you to explore new ways of experiencing and responding to events in your life, and will help heal some symptoms of physical or nervous disorders and syndromes. The list below includes some of the areas where this work can be helpful.
Clients who see Douglas Smith for individual therapy may:
- Have suffered trauma
- Feel bound by the current state of their life
- Have anxiety or depression
- Have physical symptoms of stress
- Want a tool to manage illness or pain
- Want pre- or post surgery support
- Seek better self-control
- Believe they are addicted
- Have problems with relationships
- Want to calm the mind
- Be seeking personal growth