For many people, the idea of revisiting difficult memories may feel like an insurmountable mountain that only gets bigger and more in the way. Taking the first step to revisit a traumatic experience takes a big step of hope and confidence.
Healing from trauma is a complex and deeply personal journey that often requires a multifaceted approach. While therapy plays a crucial role in the healing process, there are also various other avenues individuals can explore to support their recovery. In this blog, we’ll delve into therapeutic modalities such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Somatic therapy and how they offer healing from trauma and other stressors.
Why Trauma Therapy Can Be Hard
It’s a common human experience to want something to go away and to experience as little discomfort as possible during the process. For many people, the idea of revisiting difficult memories may feel like an insurmountable mountain that only gets bigger and more in the way. Taking the first step to revisit a traumatic experience takes a big step of hope and confidence. After all, going back to an event symbolized by intense emotional pain is difficult—A strong lineup of negative emotions like anger, shame, fear, and sadness will surface. Know this: the safe, supportive space that trauma therapy offers is a pathway to healing from trauma. When you work with me, or any other trauma-trained therapist, you will experience a safe environment, where you will move forward when you’re ready and confident. When we work together, I will both teach and remind you of strategies that you have to navigate the discomfort and uncomfortable emotions you may feel.
There are a number of strategies that exist that treat trauma—both new and old. In this article, we review somatic experiencing and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy also discharges energy trapped in the nervous system through gentle movement and mindfulness practices.
This therapy type is relatively new. It focuses on the body’s connection to trauma as well as stress, and how to reconfigure that connection to be less stressful. Somatic therapy’s focus is more on relieving the tension in the body—utilizing the body’s innate capacity to heal from trauma through the regulation of physiological arousal and nervous system activation—rather than tackling trauma-related thoughts. This approach emphasizes tracking bodily sensations, movements, and experiences, thereby promoting relaxation. Somatic therapy also discharges energy trapped in the nervous system through gentle movement and mindfulness practices. Somatic experiencing, or somatic therapy facilitates the renegotiation of trauma responses and restores a sense of safety and resilience.
Somatic experiencing uses techniques like
● Hypnosis
● Body awareness exercises
● Breathing exercises
● Acupressure
to soothe tension points and help you safely reconnect with your body. Somatic therapy not only addresses trauma, but also ongoing stress, anxiety, and other mental health conditions where the body stores extra energy. Although somatic experiencing therapy can be a powerful tool for trauma healing, it does not have the success rate of established treatments like the more specialized treatment of EMDR, due to its newness.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR):
As noted in previous posts, EMDR is a psychotherapy approach designed to alleviate distress associated with traumatic memories. It involves a structured protocol where clients recall traumatic experiences while simultaneously focusing on bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, auditory tones, or tactile sensations. EMDR helps reprocess traumatic memories, reduce emotional reactivity, and promote adaptive resolution. Something that EMDR and somatic experiencing both share is addressing the sensations that are stored in the body. This is particularly relevant when there was trauma prenatally or during birth, where the person does not have the words or emotions to express how they felt, but they are aware of it in their body. Comparable to somatic experiencing, EMDR can help individuals to focus on the sensations they feel and, while using bilateral stimulation—visually, tactile, hand movements, or otherwise, work to address the symptoms they experience.
EMDR for Childhood trauma
At BridgeHope Family Therapy, licensed marriage and family therapist, Dr. Bradford Stucki has received training in EMDR and treating trauma. If you have an event from childhood, or more recently that you consider traumatic, reach out today to start on your path to resolution and change.
