What is a somatic approach?
Who I work with
Benefits
My practice aimes to compassionately and safely welcome people from all walks of life, in a manner that is attentive to your gender expression, ethnic and cultural background, relational and sexual orientation, religion and spirituality, physical abilities or social class.
– a better understanding of yourself, your goals and your values, to help your personal and professional development
– improved ability to cope with a variety of stressors and challenges
– reduced stress and anxiety
– reduced negative thoughts and self-destructive behaviours
– improved relationships with others and with oneself
– greater self-confidence and a more optimistic attitude to life.
– greater awareness of self and inner experience: sensations, emotions and the body in general
– relief from symptoms of traumatic stress (anxiety, depression, addictions, chronic pain, body tension)
– release of the survival energy stored in the body
– increased capacity of resilience and self-regulation
– integration of traumatic experiences into a coherent understanding of your life
Content of a session
My practice involves a mix of somatic explorations, discussions, educational content and suggestions for practices to integrate into daily life.
My approach is based on the autonomy of each individual: each person carries within themself the vital resources to heal and flourish. I help those who wish to do so to become aware of their capacities and learn to use them.
What is the somatic approach?
The somatic approach is based on the premise that experiences leave a mark in the body, and that "the body keeps the score", as neuroscientist and physician Gabor Maté wrote. Thus, stresses, traumas, difficulties or fears leave their mark, and it is possible to dislodge and neutralize them by "listening to the body".
The somatic approach differs from other more cognitive approaches in that it places the body and its processes at the heart of transformation and healing. It is based on listening to and working with the body's sensations. The body communicates first and foremost through the language of sensations, only to be followed by emotions, gestures, thoughts, images and mental representations. Working with sensations as well as these other modes of communication enables us to enter into a deep conversation with the body, to better understand what is affecting us and how best to respond to it for healing and transformation.
In this day and age, we tend to over-analyze situations and our experiences. We rely heavily on our ability to understand them in order to transform their impact on our lives and our own reactions. But reason has its limits. By choosing a holistic approach where we work with all facets of human experience, we offer ourselves the support of all the forms of intelligence to which humans have access: body sensations, emotions, thoughts, gestures, relationships and the imagination.
What does it look like?
On a practical level, the person engaging in a process of somatic exploration is invited to focus their attention on the sensations present in their body when they evoke a memory, share a thought or dwell on a recurring behaviour or sensation. They are then invited to stay with these sensations, letting them grow or transform and follow their course. This process can lead to the emergence of certain images or thoughts, movements or vocalizations, or even to the revelation of a new meaning regarding a particular behaviour or situation. It can be used to resolve problems caused by trauma, as well as to support people who wish to increase their capacity to be authentically present in the world and to flourish. People who experience this often report a sense of greater ease, physically, psychologically and spiritually.
Tools & practices
Here is a non-exhaustive list of examples of practices and tools I can suggest working with during our sessions. Of course, your consent is of the utmost importance at every moment of the practice. I make sure to listen for yes's, no's and hesitations, whether they are present in words or in what the body can communicate without words, as well as to support your own ability to feel and express them.
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Visualizations
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Grounding, orienting and centering practices
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Exploration of gestures, memories, sensations, behaviors, attitudes and ways of being, using the SIBAM model (Sensations, Images, Behaviors, Affect, Meaning)
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Self-massage and self-touch
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Touch that supports the integration of experiences
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EFT (tapping)
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Exercises from qi gong and other conscious movement traditions
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Writing and drawing exercises
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Guided meditations
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Invitations to reflection and analysis
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etc.
Somatic Experiencing
From a therapeutic perspective, the Somatic Experiencing approach enables the safe, progressive resolution of incomplete survival reactions - such as flight, fight or freeze - whose energy has been stored by the body during past or present stressful or traumatic situations. It is this blocked energy that is very often the source of physical and psychological traumatic symptoms (flashbacks, chronic pain, anxiety, distress, triggers, insomnia, relationship difficulties, difficulty concentrating, etc.). By working with the body's senses, we can renegotiate and heal traumas rather than simply re-experience and replay them. To do this, we work with one small piece of traumatic material at a time, to avoid overwhelming the body's regulatory mechanisms, rather than with a catharsis approach where we seek a very strong emotional discharge. The somatic approach supports the natural healing processes of the body and helps increase resilience and access to one's inner and outer resources to live a better life.
Somatic Coaching
In coaching, the somatic approach enables embodied transformations, where changes in behavior and beliefs become deeply rooted, becoming second nature and accessible over the long term, even in situations of great stress.
In order to transform ourselves, it's not enough to have good ideas or simply a clear understanding of the problems we face or of our reactions to them. By working somatically on our patterns, we get to the root of the survival strategies, attitudes and beliefs that no longer serve us and that limit our potential for self-fulfilment. In this way, the somatic approach provides support with tools and embodied practices that sustain the ability to live in alignment with one's values and to achieve one's goals.