Somatic Psychotherapy and Coaching

How is somatic psychotherapy and somatic coaching different from other types of psychotherapy and coaching?

The term “somatic” comes from the Greek word “soma” meaning the living body. Beyond the tissue, skeleton and brain, the somatic self refers to the whole person you are, and when we work from a somatic perspective, we are particularly concerned with what you embody. Do you embody confidence, competence and trust? Do you embody integrity, authenticity and vitality? What do you embody? What would you like to embody? Somatic coaching and psychotherapy can help you change what you embody.

Let’s take an example. You may have ideas of how you would like to behave in a relationship that’s important to you, but when faced with the person in question, you find yourself triggered by old memories and experiences, behaving dramatically differently to your desires. A somatic approach works to help you bring your ideals into living action by focusing on the inter-relationship between your mind and body, enabling you to embody a more empowered way of being in this situation (and most likely other situations as well).

Working together toward already defined goals, or collaboratively to uncover what your ambition may be if it remains as yet unformed, we look closely at how you show up in the world and what you are doing that hampers you from realising your desires - whether these be professional (such as career change, promotion, leadership, change management, work/life balance) or personal (such as enhancing communication and relationships with others, feeling more confident, feeling fit and vital). Then we experiment with new ways of being and interacting both in the room together and at home with your peers and friends; co-design new practices for you to be in; checking in regularly to monitor your progress and satisfaction with our work together.

Somatic psychotherapy is most appropriate for clients with some significant historical concerns getting in the way of their current functioning and future goals.

Somatic coaching is most appropriate for clients with less history to manage and who already have an idea of what might be getting in the way of what they want to achieve. An initial assessment will help determine which approach is likely to be the most advantageous.