Healing After Trauma: Combing Somatic Therapy with Talk Therapy

 

Healing from trauma is rarely a straight path. For many people, traditional talk therapy has been a lifeline - offering space to process memories, build coping skills, and find words for painful experiences. Yet sometimes, even after years of talking, something still feels unresolved. The mind may understand, but the body continues to carry tension, flashbacks, or chronic stress.

This is where somatic therapy and talk therapy can work hand in hand. By combining the insight of talk therapy with the body-awareness of somatic practices, survivors of trauma often experience deeper healing than with either approach alone. 

Why Trauma Healing Needs Both Mind and Body

Trauma doesn't only live in memory. It imprints itself on the nervous system, muscles, and even patterns of breath. You may know you're safe, yet your body reacts as if danger is still present - racing heart, shallow breathing, or muscle tightness.

• Talk therapy helps you create meaning, understand your story, and feel less alone.
• Somatic therapy helps you release the body's survival responses that talking alone can't shift.

Together, they provide both cognitive insight and embodied relief. 

The Strengths of Talk Therapy

Talk therapy is powerful because it allows:

• Safe expression: Putting words into experiences that may have been hidden for years.
• Understanding patterns: Recognizing how past events affect present behaviors.
• Validation: Having a compassionate listener who affirms your story.
• Cognitive reframing: Shifting from self-blame to self-compassion.

But sometimes words only go so far. Many clients describe being able to "tell the story" of their trauma while still feeling the same physical reactions when triggered. 

What Somatic Therapy Adds

Somatic therapy focuses on the felt sense - the physical sensations, movements, and shifts in energy that arise during healing. It often involves:

• Grounding techniques (feeling feet on the floor, noticing support).
• Tracking body sensations (noticing tightness, warmth, or changes in breath).
• Gentle movement or breath work to release stored stress. 
• Completing survival responses (like shaking, pushing, or stretching) that the body never finished during the traumatic event.

This helps the nervous system realize: the danger is over, and I am safe now. 

How the Two Work Together

When combined, talk therapy and somatic therapy can create a more complete path forward. For example:

• While telling the story of a traumatic memory in talk therapy, a client may notice a knot in their stomach. Switching to somatic tracking allows them to stay with that sensation safely until it eases.
• When anxiety is overwhelming, somatic ground exercises can calm the body enough for the client to reflect and share in words.
• Insights from talk therapy ("I wasn't to blame") become more deeply embodied when paired with somatic release (relaxed muscles, easier breath).

This blend honors both the story and the nervous system response. 

A Client Example (Composite Story)

Consider "Anna" (not a real client, but composite example). Anna spent years in talk therapy after a car accident. She understood the accident wasn't her fault, but every time she got behind the wheel, her body froze, and her chest tightened.

Through somatic therapy, Anna learned to notice her body's signals, practice grounding before driving, and gently release the stored fear through breath and movement. With both approaches together, she didn't just know she was safe - she finally felt safe. 

When This Approach is Especially Helpful

Combining talk and somatic therapy can be particularly effective for:

• People who've felt "stuck" after years of talk therapy.
• Survivors of accidents, assaults, or natural disasters who still feel body-based fear.
• Those with chronic anxiety or hypervigilance after trauma.
• Clients who struggle to find words but can connect through sensations. 

Talking the First Step

If you've done talk therapy before and still feel the weight of trauma in your body, you're not alone. Healing is not about choosing either mind or body - it's about giving both the attention they need.

Healing after trauma is the most powerful when both the mind and the body are included in the process. Talk therapy gives you understanding, while somatic therapy helps you release what words can't touch. Together, they open the door to lasting change.

If you live in or near Rifle, CO, and are curious about combining these approaches, I invite you to reach out. let's talk about what healing might look like for you.