As psychotherapists looking for trauma training, it would serve us and our clients well to get trained (or more trained) in understanding and using somatic practices. Staci Haines leads our online therapist training Somatics, Social Justice and Healing Trauma: Understanding Individual and Collective Transformation. Staci is a internationally recognized leader in the field of somatics and here we share a bit about the power of somatics from her perspective, as well as debunk some common misconceptions about somatics and trauma.
What is the field of somatics for therapists?
A core philosophy of somatics is that human dignity, safety, and belonging can be eroded by trauma and oppression. “Somatics” means wholeness of a living organism, which comes from the Greek word “soma”.
Generally speaking, somatic therapists use mind-body methods to relieve emotional and physical tension. This may include breathing exercises, meditation, dance, and other forms of body movement.
Somatic work can also be “generative”. We can align our individual and collective practices with our principles through this kind of somatic work that engages a mind/body methodology.
What makes somatic work “generative”?
The Free Embodied Transformation Training, who specializes in healing trauma and applying somatics to social justice movement building. By generative, we mean finding new ways to be in places where we feel stuck.
3 Common Misconceptions About Somatics and Trauma Therapy
- “Just asking what’s happening in the body is enough”
Somatic awareness isn’t enough for transformation. We need somatic opening and embodied practices as well to actually move the tension and integrate the awareness into understanding and shifts in thought and action.
- “People’s experiences are just individual”
We embody the social conditions we live in, whether or not we believe in them. The Embodied Transformation Training helps to heal individuals and community, as it works inside of a systems concept.
- “Social justice isn’t relevant to trauma healing”
We have to see the scale of what is impacting and shaping us to engage in deep healing and collective change. Our individual trauma is informed, and often times magnified, by social injustice, marginalization, and systemic internalized oppression.
Learn more about Somatics, Embodied Transformation, Trauma Work, and Dignity as a foundation for healing with Staci Haines in this latest offering from Academy of Therapy Wisdom.
FREE Live Webinar with Staci Haines
Understanding Individual and Collective Transformation
In this training, We will explore:
Automatic reactions for safety, belonging, and dignity become embodied behaviors.
Holistic trauma healing integrates social influences and embodied experiences.
Access longings, prioritize what matters, and center these in healing.
Somatic practices heal individual and collective traumas through body awareness.
Personal and social transformation are interconnected, mutually reinforcing change.
