Working with clients affected by trauma can be a challenge at the best of times. It is often heartbreaking to see the significant effects of the traumatic experience on the client who, while often not responsible for the traumatic event, is still left with picking up the pieces and trying to move forward in the midst of experiencing psychological and physiological barriers.
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Somatic Exercises for Overcoming Trauma
When exposed to a traumatic event, the individual will likely experience a form of stress response, such as fight, flight or freeze. At times however, and which is often seen in individuals with PTSD, the stress response is never fully completed, with the individual continually getting “stuck” in their stress response.
If you are new to therapeutic practices based on somatic experiencing, below you will find three simple exercises designed to be a great starting point to help your clients with engaging in emotional regulation, self-soothing and releasing stress.
Self-soothing touch somatic exercise for trauma:
- Find a comfortable and quiet space to sit down.
- Place one hand below the opposite armpit and place the other hand on top of the opposite arm, between the elbow and the shoulder, hugging yourself.
- Draw your attention to the sensation of being held and contained.
- Pay attention to the physical sensations around the areas you are touching.
- Explore the sensations of the hand under the armpit, such as the temperature and pressure.
- Explore the sensations on the skin and muscles of the arm being hugged by the other hand.
- Explore the sensations of feeling your arms across the chest.
- Connect to the emotional experience this creates within you, perhaps you feel safe and contained. Keep exploring your physical and emotional experience, connecting to any and all pleasant sensations that arise.
Shake it off somatic exercise for managing trauma:
- Find a space where you feel comfortable and safe shaking.
- You can do this by either lying on the floor or standing up.
- Start by shaking your legs. Let the energy move through your body as you shake.
- Continue up your body and start shaking your arms and hands.
- It can be helpful to imagine that you are shaking off the sand from your body after going to the beach, or dusting snow off your jacket as you come in after a snowstorm.
- Explore any other movements that might feel good for your body.
- Now, come back to a resting position, either sitting or lying down.
- Take a moment to utilise deep and paced breathing to help bring your body and mind back into a state of calm and balance.
The voo sound somatic exercise for trauma:
- Find a space where you feel comfortable and free to vocalize.
- Start by finding a comfortable seated position.
- Pay attention to your body, sensations, and to the present experience for a moment.
- Now bring your attention to your breath for a few moments. Taking deep and slow breaths.
- Imagine the sound of a foghorn. A low-pitch, intense sound.
- Inhale deeply and make the sound of a foghorn as you exhale, just like a “voo” sound. Let it resonate through your abdomen and chest as you breathe out.
- After exhaling, allow the next inhalation to come in naturally and stop for a few seconds before again exhaling and making the "voo" sound.
- Practice a few more times, each time paying attention to the sensations in your body as you exhale.
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Somatic Experiencing Therapy for Trauma
While there are many therapy modalities available to assist clients in managing their trauma response, one method that stands out for helping clients move through and break out of their stress and trauma response is somatic experiencing therapy.
Somatic experiencing therapy assists the client by focusing on how stress and trauma affects the body. Somatic experiencing centers around increasing bodily awareness, while finding ways to release the trauma and increase engagement in relaxation.
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What makes somatic experiencing very different to many traditional talk therapies is its focus on physical sensations and how emotions appear in the body, as opposed to targeting the thought processes and behaviours.
Key focuses of somatic experiencing therapy for trauma:
Two central components of somatic experiencing are the felt sense and the ability to engage in pendulation.
The felt sense is an awareness of the internal state of one’s body. It helps with detecting and informing us of our internal regulation responses. A felt sense is not a mental experience but a physical one. It is the bodily awareness of a situation, person or event. By paying attention to our felt sense, we can bring awareness inside our body and notice the interactions of feelings, sensations, pain, pressures etc
Pendulation is the idea that we can move back and forth from dysregulation to regulation by recognising where heightened and calm areas exist in our bodies. The idea is that a resilient nervous system is one that can move back and forth between alertness and action, calm and rest, without getting stuck at either end of the extreme. To be able to practice this, it can first be helpful to identify where in your body you feel the most activated (anxious, angry, upset) and where you feel the calmest.
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Our trauma worksheets mega bundle has been developed to assist therapists and counselors working with clients facing trauma and PTSD related symptoms. All information, exercises and activities found in our trauma worksheets mega bundle are based on proven and effective therapy modalities and are designed to be practical and engaging. Our mega bundle products are our most comprehensive resources available and are designed to provide you with a complete therapy toolbox.
PTSD and trauma worksheets for therapists and counselors:
If you are interested in resources to help in supporting your clients through trauma and PTSD, you can find links to our worksheets designed specifically for this purpose through-out this blog and in our store.
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