The strong link between the mind and the body’s role in healing has enjoyed recognition in recent years. This connection is central in Individual Somatic Counselling Therapy, a method of therapy that provides awareness and healing of emotional and psychological stress through the body. Compared to traditional talking therapies which predominately address cognitive processing, somatic counselling utilises body sensations, movement, and body-based awareness to move beyond limited cognitive understanding into deeper layers of our experiences.
Body awareness is about noticing and forming meanings of the subtle sensations, tensions or movements that occur in the body. These internal signals generally contain valuable information regarding our emotions, unresolved trauma, and our subconscious behavioral patterns. For some people, previous experiences, particularly ones that are traumatic, are held not just in the mind, but also in the body. Tight muscles, shallow breathing, a churning gut, and other physical symptoms can all represent emotional holding patterns that have set into the body over the years.
In Individual Somatic Counselling Therapy clients learn to gently follow these sensations in a safe and supported environment. Using methods like breathwork, body scanning, grounding, and guided movement, clients are learning to be aware of how their body responds to different emotions and triggers. This insight can uncover long-standing patterns of tension or escape that are not accessible to words only.
Clients can slowly start addressing the origins of their suffering and releasing them, as they connect more deeply to the body. For instance, a client struggling with chronic anxiety might realize their shoulders are always tight, or notice their stomach clenching every time they have a certain thought or interact in a certain way. With a trained somatic therapist, they can investigate what emotional roots contribute to these responses and how to respond with curiosity and compassion, rather than with fear or by pushing it down.
And body awareness helps with nervous system regulation, which is fundamental to emotional resilience and mental health. "When people learn to recognize the early signs of dysregulation, they can use somatic tools to re-regulate, from deep breathing to walking mindfully to grounding exercises." This builds greater capacity dealing with triggers and emotional intensity in daily life.
Somatic healing doesn’t happen in a straight line and often takes patience, practice and presence. Yet, the gains from practising body awareness with Individual Somatic Counselling Therapy can be significant. Participants have shared that they have developed greater self-awareness, have experienced lower somatic complaints, have achieved better emotional control and experienced greater feelings of self-connection.
In short, body awareness is the way into and way through somatic counselling. It allows people to tap into wisdom beyond the level of conscious thought, and to move toward healing that is more lasting, and through the body. For the integratively focused individual looking for a more holistic type of therapy, somatic counselling provides a gentle and powerful way ahead. Whether you have experienced trauma, struggle with anxiety, or live with chronic stress, this process of becoming aware of your body in therapy can be a path toward health and wholeness.
