Somatic Therapy for Trauma: Reconnecting With Your Body After Survival
If you’ve lived through trauma, you may already know that healing isn’t just a “mind” process—your body remembers, too. Many trauma survivors describe feeling stuck in survival mode, even when life is “fine” on the surface. Somatic therapy offers a gentle, body-based path forward that helps you release what your nervous system has been holding.
As a trauma psychologist providing virtual therapy across Michigan, I often support clients with PTSD, C-PTSD, medical trauma, assault, and chronic stress who feel disconnected from their bodies. Somatic work gives them a way to feel grounded, safe, and present again—slowly, at their own pace.
What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy focuses on the connection between your mind and body. Instead of only talking about trauma, we explore how trauma shows up physically—tightness, numbness, heaviness, restlessness, or feeling “outside” your body.
Trauma often overwhelms the nervous system, leaving the body stuck in patterns like fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Somatic work helps you gently shift out of those patterns so your body can experience real safety again.
How Trauma Lives in the Body
Many people with PTSD or C-PTSD experience symptoms that don’t appear emotional at first:
Trouble breathing deeply
Chronic muscle tension
Feeling disconnected or numb
Overreacting to small triggers
Trouble settling or sleeping
A helpful way to think about trauma is this: Your body is like a smoke alarm that keeps going off long after the fire is out.
Somatic therapy helps you turn the alarm down so you can live without being on edge all the time.
How Somatic Therapy Helps With Trauma & C-PTSD
Somatic therapy is especially powerful for trauma because it supports healing on the level where trauma actually lives—the nervous system.
It can help you:
Feel grounded and calm in your body
Reduce panic, hypervigilance, and overwhelm
Reconnect with emotions safely
Release tension stored in muscles and breath
Improve sleep and rest
Build a sense of control and safety
For clients with C-PTSD, somatic work helps slow down long-standing patterns of emotional shutdown, numbing, and constant alertness. It supports your system in learning that safety is possible.
Common Somatic Techniques Used in Trauma Therapy
Somatic therapy doesn’t mean reliving trauma or “forcing your body to feel.” Everything is gentle, slow, and collaborative. Some approaches include:
Grounding & Centering
Noticing your breath, posture, or the feeling of your feet on the floor to help your nervous system settle.
Titration & Pendulation
Small, manageable steps that let your body process emotion without overwhelm.
Body Awareness & Sensory Tracking
Learning to recognize sensations that signal stress—and those that signal safety.
Movement & Release
Gentle stretching, shifting posture, or small movements that help energy “complete” or discharge.
In trauma therapy, we always go at your pace. There is no pushing, forcing, or going somewhere before you’re ready.
How Somatic Therapy Works in Virtual Sessions (Telehealth)
Somatic therapy is highly effective online. Many clients actually find virtual sessions more comfortable, because they can work from a familiar, safe environment.
During online sessions, we may:
Notice breath or muscle tension
Explore posture or grounding techniques
Use guided somatic exercises
Incorporate sensory items you already have at home
Work at a slower pace to avoid overwhelm
You do not need special equipment. You do not need to show your full body on camera. We work with what you feel internally, not how you look externally.
Who I Support With Somatic Trauma Therapy (Michigan Telehealth)
I work with teens and adults across Michigan navigating:
PTSD & C-PTSD
Medical trauma & chronic stress
Assault or violence
Childhood trauma
Relationship trauma
First responder or healthcare burnout
Military or veteran trauma
If you’ve ever felt “stuck,” “numb,” “on edge,” or like your body is carrying more than you can name—somatic therapy can help.
Why Somatic Therapy Works
Somatic therapy helps you build a new kind of relationship with your body—one rooted in safety rather than survival. You learn to interpret your body’s signals, regulate your nervous system, and soften lifelong protective patterns.
It’s not about reliving the past.
It’s about teaching the body that the past is over.
Begin Somatic Therapy
Healing doesn’t happen all at once. It happens gently, consistently, and at a pace that honors your story. If you’re ready to reconnect with your body and move toward peace, I’m here to help.
📍 Offering telehealth trauma therapy across Michigan
About the Author
I’m a trauma-focused therapist serving clients across Michigan through secure online telehealth. I specialize in childhood trauma, emotional neglect, PTSD/CPTSD, medical trauma, relationship trauma, physical or sexual assault, and Veteran trauma. My work is grounded in compassion, collaboration, and helping clients reconnect with safety and self-trust.
