Choosing the right therapy approach can be challenging, especially when navigating options like somatic therapy and eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), two powerful methods for addressing trauma and emotional healing. Both treatments focus on connecting mind and body but differ in technique and focus. Somatic therapy centers on body awareness to process stored emotions, while EMDR uses eye movements to reframe traumatic memories.
Understanding the distinct approaches of somatic therapy and EMDR is crucial in making an informed decision about your healing journey. Keep reading to explore the basics and key differences between these two types of trauma therapy.
What is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is essentially a body-centered approach to healing past trauma. It focuses on connecting the body and mind. Somatic therapy recognizes and acknowledges that trauma doesn’t just affect your emotions. It can also manifest through physical sensations in the body. Somatic experiencing therapy has been found to be an effective treatment for PTSD, and it’s commonly used to treat other types of trauma as well.
This type of therapy helps you process any unresolved trauma you’ve stored throughout your body. It tunes into sensations you feel and uses these cues to help you release energy that might negatively impact your life and relationships.
Somatic interventions can be very beneficial if you feel disconnected from your body or you experience physical symptoms of trauma, like chronic pain, tension, or numbness. When you become aware of these physical sensations and start to address them, you can begin doing deep emotional healing.
The core principles of somatic therapy
Somatic experiencing therapy’s main principle is that your body holds onto trauma, and healing can only occur once you work through the physical sensations it creates. You can tap into the trauma and release it by focusing on your body instead of cognitive processes like thoughts and emotions.
It’s based on a central framework known as SIBAM, which stands for sensation, imagery, behavior, affect, and meaning. The model guides the therapy process by focusing on the connection between bodily sensations and emotional experiences. You can use SIBAM to understand your trauma and start to regulate the emotional and physiological response to stress it has caused you.
- Sensation: Involves paying attention to physical sensations in your body
- Imagery: Uses exploration of mental images that come up during therapy
- Behavior: Notices bodily movements or actions related to the trauma you experienced
- Affect: Identifies emotions you have that are connected to the trauma
- Meaning: Understands the personal significance trauma had on your life
What is EMDR?
Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured style of psychotherapy that relieves stress caused by traumatic experiences and memories. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation — typically eye movement or tapping — to help your brain reprocess trauma. It’s a noninvasive approach that aims to reprocess memories in a healthier way so they have less of an impact on your daily life.
Research shows that EMDR is effective in treating conditions like PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other trauma-related conditions. It differs from talk therapy in that it doesn’t require you to dive into the specifics of a traumatic experience. Instead, the focus is more on how memories are stored in the brain and how you can alter the emotional reaction associated with them.
The 8 phases of EMDR
EMDR follows a structured step-by-step approach that’s divided into 8 distinct phases. Each has a specific identified purpose in how you process trauma.
- History Taking: Your therapist will gather detailed information about your life history, significant events, and trauma-related symptoms. This phase helps the therapist identify specific memories and triggers to focus on, laying the foundation for targeted EMDR treatment.
- Preparation: During this phase, the therapist will explain how EMDR works and address any questions or concerns you may have. They’ll also teach you self-soothing and relaxation techniques, like deep breathing or visualization, to help you manage any distress that may arise during or between sessions.
- Assessment: Together, you’ll identify a specific traumatic memory you want to work on, along with the negative beliefs or emotions connected to it, such as “I am unsafe” or “I am powerless.” This step helps establish a clear target for the reprocessing work, setting the stage for change.
- Desensitization: Using bilateral stimulation (such as guided eye movements, taps, or sounds), your brain is encouraged to reprocess the traumatic memory, reducing its emotional charge. This step is often repeated until the memory feels less distressing, allowing you to view it with a greater sense of calm.
- Installation: In this phase, the therapist helps you reinforce positive beliefs to replace the previously identified negative ones, like “I am strong” or “I am in control.” The goal is to create a healthier association with the memory, fostering a more empowering perspective on past events.
- Body scan: You’ll be guided to scan your body for any lingering physical sensations, such as tension or discomfort, that might be connected to the trauma. This step helps release any remaining physical responses, promoting a sense of ease and allowing for more complete emotional healing.
- Closure: Before ending the session, the therapist ensures you feel safe, grounded, and stable, often guiding you through relaxation techniques to help you leave feeling calm. If needed, they’ll suggest strategies to handle any emotions that may surface between sessions, preparing you for the next phase of work.
- Re-evaluation: In the following session, your therapist assesses your progress with the memory to see how much distress remains and whether additional sessions are needed. This ongoing evaluation helps gauge your healing progress, allowing for adjustments to meet your specific needs.
Each of these phases is crucial in supporting the safe and structured processing of traumatic memories, ultimately helping reduce emotional distress and fostering a more positive outlook.
Key Differences Between Somatic Therapy and EMDR
While somatic therapy and EMDR are both powerful methods for trauma treatment, they differ significantly in focus, technique, trauma processing, and ideal use cases.
Focus
Somatic therapy is rooted in the body’s physical response to trauma. This approach encourages you to tune into bodily sensations, recognizing them as pathways to emotional release and healing. By focusing on physical feelings, such as tension, discomfort, or relaxation, somatic therapy aims to help you reconnect with your body as part of the healing process.
EMDR, by contrast, centers on the brain’s processing of traumatic memories. It uses a structured, step-by-step method with bilateral stimulation—such as guided eye movements or taps—to reprocess distressing memories. This technique aims to help your brain store these memories in a less emotionally charged way, reducing their impact on your daily life.
Technique
In somatic therapy sessions, your therapist will guide you to notice and connect with your bodily sensations. Using techniques like breathwork, gentle movement, and mindfulness, they’ll help you stay present and grounded, allowing your body’s natural responses to guide the therapy process. This physical focus provides a safe environment to explore and release stored trauma through the body.
In EMDR, bilateral stimulation is the central tool for desensitizing and reprocessing traumatic memories. As you think about a traumatic event, the therapist guides you through eye movements, sounds, or taps, which help the brain integrate and neutralize the memory. This structured, evidence-based technique aims to lessen the memory’s intensity and disrupt the distressing patterns it may cause.
Trauma processing
Somatic therapy processes trauma through the body by encouraging awareness and release of physical sensations associated with traumatic experiences. This approach recognizes that trauma can become “stuck” in the body and works to release it through mindful attention and therapeutic practices that target bodily responses.
EMDR, on the other hand, processes trauma primarily in the mind. By activating the part of the brain where the trauma is stored and guiding it through reprocessing, EMDR aims to reduce the emotional charge associated with the memory. This mental approach allows the brain to store the memory in a way that feels less distressing and overwhelming.
Use cases
Somatic therapy is beneficial when trauma manifests as physical symptoms, such as chronic pain, muscle tension, or physical numbness. It’s a beneficial approach if you feel disconnected from your emotions, have difficulty identifying feelings, or notice that your trauma shows up physically in your body.
EMDR is often effective for those dealing with specific, distressing memories or conditions like PTSD, anxiety, or phobias. It is beneficial when your trauma is tied to particular events or experiences, making it ideal for individuals looking to reframe and lessen the emotional impact of specific memories.
“Somatic therapy may be more effective for clients who have a disconnect from their bodies or who carry psychological trauma as physical tension, as it focuses on body awareness and releasing stored trauma through movement and sensation. EMDR may be more suitable for clients dealing with specific traumatic memories or PTSD, as it focuses on reprocessing these memories in order to reduce their negative impact. It is often effective for individuals who need structured trauma processing without too much focus on bodily sensations.”
– Talkspace therapist, Bisma Anwar, LPC, LMHC
Choosing the Right Therapy
Choosing the right therapy can be an overwhelming experience. It often feels like there’s a lot at stake, but deciding between somatic therapy and EMDR therapy just depends on your unique needs and how your trauma has impacted your life. Fortunately, some guidelines can help you determine which might be more appropriate.
When to consider somatic therapy
Somatic therapy might be right for you if you:
- Experience chronic physical symptoms like pain, tension, or numbness because of trauma
- Feel disconnected from your body or emotions
- Are interested in a therapeutic approach that integrates mind and body
- Have tried talk therapy before, but feel like there’s a deeper physical level of trauma that wasn’t fully addressed
When to consider EMDR
EMDR might be a good option if you:
- Have specific traumatic memories that are difficult to process
- Frequently have flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive thoughts related to psychological trauma
- Prefer a more structured, step-by-step therapeutic process
- Want a therapy style that doesn’t require you to talk or recount much of your trauma
When to Consider Combining Both Therapies
Combining somatic therapy and EMDR can create a powerful ongoing therapy plan that addresses trauma’s emotional, physical, and cognitive dimensions. Because somatic treatment focuses on the body’s response and EMDR addresses traumatic memories stored in your brain, using both therapies together might help you fully address the emotional, physical, and cognitive parts of your trauma.
“Combining EMDR and somatic therapy can be highly effective for clients who need both cognitive processing and physical/emotional release. EMDR helps reprocess traumatic memories, while somatic therapy addresses how trauma is held in the body. This approach allows clients to process disturbing memories as well as release stored trauma in the body.”
– Talkspace therapist, Bisma Anwar, LPC, LMHC
If your therapist agrees this might be a good approach, you might begin with somatic techniques to reconnect with your body so you can release the energy. Once you feel in touch with your body, you might then move to EMDR to help you reprocess the memories that are tied to your traumatic event.
If this is the route you take, it is best to find a therapist who is trained in both EMDR and somatic therapy approaches.
Making the Right Choice for Your Healing Journey
There is no “right” way to cope with trauma. Both somatic therapy and EMDR are effective and considered evidence-based treatments, but they use different approaches. When you’re choosing which therapy might offer the best outcome, consider things like your individual needs, how the trauma has impacted your life, and which therapeutic approach resonates with you most. Talking to a therapist who specializes in trauma is an excellent way to determine which therapy style might be right for you.
Talkspace offers access to somatic therapists online that can support you on your path to recovery. Whether you ultimately decide on somatic therapy, EMDR, or a combined approach, trauma therapy can help you move forward and reclaim your life. Learn more about somatic therapy with Talkspace by reaching out today.
