Choosing the proper remedy strategy could be difficult, particularly when navigating choices like somatic remedy and eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), two highly effective strategies for addressing trauma and emotional therapeutic. Each remedies deal with connecting thoughts and physique however differ in method and focus. Somatic remedy facilities on physique consciousness to course of saved feelings, whereas EMDR makes use of eye actions to reframe traumatic recollections.

Understanding the distinct approaches of somatic remedy and EMDR is essential in making an knowledgeable choice about your therapeutic journey. Hold studying to discover the fundamentals and key variations between these two forms of trauma remedy.

What’s Somatic Remedy?

Somatic remedy is basically a body-centered strategy to therapeutic previous trauma. It focuses on connecting the physique and thoughts. Somatic remedy acknowledges and acknowledges that trauma doesn’t simply have an effect on your feelings. It could possibly additionally manifest by bodily sensations within the physique. Somatic experiencing remedy has been discovered to be an efficient remedy for PTSD, and it’s generally used to deal with different forms of trauma as nicely.

Such a remedy helps you course of any unresolved trauma you’ve saved all through your physique. It tunes into sensations you are feeling and makes use of these cues that can assist you launch vitality that may negatively influence your life and relationships.

Somatic interventions could be very useful for those who really feel disconnected out of your physique otherwise you expertise bodily signs of trauma, like continual ache, pressure, or numbness. Whenever you turn out to be conscious of those bodily sensations and begin to tackle them, you may start doing deep emotional therapeutic.

The core ideas of somatic remedy

Somatic experiencing remedy’s foremost precept is that your physique holds onto trauma, and therapeutic can solely happen as soon as you’re employed by the bodily sensations it creates. You may faucet into the trauma and launch it by focusing in your physique as a substitute of cognitive processes like ideas and feelings.

It’s primarily based on a central framework referred to as SIBAM, which stands for sensation, imagery, conduct, have an effect on, and which means. The mannequin guides the remedy course of by specializing in the connection between bodily sensations and emotional experiences. You should use SIBAM to grasp your trauma and begin to regulate the emotional and physiological response to emphasize it has precipitated you.

1. Sensation: Includes taking note of bodily sensations in your physique
2. Imagery: Makes use of exploration of psychological photographs that come up throughout remedy
3. Conduct: Notices bodily actions or actions associated to the trauma you skilled
4. Have an effect on: Identifies feelings you’ve gotten which are related to the trauma
5. That means: Understands the private significance trauma had in your life

What’s EMDR?

Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured model of psychotherapy that relieves stress brought on by traumatic experiences and recollections. EMDR makes use of bilateral stimulation — sometimes eye motion or tapping — to assist your mind reprocess trauma. It’s a noninvasive strategy that goals to reprocess recollections in a more healthy means in order that they have much less of an influence in your each day life.

Analysis reveals that EMDR is efficient in treating situations like PTSD, anxiousness, melancholy, and different trauma-related situations. It differs from speak remedy in that it doesn’t require you to dive into the specifics of a traumatic expertise. As a substitute, the main target is extra on how recollections are saved within the mind and how one can alter the emotional response related to them.

The 8 phases of EMDR

EMDR follows a structured step-by-step strategy that’s divided into 8 distinct phases. Every has a selected recognized goal in the way you course of trauma.

1. Historical past Taking: Your therapist will collect detailed details about your life historical past, important occasions, and trauma-related signs. This section helps the therapist establish particular recollections and triggers to deal with, laying the inspiration for focused EMDR remedy.
2. Preparation: Throughout this section, the therapist will clarify how EMDR works and tackle any questions or issues you could have. They’ll additionally educate you self-soothing and leisure strategies, like deep respiration or visualization, that can assist you handle any misery which will come up throughout or between periods.
3. Evaluation: Collectively, you’ll establish a selected traumatic reminiscence you wish to work on, together with the unfavorable beliefs or feelings related to it, corresponding to “I’m unsafe” or “I’m powerless.” This step helps set up a transparent goal for the reprocessing work, setting the stage for change.
4. Desensitization: Utilizing bilateral stimulation (corresponding to guided eye actions, faucets, or sounds), your mind is inspired to reprocess the traumatic reminiscence, decreasing its emotional cost. This step is usually repeated till the reminiscence feels much less distressing, permitting you to view it with a higher sense of calm.
5. Set up: On this section, the therapist helps you reinforce constructive beliefs to switch the beforehand recognized unfavorable ones, like “I’m sturdy” or “I’m in management.” The objective is to create a more healthy affiliation with the reminiscence, fostering a extra empowering perspective on previous occasions.
6. Physique scan: You’ll be guided to scan your physique for any lingering bodily sensations, corresponding to pressure or discomfort, that is likely to be related to the trauma. This step helps launch any remaining bodily responses, selling a way of ease and permitting for extra full emotional therapeutic.
7. Closure: Earlier than ending the session, the therapist ensures you are feeling protected, grounded, and secure, usually guiding you thru leisure strategies that can assist you go away feeling calm. If wanted, they’ll recommend methods to deal with any feelings which will floor between periods, getting ready you for the following section of labor.
8. Re-evaluation: Within the following session, your therapist assesses your progress with the reminiscence to see how a lot misery stays and whether or not further periods are wanted. This ongoing analysis helps gauge your therapeutic progress, permitting for changes to satisfy your particular wants.

Every of those phases is essential in supporting the protected and structured processing of traumatic recollections, finally serving to scale back emotional misery and fostering a extra constructive outlook.

Key Variations Between Somatic Remedy and EMDR

Whereas somatic remedy and EMDR are each highly effective strategies for trauma remedy, they differ considerably in focus, method, trauma processing, and excellent use circumstances.

Focus

Somatic remedy is rooted within the physique’s bodily response to trauma. This strategy encourages you to tune into bodily sensations, recognizing them as pathways to emotional launch and therapeutic. By specializing in bodily emotions, corresponding to pressure, discomfort, or leisure, somatic remedy goals that can assist you reconnect together with your physique as a part of the therapeutic course of.

EMDR, in contrast, facilities on the mind’s processing of traumatic recollections. It makes use of a structured, step-by-step methodology with bilateral stimulation—corresponding to guided eye actions or faucets—to reprocess distressing recollections. This system goals to assist your mind retailer these recollections in a much less emotionally charged means, decreasing their influence in your each day life.

Approach

In somatic remedy periods, your therapist will information you to note and join together with your bodily sensations. Utilizing strategies like breathwork, mild motion, and mindfulness, they’ll enable you to keep current and grounded, permitting your physique’s pure responses to information the remedy course of. This bodily focus supplies a protected surroundings to discover and launch saved trauma by the physique.

In EMDR, bilateral stimulation is the central software for desensitizing and reprocessing traumatic recollections. As you consider a traumatic occasion, the therapist guides you thru eye actions, sounds, or faucets, which assist the mind combine and neutralize the reminiscence. This structured, evidence-based method goals to minimize the reminiscence’s depth and disrupt the distressing patterns it could trigger.

Trauma processing

Somatic remedy processes trauma by the physique by encouraging consciousness and launch of bodily sensations related to traumatic experiences. This strategy acknowledges that trauma can turn out to be “caught” within the physique and works to launch it by aware consideration and therapeutic practices that focus on bodily responses.

EMDR, then again, processes trauma primarily within the thoughts. By activating the a part of the mind the place the trauma is saved and guiding it by reprocessing, EMDR goals to scale back the emotional cost related to the reminiscence. This psychological strategy permits the mind to retailer the reminiscence in a means that feels much less distressing and overwhelming.

Use circumstances 

Somatic remedy is helpful when trauma manifests as bodily signs, corresponding to continual ache, muscle pressure, or bodily numbness. It’s a useful strategy for those who really feel disconnected out of your feelings, have issue figuring out emotions, or discover that your trauma reveals up bodily in your physique.

EMDR is usually efficient for these coping with particular, distressing recollections or situations like PTSD, anxiousness, or phobias. It’s useful when your trauma is tied to specific occasions or experiences, making it excellent for people seeking to reframe and reduce the emotional influence of particular recollections.

“Somatic remedy could also be simpler for purchasers who’ve a disconnect from their our bodies or who carry psychological trauma as bodily pressure, because it focuses on physique consciousness and releasing saved trauma by motion and sensation. EMDR could also be extra appropriate for purchasers coping with particular traumatic recollections or PTSD, because it focuses on reprocessing these recollections to be able to scale back their unfavorable influence. It’s usually efficient for people who want structured trauma processing with out an excessive amount of deal with bodily sensations.”

– Talkspace therapist, Bisma Anwar, LPC, LMHC

Selecting the Proper Remedy

Choosing the proper remedy could be an awesome expertise. It usually appears like there’s rather a lot at stake, however deciding between somatic remedy and EMDR remedy simply will depend on your distinctive wants and the way your trauma has impacted your life. Fortuitously, some pointers will help you establish which is likely to be extra applicable.

When to contemplate somatic remedy

Somatic remedy is likely to be best for you for those who:

• Expertise continual bodily signs like ache, pressure, or numbness due to trauma
• Really feel disconnected out of your physique or feelings
• Are eager about a therapeutic strategy that integrates thoughts and physique
• Have tried speak remedy earlier than, however really feel like there’s a deeper bodily degree of trauma that wasn’t totally addressed

When to contemplate EMDR

EMDR is likely to be a great possibility for those who: 

• Have particular traumatic recollections which are tough to course of
• Continuously have flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive ideas associated to psychological trauma 
• Desire a extra structured, step-by-step therapeutic course of
• Desire a remedy model that doesn’t require you to speak or recount a lot of your trauma 

When to Contemplate Combining Each Therapies

Combining somatic remedy and EMDR can create a robust ongoing remedy plan that addresses trauma’s emotional, bodily, and cognitive dimensions. As a result of somatic remedy focuses on the physique’s response and EMDR addresses traumatic recollections saved in your mind, utilizing each therapies collectively would possibly enable you to totally tackle the emotional, bodily, and cognitive components of your trauma.

“Combining EMDR and somatic remedy could be extremely efficient for purchasers who want each cognitive processing and bodily/emotional launch. EMDR helps reprocess traumatic recollections, whereas somatic remedy addresses how trauma is held within the physique. This strategy permits purchasers to course of disturbing recollections in addition to launch saved trauma within the physique.”

– Talkspace therapist, Bisma Anwar, LPC, LMHC

In case your therapist agrees this is likely to be a great strategy, you would possibly start with somatic strategies to reconnect together with your physique so you may launch the vitality. As soon as you are feeling in contact together with your physique, you would possibly then transfer to EMDR that can assist you reprocess the recollections which are tied to your traumatic occasion. 

If that is the route you’re taking, it’s best to discover a therapist who’s educated in each EMDR and somatic remedy approaches.

Making the Proper Alternative for Your Therapeutic Journey

There is no such thing as a “proper” option to address trauma. Each somatic remedy and EMDR are efficient and regarded evidence-based remedies, however they use totally different approaches. Whenever you’re selecting which remedy would possibly supply the very best end result, think about issues like your particular person wants, how the trauma has impacted your life, and which therapeutic strategy resonates with you most. Speaking to a therapist who focuses on trauma is a superb option to decide which remedy model is likely to be best for you. 

Talkspace provides entry to somatic therapists on-line that may assist you in your path to restoration. Whether or not you finally resolve on somatic remedy, EMDR, or a mixed strategy, trauma remedy will help you progress ahead and reclaim your life. Be taught extra about somatic remedy with Talkspace by reaching out in the present day.