Mind and body connection. Are the separate or do they influence each other? Historically, in the world of mental health and psychology, understanding the interconnectedness between the mind and body has not always been clearly cited. In learning the history of the field of mental health, there has been a very striking separation between the two. It has only been in recent times that the field is beginning to look closer to the connection. In particular, there is more and more understanding of the body and how it plays an important role in integrating and treating mental health.
I first began to explore somatic work roughly 4 years ago when a pandemic world left me with much time to explore this topic. I became intrigued and consumed as much as I could to understand the mind-body connection. Favorite books from this exploratory time included "The Body Keeps the Score" and "Waking the Tiger". I consumed as much as I could on the internet and even attended my first somatic experiencing continued education session. I began to use somatic strategies and meditations on myself, which helped me to learn how to drop into my body, notice, and work with emotions and experiences as they came up naturally as sensations. I was shook! Did I just discover the secret shortcut to working through difficult emotions, reactions, and responses? I knew I had stumbled across something amazing. Something that I believed had been missing from how I approach my work with clients as well.
I began using these strategies with my clients and have now grown a practice where I can guide others to listen and work with their bodies when addressing their mental health. It was the missing link all along! Treatment with clients include first discussing somatic experiences and how to listen to the sensations in our body. Our nervous systems are designed to inform us of so much, but it takes some deconstruction of how we are socialized for us to actually begin to listen. As clients learn to listen to their bodies, I help them use specific strategies to help hold space and move through sensations that lead to integrating them and finding relief rather than feeling the weight of these struggles holding them down. It's amazing and something I love using in my work with clients. Check out some client testimonies here.
Comments