Somatic Touch in Therapy

This Spring I have been deepening my skills in Somatic Touch with the incredible teacher, Kathy Kain, and have been weaving it into my therapeutic work. It has been profound to witness the ways in which this kind of touch can support the nervous system through connecting directly with the body.

Somatic Touch is a method that combines attunement to the nervous system with hands-on physical connection and support, engaging our our attachment system. It is specifically intended for trauma recovery and for deepening somatic awareness.

Touch is the first sense to develop and is sometimes called the mother of all senses. As babies, we rely on co-regulating touch from our caregivers to support our healthy growth and development.

Through bringing touch into therapy, we can more directly speak to the nervous system through the language of co-regulation and support.

Through sustained and chronic stress, developmental trauma, or singular traumatic events, we can lose connection with our ability to self-regulate our nervous system and trauma-related stress can get stored in our bodies as emotional or physical pain.

Somatic Touch, through presence and connection, can support the nervous system to come back into greater regulation through the “felt sense” of support and attunement.

Somatic Touch can support:

• co-regulation and the felt-sense of safety

• a place of deep rest

• a greater connection to self and others

• a lessening of discomfort, strain, and stress in the body

• the transformation of negative emotional experiences

• recovering from accidents and surgeries

• the integration of trauma, especially early childhood experiences

Please reach out if you’d like to learn more about Somatic Touch. You can find more about Kathy Kain’s offerings here.