The term “talking cure” originated about 150 years ago by the famous psychoanalytic patient known as “Anna O.” While there is great value in unearthing deeply held secrets and sharing them with a trustworthy witness, there are many ways that people share their stories.
Over the past 20+ years, there has been tremendous growth in the psychotherapy world. Advances in technology and neuroscience have given us so much more information about how the brain and the body hold and process trauma. The growing appreciation of psychedelics, expressive arts, and movement/somatic therapy can even be seen in the New York Times Book Review best seller list.
I have been working with survivors of trauma for over four decades. When I was a graduate student in social work school, my clinical supervisor and I co-led a group for adult women who’d been sexually abused as children. My supervisor’s area of specialty was dissociative disorders, and she was both masterful and compassionate. I remember thinking at the time how amazing it was that the brain had so many creative strategies, including dissociation, for protecting people from intolerable pain, both emotional and physical. And I also wondered:
If the brain has the capacity to dissociate, then maybe
it has the capacity to “re-associate?”
About fifteen years ago, I began exploring various models of somatic psychotherapy in order to strengthen my knowledge and practices. Eventually I completed a year of Level 1 Sensorimotor Psychotherapy training, as well as additional experience and training in Authentic Movement and somatic coaching.
Habits, trauma, grief and memories often get stuck in the body the way a washing machine can get off balance if the load is uneven, the machine is not level, or the internal mechanisms for balance malfunction. When this happens, the machine typically freezes mid-cycle, shakes, or bangs and makes a hideous clanging noise. Inviting the body to tell the story allows people to find balance again, cycle through and release what has gotten lodged inside the body.
Many different cultures and spiritual traditions have long had embodied rituals and practices for healing, particularly indigenous and BIPOC communities, earth-based and mystical spiritual groups. These have included healing circles, dancing, chanting, shaking, laying on of hands and more.
I have been bringing more and more creative expression and embodied practices into my work with clients, especially as the current global political climate has become more destructive, violent, and threatening. I do this with great respect for the dignity, boundaries and safety of every person, honoring the power of mind+body+spirit together to create lasting transformation.
Deep breath of gratitude for the many paths to peace and wholeness.