Therapy approaches · The Holistic Counselor Podcast learning guide
From the Mic to the Community
What is somatic therapy?
Understand body-focused approaches and ask about evidence and consent.
Diana S. Rice · Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional (CIMHP), Qualified Supervisor (QS)
4 pages · No email required · Education, not individual care
You may notice a tight jaw, a racing heart, or the urge to pull away before you can explain a feeling. Some therapies include attention to these body experiences.
A broad group of approaches
Somatic means related to the body. Somatic therapies may include attention to sensation, posture, movement, or breathing. Somatic Experiencing is one specific approach within a much broader field.
Ask what the provider actually does
Different methods have different research support and training standards. Claims that a technique releases all stored trauma or cures physical illness go beyond what this guide can support.
Choice and medical care matter
Body awareness can feel helpful for some people and uncomfortable for others. You can keep your eyes open, decline an activity, or ask to stop. Touch should never be assumed. New or concerning physical symptoms need appropriate medical assessment.
Research & perspective
What to keep in mind
Somatic Experiencing has early research, including a small trial that assigned people to groups at random. More research is needed. Findings about this method do not apply to every body-focused practice or every condition. Ask about the exact method and its limits.
Explore the sources ↓A moment for you
Let’s pause and reflect.
Choose one question, or take your time with all three. Your answers can stay private. Skip anything that feels like too much; you do not need to revisit painful details to use this guide.
- What kind of attention feels manageable: talking, movement, or noticing the room?
- What would help me say no to an activity?
- What questions do I have about physical symptoms?
Use your own notebook or the writing space in the PDF. This page does not ask you to submit reflections.
Continue the conversation
Listen with curiosity.
Selected conversations to begin with. Guests share their own perspectives; a linked episode is not a treatment recommendation or a complete review of the evidence.
- Episode 50
- Episode 86
Make room for support
Questions to bring to a professional
- Which specific somatic approach do you use and why?
- What training and research support that approach?
- How do you obtain consent and respond to discomfort?
One next step
Ask about the method before trying it. For body symptoms, consider both mental health support and appropriate medical care.
Keep learning
Sources & useful resources
These links support the teaching and help you explore further. Professional organizations describe their own approaches; faith organizations describe their perspectives. Directories are starting points, not endorsements.
- Somatic Experiencing International: Research ↗
- Brom et al.: A randomized study of Somatic Experiencing ↗
Services, fees, rules, and links may change. Confirm current details directly.
When a guide is not enough
Need support right now?
In the U.S. and its territories, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers support for emotional distress or a suicidal crisis.
If there is immediate danger or a medical emergency in the U.S., call 911. Outside the U.S., use your local emergency or crisis service.
This website and its contact form do not provide crisis care.