SOMATIC TRAUMA-INFORMED THERAPIES
Restoring Mind-Body-Life Harmony
Jeannette Singer specialises in body-based Somatic Therapies that help release past and present emotions and traumas that are stored in the body, and reduce post-traumatic effects on both the mind and body. Somatic therapies include various talk, touch, breathing, movement and meditation techniques. Jeannette often uses Somatic Therapies alongside traditional counselling for anxiety, PTSD, chronic stress, depression, illness, pain and unexplained physical symptoms that are often linked to emotional experiences.
What is Somatic Therapy?
Instead of focusing only on thoughts and words, it pays attention to physical sensations, heart beat, breath, posture and nervous system responses, because stress and trauma are often held in the body as well as the mind. The aim is to help you feel safe in your body again, not just to talk about what happened.
Somatic Therapies can include various talk, touch, movement, breathing and meditation techniques to reduce post-traumatic effects on both the mind and body and regulate your nervous system.
They are deeply nurturing and settling therapies that can be be used for addressing both current and past traumas, as well as being helpful for some mental health diagnoses.
Why Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is commonly used to support people experiencing anxiety, PTSD and complex trauma, chronic stress, depression, and physical symptoms with no clear medical cause that seem linked to emotional or nervous system dysregulation.
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Situational Trauma
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PTSD
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CPTSD - Complex Childhood Trauma
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Bullying
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Abuse - Physical, psychological and emotional
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Assault
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Accidents
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Injuries
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Emotional Stress & Crises
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First Responder Stress - paramedics, nurses, doctors, police etc
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Grief & Loss
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Some Mental Health diagnoses
In my work I often see how the emotions an trauma around difficult experiences in childhood, can remain stuck in the body, and can keep shaping how people feel, react and cope today. These traumas can also transfer across generations until they are resolved.
During the Covid lockdown years I spoke with over 300 Counselling and Wellness Coaching clients. Amongst the many common challenges people faced during that time, like illness, injury, workplace bullying, relationship breakdowns, parenting nightmares, mental health diagnoses and so on – something quite drastic stood out to me. This was the sheer volume of people experiencing prevailing emotional, behavioural and physical impacts from earlier traumatic events and childhood wounds.
What stood out like a neon light was the link between their current experiences and their past traumas and most importantly, the impact their past had on their capacity for navigating their current problems. Every third person, out of 300+ clients disclosed being abused, feeling terrified, unsafe, hopeless or persistently disempowered in their past – with many still being affected 50 odd years later.
It was mind blowing!
Many disclosed they had never spoken about their experiences to any one else and were at once shocked at, and liberated by their disclosure. They had finally felt safe to let down their guard and it all came tumbling out for healing.
Feeling safe was key, then we were able to use Somatic Therapy talk, touch, breathing, meditation, body awareness and movement tools to support their body to let go, and their nervous system to settle - at last.
Jeannette is a Certified
Clinical Trauma Professional
SOMATIC THERAPIES ARE ACA APPROVED
M.Couns (Level 3)
