What is a Process-Oriented Somatic Approach? We all go through our day and take information in through all of our senses. We spontaneously put meaning on things, have emotional and physical reactions, make associations, etc. We also have a drive in our nature to take things full circle - a desire to feel complete and finished. Sometimes events in our lives do not permit us to reach resolution. We also have drives for protection and to not feel things that are unpleasant or overwhelming. So there are many ways we get stuck with incomplete responses and drives, and have to figure out (usually unconsciously) how to work around these. Sometimes this feels inconsequential, and sometimes it becomes problematic and we begin to experience difficulties like anxiety, depression, physical symptoms and stress reactions, or emotional intolerance.
How we experience a sense of "flow," or lack of "flow," is very personal and individual. We often feel the effects of negative messages taken in earlier in our lives, which inhibit our free engagement in activity or relationships. We can feel the tightening of muscles, contraction of breath, avoidant or reactive tendencies, "checking out," and physical pain that arise when we are reminded of difficult events. We may get over-activated, or may shut down.
People wonder "why" they are experiencing discomfort or difficulties, and try to figure things out from there. While cognitive understanding is useful, it's often frustrating, and even when achieved it may not bring about desired growth. I find that a focus on " what is happening, and how it is experienced in the present moment" is a more useful and tangible approach. The meaning arises along the way, informed by a fuller awareness of experience.
This approach to therapy helps people to engage fully in the moment to activate the dynamics of how we learned to adapt. As we connect with that natural drive for completion, the movement towards resolution and freedom arises spontaneously from within the person. Trusting this process is key. My experience is that bringing awareness to the details of our experience facilitates this movement. I appreciate that this non-interpretive approach respects and accesses people's inner wisdom and innate abilities to resolve disturbances. My task is to track sensations and dynamics very closely, bringing added awareness as needed, often slowing things down to give more space for things to process through and integrate. I closely track levels of activation, and pace the therapy such that there is enough activation to get the work done, but not so much that the experience is overwhelming.