FOY Wellness and Recovery is a licensed PHP and IOP program in Agoura Hills, California. Our clinical program is developed and overseen by Clinical Program Director Dr. Shannon Dobbs, a licensed clinical psychologist. Somatic Therapy is a clinical modality addressing the body-based dimension of trauma alongside traditional talk therapy.
What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic Therapy encompasses clinical, body-based approaches to trauma, including frameworks such as Somatic Experiencing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, built on the understanding that traumatic stress is held physiologically in the nervous system, not only cognitively and emotionally. These approaches have a growing evidence base as a complement to more traditional talk-based trauma therapies.
How Somatic Therapy Works
Clinical somatic work involves tracking bodily sensations, physical patterns of activation and shutdown, and using specific techniques to help the nervous system complete or discharge stress responses that were interrupted during a traumatic experience, alongside cognitive and emotional processing.
Somatic Therapy at FOY
Clinical Somatic Therapy is delivered by trained clinicians within individual therapy, often integrated alongside EMDR or other trauma-focused modalities for clients whose trauma has significant physiological components, such as chronic hypervigilance, numbness, or dissociation.
Conditions Somatic Therapy Addresses
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Complex trauma
- Chronic hypervigilance and physical tension
- Dissociation
- Trauma-related physical symptoms
What to Expect
Sessions involve guided attention to bodily sensation and physical patterns of activation, often integrated with other trauma-focused clinical work, paced according to individual readiness and clinical judgment.
FAQs
Is clinical Somatic Therapy the same as the holistic Somatic Integration offered elsewhere at FOY?
They are related but distinct. Clinical Somatic Therapy is delivered by a trained clinician as part of formal trauma treatment; Somatic Integration in holistic programming is a broader, complementary body-awareness practice.
Is Somatic Therapy evidence-based?
Body-based approaches to trauma have a growing evidence base as a complement to talk-based trauma therapies, though the research base is generally newer than that for CBT or EMDR.
Does Somatic Therapy replace EMDR or other trauma therapies?
No, it is often used alongside other evidence-based trauma treatments such as EMDR, addressing the physiological dimension of trauma as a complement.
Will I need to talk about my trauma in detail during Somatic Therapy?
Somatic approaches often focus more on bodily sensation than detailed verbal narrative, though the specific process depends on the framework and clinician.
Is Somatic Therapy safe for clients in early substance use recovery?
Facilitators trained in trauma-informed practice pace somatic work according to individual stability and readiness in early recovery.
How is clinical Somatic Therapy paced?
Sessions are paced according to individual readiness and clinical judgment, since somatic work can bring up intense physical and emotional responses that require careful pacing.
Can Somatic Therapy help with dissociation specifically?
Yes, body-based grounding techniques are commonly used as part of clinical treatment for dissociative symptoms connected to trauma.
Is Somatic Therapy covered by insurance?
It is delivered as part of FOY’s PHP and IOP clinical programming, billed as a level of care. Contact our admissions team about your specific plan.
Take the First Step
Call (805) 659-8429 or visit foywellnessandrecovery.com/contact for a free confidential assessment. We are in-network with Blue Shield, Cigna, and TRICARE through TriWest, and accept most other major PPO plans, including Anthem, Aetna, Multiplan, HMC HealthWorks, and Blue Cross Blue Shield, on an out-of-network basis.