What is body-focused therapy?

“I pray you believe what I have said. I reported what I saw and heard, but only part of it. For most of it I had no words.”

Ed Murrow, CBS correspondent from the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald when it was liberated in 1945

Our bodies hold a story. A story we don’t always have words or language to express. As a trauma survivor it’s sometimes difficult to put your experience “into a coherent account – a narrative with a beginning, a middle and an end,” explains Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk. He goes on to share that we create a “cover story” to give some explanation to what we are experiencing. We know this is not the full story.

This is where body-focused psychotherapy can help. According to the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy, the unity and intersectionality of the mind and body is a fundamental principle to the approach. Body-focused therapists help the separate parts of you “become conscious, acknowledged and integrated parts of the self.”

Our mind and body are connected and need to be treated that way.

In our work together, we are striving for wholeness. Helping to regulate your internal nervous system, while being fully aware of the external reality. During sessions, you’ll learn to become aware of body sensations, as well as your emotions and behaviors. You’ll start to notice how you breathe, move and speak. You may even begin to observe the small sensations and cues your body is sharing with you as it unravels a story. The awareness you are cultivating in your body leads to lasting transformation you can carry with you.

While experiencing anxiety, depression, relationship troubles, back pain, hip and knee issues, seem like separate issues, oftentimes, there’s more to discover. When taking a mind-body, holistic, and interconnected view of the entire landscape, we can begin our deeper healing.

Ready to connect your mind and body?