Working with the Wisdom of the Body

Our understanding of the body as a repository of trauma, as well as Attachment dynamics has opened up a whole new field of how we can use the body’s innate wisdom to help our clients heal from their trauma. This exciting and promising new field of Sensorimotor Therapy has opened up new pathways for therapists to help clients find resolution and heal from both Developmental Trauma as well as Traumatic Injury.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy which has been developed by Pat Ogden, is based upon the understanding of how our nervous system responds to trauma. SP welcomes the body as an integral source of information which can guide resourcing and the accessing and processing of challenging, traumatic, and developmental experience. It is a holistic approach that includes somatic, emotional and cognitive processing and integration. Pat Ogden has combined the latest research in Neuroscience, Physiology, Psychology, and Sociology with her clinical observations of the disconnection between mind and body in trauma clients as well as her understanding of yoga and dance. Therefore, Sensorimotor Therapy can be described more as an experiential therapy rather than cognitive therapy.

As Sensorimotor Therapy enables clients to discover and change habitual physical and psychological patterns that impede optimal functioning and well-being; this modality renders itself especially helpful in working with dysregulated activation and other effects of trauma, as well as the limiting belief systems of developmental issues.

In her approach to SP, Pat Ogden talks about Character Strategies which our clients may  form around the core wounds or ‘missing experiences’ in their development. When we mindfully observe how these experiences manifest in our bodies, beliefs and behaviours, it  helps the clients to understand what was they really needed from their caregivers at the point in their lives and they can then process these observations  in a safe and empathetic manner with the help of their therapist. The therapist can then guide their client gently and with complete consent, to explore movements that help them to release the pent-up energy from the trauma, which leads towards healing. These transformations are termed Acts of Triumph.

Dr Pat Ogden is conducting an online webinar on 30 September 2021 for www.nscience.uk where she talks about how to use Sensorimotor Therapy to help clients heal from Traumatic past experiences.

Understanding the need that adapting Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to an online format presents particular challenges and opportunities, this webinar will also address these difficulties including managing office set-up, use of props, tips to maintain an emotional connection and special considerations in working with posture and movement in a telehealth format.

 To find out more or to register, please visit: Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: An Introduction