Touch is a fundamental sense, and albeit one of the earliest ways to relate to self, others and the environment. Above all, it is a vital aspect of human experience as well as a form of communication which can contribute to a deep feeling of connection, care and togetherness.
Somatically-attuned touch can support trauma recovery by helping you to find greater ease as well as relief from constriction, pain and other symptoms as a result of chronic stress held in the body.
To illustrate, while seated and talking, I might ask you to place a hand on your forehead or abdomen, for example, as a form of self-touch (and only with your willingness). You will discover how your body responds to the support, which actually may be different one day to another.
In certain moments of profound upset, I may ask to sit next to you, in order to offer physical support with my hand on your back. Meanwhile, I will also offer comfort verbally. Both physical and emotional support teaches your nervous system how to navigate the big waves of emotion.
Furthermore, similar to bodywork settings, I keep a table in my office—where (if we mutually agree to this direction of exploring) you’ll be lying down fully clothed. While on the table, hands-on support may accompany verbal processing with a focus on somatic awareness and balancing your nervous system.
Gentle supportive touch combined with verbal dialogue increases awareness of yourself from the inside—where beliefs, memories, emotions and more can be processed at somatic levels.
To clarify, our explorations will not necessarily move to these directions immediately. In time, they are possibilities our work together may take. Overall, my recommendations will be based on the skills and awareness you build as your healing journey evolves.
As a result, touch can support movements and impulses to reach natural completion on many levels: cellular, emotional, energetic, muscular, systemic, psychological and more. Moreover, therapeutic hands-on contact can be profoundly healing for many, most especially for those who experienced traumatic events when very young.
— Nadine Burke, MD
Research often cites connections between medical conditions and adverse childhood experiences. In other words, addressing the root cause—trauma and the stress response—is fundamental, particularly for anyone exposed to chronic stress at an early age.
Frequently, clients who suffer from certain conditions are often drawn to bodywork recognizing that touch can be relieving. However, bodywork can sometimes feel like a balm – where relief is fleeting – especially for those who have experienced trauma of various forms. When tension patterns and other adaptive management strategies – often incomplete protective responses – remain in place, traumatic stress can contribute to chronic ailments such as:
- Autoimmune conditions: fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel, psoriasis etc.
- Chronic fatigue: disrupted sleep, CFS, ME etc.
- Chronic pain: back, neck, nerve etc.
- Digestive conditions: chronic constipation, IBS, spastic colon etc.
- Environmental sensitivities
- Headaches and migraines
- Hormone imbalances, including PCOS, adrenal functioning etc.
- Joint issues: TMJ, frozen shoulder etc.
- Post traumatic stress symptoms
- Thyroid issues: hypo and hyper thyroid conditions
- Vestibular difficulties: auditory and/or visual disturbances, spatial disorientation etc.
For the most part, when the stress physiology from traumatic events remains unaddressed, the body attempts to manage in whatever ways possible leading to dysfunction, symptoms and complex conditions that can become exacerbated over time.
Specifically, addressing the underlying traumatic stress with a trauma-informed professional will inevitably reduce symptoms and bring about more sustainable relief.
Moreover, touch used in this way increases somatic awareness and greater connection with oneself. It is also an effective way to release shock and traumatic stress from the physiology, inviting the body’s intrinsic healing capacities to be restored. Finally, supporting the body’s organismic directive towards health provides deep, lasting and life-altering transformations.
With this intention, I pursue ongoing professional development with SE™ Faculty Emeritus Kathy L. Kain, PhD who over the course of more than thirty years developed approaches specifically for touching trauma held in the body. For the purposes of gently resolving and releasing the effects of stress patterns held in the body, these particular hands-on methods evolved out of a remarkable synthesis of body-oriented approaches: Body-Mind Centering®, lymphatic drainage, motor sensory integration, neurobiology, Ortho-Bionomy®, osteopathy, Somatic Experiencing®, somatic psychology and more.
Touch + The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)
Since many individuals present with layers of complexity from traumatic experiences, often a multi-prong approach to trauma treatment can facilitate deep healing. In certain cases, I might recommend including The Safe and Sound Protocol along with touch support.
Developed by researcher Dr. Stephen Porges—whose Polyvagal Theory revolutionized trauma treatment by explaining how the autonomic nervous system influences our sense of safety and connection—SSP uses filtered music to gently stimulate the vagus nerve and encourage a physiological state of calm. When the nervous system shifts from a defensive state to feeling safer, individuals become more open to social connection, can engage more in the therapeutic process and in their lives more generally.
Trauma and the Nervous System: A Polyvagal Perspective, The Trauma Foundation
What is SSP?
The Safe and Sound Protocol
READ MORESSP is often used as a preparatory step before deeper trauma work, particularly for clients with anxiety, heightened sensitivities, autism, ADHD, developmental trauma etc. By creating a calmer baseline, the therapeutic listening program integrated with somatic work enables your brain and body to respond more effectively. Together, combined approaches lay the foundation for improving physiological regulation, supporting more social and emotional capacities as well as developing resilience.
“…healing implies that something is wrong that needs to be right. Here, the word is used more to point towards a need for sacred attention and intention. In this work, healing is about remembering who we are and what we deeply know.”
—Ruth King, MA, author of Healing Rage