Exercises to help therapists build their capacity to track their own body sensations when working somatically with clients

‘Exercises to help therapists build their capacity to track their own body sensations when working somatically with clients’ blog article was written by Tina Icaro, Senior Child and Family Counsellor at Australian Childhood Foundation. 

Providing trauma therapy to children and adolescents can be challenging as clients may be dysregulated, and their nervous system may shift from feeling too much, overwhelmed, and flooded or too little, numb, and shut down with a loss of sensations and emotions.

One intervention when supporting clients with trauma is a “bottom-up” approach, which means focusing on the body, sensations, posture, and emotions to support children and young people to process their trauma.

The focus is on supporting them to experience sensations and emotions in their body, along with perceptions and thoughts. The goals are to increase their capacity to tolerate sensations and emotions and increase the nervous system’s capacity for regulation. (Levine, 2010)

To support a child or young person in becoming aware of their body, the therapist needs to understand their own body, their nervous system, and their own patterns of activation.

Learning how to observe what is happening in your own body is a skill you need to cultivate; it can be built gradually over time.

How do you become more aware of your body?  

These exercises might help you become more connected to your body. You can make it as short as ten minutes to an hour. You can practice these often to support your connection.

You might like to find a quiet space; they can be done with eyes closed; you might like to keep a journal and write down your reflections as you engage in the different exercises.

Body awareness using physical touch

This exercise is about focusing on large muscle groups in the body and being mindful of how your muscles feel on the inside. For example, tight, rigid, tense, floppy etc. This is a simple exercise where you use your hand to touch different body parts. This is done slowly, pausing between each muscle, maybe stopping to journal. The idea is to notice the sensation and allow it to be present, not to judge it or change it, just to notice. (Levine, 2010)

Body awareness using breath

• Let your awareness follow the sensation of your breath, so instead of using your hands, you are using your breath to touch different body parts. Start at your head and work your way down to your toes.
• Begin by breathing into your head (visualising your head and sending the breath there), and then notice any sensations that may surface, such as tension, heat, pain, etc.
• Then, move into your face and notice any sensations.
• Move onto the left shoulder, then right, etc, all the way down the body. At the end, notice the whole body and any sensations that may surface, pause, and then gently return to the room and open your eyes.
• The idea is to notice the sensation and allow it to be present, not to judge it or change it, just to notice. (Schwartz, Arielle & Maiberger, Barb 2018)

Body mapping – writing or drawing  

Take a few minutes to draw an outline of a body. Reflect on the questions below and then add colours, words, and symbols to the body outline as you reflect on each question.

Some areas to reflect on include:  

• Where do you feel relaxed, comfortable, or expanded?
• Where do you feel restricted, tight, or tense?
• Do you feel pain? How would you describe it, i.e. hot, cold, sharp, achy?
• Where do you feel numb?
• When you have completed the reflection, look at your drawing. What patterns do you notice? What do you notice in your body when you look at the picture of your body? (Schwartz, Arielle & Maiberger, Barb 2018)

References  

• Levine, Peter, A PhD 2010 In an unspoken voice How the Body Heals Trauma and restores goodness Colorado, North Atlantic Books and ERGOS Institute Press Colorado
• Schwartz, Arielle & Maiberger, Barb 2018 EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology, Interventions to Enhance Embodiment in Trauma Treatment New York w.w. Norton & Company Inc

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