When talk therapy alone doesn't work

I recently heard Dr. Scott Lyons say, “The talking cure runs out of road when the wound was never made of words.” And I thought it was such a brilliant way to understand why talk therapy alone doesn't always work. 

Many of our wounds came before we had words (think pre-verbal early childhood). 

Many of our wounds we’ve experienced as automatic physical responses to a moment, environment or period of time (think instantaneous full body primal nervous system reaction). 

This means the memory of the wound is NOT just a linear story, but rather a familiar feeling, an automatic reaction, a posture or chronic pain in the body. 

Talk therapy alone rarely shifts these deep held feelings, reactions and patterns –  because we’re not speaking in the language of the wound.  

How do we speak to these wounds not made of words? 

Through the body. 

It’s called Somatic Language and is the core of somatic psychotherapy practices. 

We dialogue with these wounds through movement, sensation and touch. The understanding and shift can be felt inside and it doesn’t matter if they have words or seem logical.

We support our body to move through the processing of the wound rather than stay stuck in the reaction of it, and learn how to hold the experience without being overwhelmed, triggered or flooded. 

We deepen our understanding through connection rather than through analysis. 

I’ve been studying these somatic psychotherapy practices with amazing teachers like Dr. Scott Lyons (quoted above) and MANY more for years, and I integrate them into all of my sessions. 

Integrating this somatic work is where I see the most profound shifts with my clients, and where I have experienced the most profound shifts personally. Talking, of course, is always part of a session but it’s not the only part, and because of that we can access so much more. 

If this speaks to you, reach out to learn more or experience for yourself somatic psychotherapy.