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In a world where nearly 70% of adults have experienced at least one traumatic event, the way we approach healing matters deeply. At Red Beard Somatic Therapy, we believe that understanding trauma's impact on the body and mind is fundamental to effective therapeutic work – whether someone identifies as having trauma or not.
But what exactly makes therapy "trauma-informed," and why does this approach create such profound healing possibilities? Let's explore this transformative framework that's reshaping how we think about healing.
Trauma-informed care isn't just a technique – it's a philosophy that recognizes how trauma affects our entire being: body, mind, and spirit. It acknowledges that trauma isn't just stored in our memories but lives in our tissues, nervous system, and the very way we move through the world.
1. Safety First, Always
At the heart of trauma-informed therapy is the creation of safety – both physical and emotional. This means:
When the body feels safe, the nervous system can begin to regulate, opening the door to deeper healing work. Without safety, meaningful therapy simply can't happen.
2. Trustworthiness and Transparency
Trauma often involves betrayal or violations of trust. Trauma-informed practitioners counter this by:
3. Collaboration and Mutuality
Rather than positioning the therapist as the "expert" who will "fix" the client, trauma-informed care recognizes the inherent wisdom each person carries about their own experience.
This collaborative approach includes:
4. Empowerment and Skill-Building
Trauma can leave people feeling helpless and disempowered. Trauma-informed therapy actively counters this by:
5. Cultural, Historical and Gender Sensitivity
A true trauma-informed approach recognizes that trauma doesn't happen in isolation from cultural contexts:
While all trauma-informed approaches share core principles, somatic trauma-informed therapy takes a unique path by recognizing the body as central to both trauma storage and healing.
Traditional talk therapy often focuses primarily on changing thoughts or exploring memories. Somatic trauma-informed work recognizes that:
At Red Beard Somatic Therapy, our practitioners use several somatic modalities to facilitate this body-centered healing, including Somatic Experiencing (SE), TRE (Tension & Trauma Release Exercises), and Internal Family Systems (IFS) with a somatic focus.
What might you notice in a somatic trauma-informed session versus a conventional therapy appointment?
Even if you've never identified as having experienced "capital-T Trauma," trauma-informed care creates a more effective healing environment for everyone. Here's why:
Our nervous systems respond to a spectrum of challenging experiences, not just those that meet clinical criteria for trauma. Everyday stressors like:
All these can activate our survival responses and create patterns of tension, anxiety, or shutdown that benefit from a trauma-informed approach.
Many people don't recognize their experiences as traumatic until they begin healing work. This is especially true for:
A trauma-informed approach creates space for these experiences to be recognized and addressed safely if they emerge during the therapeutic process.
Perhaps most importantly, trauma-informed care builds capacity and resilience that serves all aspects of life. The skills learned—body awareness, self-regulation, boundary-setting, and nervous system resilience—benefit everyone, regardless of trauma history.
At Red Beard Somatic Therapy, we believe that trauma-informed, body-centered approaches offer unique pathways to healing that complement and enhance other therapeutic modalities.
Whether you're dealing with identified trauma, unexplained physical symptoms, persistent emotional challenges, or simply seeking greater wellbeing, a trauma-informed approach creates the conditions for genuine transformation.
Ready to explore how somatic trauma-informed therapy might support your healing journey? We invite you to reach out for a free 20-minute consultation to learn more about our approach and how it might serve your unique needs.
For those who prefer to learn in a supportive online environment, our sister organization Neurogenic Integration offers specialized TRE® classes designed for various needs, including sensitive nervous systems. Explore their offerings at https://neurogenic-integration.com/webshop/#classes.
This blog post is part of our ongoing educational series on trauma-informed somatic practices. To learn more about specific modalities like Somatic Experiencing, TRE, or IFS, explore our other blog posts or contact us directly with questions.
Reference:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.
Herman, J. (1997). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror.
Levine, P. (2015). Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past.
Bath, H. (2008). The Three Pillars of Trauma-Informed Care. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 17(3), 17-21.
Porges, S. (2017). The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.
Ogden, P., & Fisher, J. (2015). Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment.
Courtois, C., & Ford, J. (2015). Treatment of Complex Trauma: A Sequenced, Relationship-Based Approach.
Perry, B., & Szalavitz, M. (2017). The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook.
Haines, S. (2019). The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice.
Book a Free consult here
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