Somatic Psychology: Using the Body to Heal the Mind with Elizabeth Ferreira

Listen to this episode from Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson on Spotify. Somatic therapist Elizabeth Ferreira returns to the podcast and joins Forrest for a deep dive into somatic psychology. They explore what a somatic therapy session looks like in practice, how it differs from traditional talk therapy, the connection between the body and the mind, and why people with complex trauma are sometimes better served by body-based approaches. Elizabeth then talks about how somatic therapy has supported her own journey with CPTSD and PMDD, and shares some of the practices that have helped her clients. About our Guest: Elizabeth Ferreira is an associate therapist working in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her practice is open, and if you’d like to reach out to Elizabeth you can do so through Instagram. Elizabeth also has her own podcast, My Therapist's a Witch. Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 1:45: What happens in a somatic therapy session? 5:00: Attunement and a quick demonstration 9:55: Moving slowly and navigating dissociative patterns 12:45: Cognitive bypassing and catharsis in letting go 15:40: Trauma and integrating alienated parts of ourselves 21:15: Elizabeth’s experience feeling anger 25:30: When the thing that brings you into therapy isn’t the root of your problem 29:00: Safety allowing comfort with feeling difficult feelings 31:40: Interoception, physical embodiment, and more on attunement 35:50: Clean and dirty pain, different parts, and appreciation 40:25: Resistance, joining with the defense, and compassion 44:50: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. New Program From Rick! If you want to break old patterns and step out of the familiar scripts that hold you back, Rick's Change Your Mind online course is for you. It's a 6-week program starting March 18 designed to help you step out of old assumptions and attitudes and into new, helpful thoughts about yourself and others. Visit RickHanson.net/ChangeYourMind to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20. Sponsors: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription. Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices