Desire Ah-ha Moments in Therapy

Those ah-ha moments are what Somatic Psychotherapy is all about.

Do you remember the first time you tied your shoes with ease or figuring out how to drive a car without thinking of every movement?

Suddenly a skill becomes ingrained in our muscle memory, and the difficult lessons of learning fall away. It is joyful.

In traditional therapy, the moments of awareness come with the aid of a therapist encouraging us to move towards a specific thought while only recruiting our mind.

In Somatic psychotherapy, we ask our bodies to let us in on what they are holding onto, and often awareness comes immediately.

The nervous system pathway attached to it starts falling away at that moment.

Say you are a teacher, who I work with often, and you want to know why this one student triggers you.

We think of an event that incorporates the trigger person and sink into what sensations come up in the body.

Not what feelings we believe we have, but what the body feels like when engaging with this memory of the student.

Maybe there is sinking in the stomach or tightness in the throat.

These sensations will give clues about what emotion was imprinted on the body at a specific time.

This particular student may remind you of your father, ex-wife, a mean aunt and suddenly realize that you are emotionally responding to a past person, not the current one.

This awareness is an Ah-ha moment. It is exciting.

Now you can respond to this student with new attention, and though you may have to consciously remind yourself not to let the past dictate your present, you have a choice.

This issue of responding to the past in the present happens all the time with CEOs, teachers, coaches, parents, pastors, children, everyone we interact with regularly.

If you deal with many people in a particular environment, the best thing you can do for yourself and those around you is understand what you are bringing to the situation.

Far too few people do this or even care to know themselves on this level.

Your life will be much more enjoyable when you begin to recognize who you are and what you are holding onto.

With this knowledge, most interactions become lessons in growth, self-awareness, and more authenticity.

Be brave and reach for ah-ha moments in therapy, not just a sounding board.

Somatic psychotherapy consultations are always free.