Somatic Psychotherapy & Somatic Archeology
Article Author: Christina Manfredi
My belief is in the blood and flesh as being wiser than the intellect. The body unconscious is where life bubbles up in us. It is how we know that we are alive, alive to the depths of our souls and in-touch somewhere with the vivid reaches of the cosmos
– D.H. Lawrence
Somatic psychotherapy is a depth psychological therapy that involves conscious attention to body awareness of sensations with breath in connection with images, cognitions, emotions and meaning making systems that may emerge and physical and energetic movement of flow sensation.
Somatic archeology involves the un-earthing of the stories that live within our blood, bone, tissues, fluids, cells, psychology and spirit, all in connection with specific cultural and geographic landscapes. Somatic archeology rests on the knowing that our bodies, like the Earth, are keepers of memories. They are keepers of the memories of not only what we have experienced in our current lifetime, but also encode the stories of our ancestors, our spiritual lineages, and past lives.
When combined together these 2 psychotherapies allow a depth and breath that promote intentional, and conscious healing. Practical resources for healing that are stored within our body, psychological and spiritual landscapes are illuminated into awareness and transmitted through our bodymind system and then into our broader lives with others and environment.
Healing from psychological distress for example related to depression, anxiety, feeling of disconnection from one’s body life, illness, trauma, and low self worth if promoted purely through the mind is helpful. However when mind psychotherapy is combined with somatic psychotherapy & archeology there is an encounter with greater holistic self-healing possibilities.
The Key Focus Areas of Somatic Psychotherapy & Somatic Archeology:
• Working with Intention
• Working with conscious attention to body, mind, spirit, energetic, and relational and external environmental processes
• Bridging here and now within the continuum of time.
• Attention to breath processes
• Grounding processes
• Remaining descriptive
• The Five Steps of noticing, sensing, feeling, meaning making, and finally the combined step of re-conciliation, recalibration, and re-constellation.
• Tracking the body memory, experience and story
• Honoring and trusting Bodymind wisdom
• Movement (movement can emerge as micro movement such as the movement of a finger, the twitch of the eye, or breath, medio such as the gentle swaying whilst sitting or standing of the body, macro such as moving the full body throughout the space in the room).
• Resourcing – most important for the activation of full healing possibility and transformation.
If you are interested in this process of self-healing please contact Christina on 0422 648 243 or 9430 9533 or email her at christina.manfredi@iinet.net.au
Christina’s commitment and therapeutic facilitation in this field spans many years of personal and professional work. She offers, and brings together a constellation of processes that allows for you to locate the causative factors for the distress you may experience, and the personally unique resources required to bring empowerment, understanding, peace, and positive forward movement in your life.
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