Sensorimotor psychotherapy, developed by Pat Ogden in the 1970’s, combines somatic therapies, attachment theory, cognitive applications, neuroscience, and techniques from the Hakomi Bodywork method. As a psychotherapist and body therapist who was interested in helping her clients overcome the disconnect that their physical actions had from their psychological issues, Ogden chose to blend both psychotherapy and somatic therapy to create this widely recognized and gentle form of treatment.

Healing Trauma, Somatic Healing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

This method of treatment is highly effective for people suffering from PTSD, dissociation, or emotional reactivity disorders. Many people who have otherwise not been able to recover successfully from traumatic situations, have found that the sensorimotor psychotherapy technique allows them to find relief. Because the emotional and cognitive processing centers are being indirectly accessed, rather than directly, those who cannot work within those realms due to severe trauma have seen beneficial results.

Sensorimotor psychotherapy strives to address the physiological elements of trauma through somatic healing. Disruptions occur between emotional, cognitive, and sensorimotor layers when trauma occurs and correction must be implemented to affect healing. This form of therapy combines the emotional and cognitive processing mechanisms with sensorimotor processing in the treatment of traumatic situations. Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms are often a result of the maladaptive somatic reactions. The somatic experience allows a client to treat the source of the trauma which will result in improved functioning both cognitively and emotionally.

Process of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

In sensorimotor psychotherapy, clients are guided through a physical journey through a somatic experience into discovery of their own body as a vehicle for recovery. By using somatic interventions and strategies, sensorimotor psychotherapy creates a fluid, elegant, and dynamically effective body therapy that allows clients to draw their strength from their own inner wisdom. The goal of this method of therapy is to reach deeply into the body and mind in order to powerfully touch the soul.

Resources Related to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy™

• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
• The Trauma Center

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Last updated: 05-14-2013