When Talk Therapy Isn’t Enough:
A Somatic Trauma Healing Roadmap

• Release chronic fear to restore a calm sense of softness in the body with Somatic Trauma-Healing Exercises
• Rebalance the gut microbiome to reduce depressive symptoms with Trauma-Informed Nutrition
• Rekindle self-agency and acceptance to make space for processing loss and grief with Trauma-Informed Yoga
• Deeply validate and release feelings of fear, loss, shame, and anger with Movement and Dance Therapy
• Reframe deep association with loss and grief to open space for closure and repair with Expressive Arts Therapy
• Soothe and ground the nervous system and body into the present by attuning to the self with Sound and Music Therapy
• Reconnect to self-compassion to reduce patterns of addiction and shame with Dramatherapy

Low mood, chronic fatigue, and depression often indicate that the gut and brain are out of balance. The gut — often referred to as the second brain, is responsible for producing hormones that the brain uses to regulate our mental and physiological processes.¹

According to naturopathic physician, Vanessa Ruiz, and registered holistic nutritionist, Amy Nicole, leveraging nutrition works to heal the gut, which supports the body in moving to a state of regulation to facilitate trauma healing.

Learn how to harness the healing powers of food to help: 

• Soothe the trauma-affected nervous system to reduce stress and anxiety
• Balance the gut microbiome to decrease symptoms of depression
• Stabilize mood and improve sleep to rekindle self-attunement 
• Relieve dysregulated digestive symptoms
• Boost the immune system and decrease inflammation

Trauma affects sleep, and sleep affects trauma healing. High-quality sleep assists in the processing of memories and emotions and, thus, in the process of healing.

Sleep experts, Dr. Alex Dimitriu, Dr. Robert Stickgold, and Dierdre O’Connor speak to the importance of sleep in healing trauma.

Discover guided somatic and neuroplasticity exercises from Dierdre O’Connor and Dr. Kim DiRe’ to:

• Soothe anxiety to improve quality and length of sleep
• Create longer sleep cycles to process traumatic memories and emotions
• Heal insomnia to rekindle energy and creativity
• Rekindle a sense of safety in the body to decrease fear and worry
• Rediscover a sense of calm in the body to decrease the frequency of nightmares

Trauma overwhelms the nervous system, creating a constant state of fear and anxiety in the body.

Trauma healing experts Keara Mangham, Jen Bain, and Chaya Notik suggest somatic therapies as a powerful way to release the fear that you may find yourself living in so that you can appreciate your body as a site of healing, pleasure, and strength.

Learn how to release chronic fear to help:

• Gain a deeper understanding of how trauma and fear are expressed in the body
• Discover therapies that help dissipate fear and create a sense of safety in the body
• Transform feelings of sadness and grief into feelings of acceptance and hope
• Release chronic fear, paranoia, and negative predictions to embrace feelings of safety, empowerment, and excitement
• Nurture your inner child and heal from fears of abandonment
• Restore sensations of power, self-agency, and choice within the body

Living in the world and being in our bodies often feels unsafe and untrusting after experiencing trauma. 

According to trauma-informed somatic therapist, counselor, and movement therapist, Deirdre O'Connor, and trauma-informed yoga practitioner, Manasa Kanithi, trauma-informed yoga attunes us to our bodies to release tension and trauma from the tissues to help cultivate a sense of inner safety and calm.

Learn guided yoga routines to help:

• Process and resolve trauma symptoms lingering in the body
• Safely shift out of emotional numbness and gently process trauma
• Calm the dysregulated nervous system
• Break away from anxiety and fear through movement and breath
• Build resilience to triggers and use grounding techniques to help reclaim inner safety

Trauma causes us to live in an exhaustive state of hyperarousal, making it challenging for us to regulate our emotions and triggers.

Trauma healing experts, Deirdre O’Connor, Dr. Jorina Elbers, Matt Bennett, and Suzanne Gundersen, recommend vagal toning to support the nervous system in moving to a calm and more regulated state.

Strengthening our vagal tone offers us a powerful way of regulating our defensive responses to help shift our bodies into a state of safety.²

Learn vagus nerve toning exercises to help:

• Reconnect with soothing sensations of calm and groundedness within the body and nervous system after surviving trauma and chronic stress
• Strengthen the vagus nerve to reduce the intensity and frequency of triggers, flashbacks, and nightmares
• Safely release traumatic memories and energy held in the body
• Reduce feelings of overwhelm
• Reclaim feelings of love and kindness for the self and others
• Restore sensations of power and self-agency to ease feelings of dissociation and helplessness

Traumatic memories and emotions are stored in the body and manifest into exhausting physiological symptoms. 

According to trauma healing experts Dr. Kim DiRé, Keara Mangham, Dr. Barbara Wade, and Ilene Smith, somatic therapy exercises safely connect us to our bodies to support our nervous system in moving to a calm and regulated state to help relieve the debilitating effects of trauma.

Learn somatic therapies to help:

• Rewire and rebalance the nervous system to cultivate a sense of calm and safety in the body
• Safely shift traumatic memories to relieve intrusive thoughts and triggers
• Discover the power of words in relieve distress after trauma
• Build a deeper, stronger, and safer relationship with your body
• Foster feelings of safety when feeling anxious or isolated
• Find a sense of groundedness to ease feelings of dissociation
• Release the lingering somatic symptoms of trauma from the tissues and body
• Reduce the intensity and frequency of triggers

Our body’s instinctual way of communicating traumatic experiences is not through words but through vivid memories, painful emotions, and lingering anxiety.

Trauma healing experts Trudy Kim, Behzad Bernous, Rory O’Neill Schmitt, and Jooske Honig suggest expressive arts to create a safe environment for self-exploration to help release thoughts and emotions associated with trauma.

Learn expressive art exercises to support safely reprocessing trauma to help:

• Increase neuroplasticity to reframe old memories
• Rewire patterns of fear, remuneration, worry, and anxiety
• Use creativity and self-expression to process and release trauma
• Improve your mood, self-esteem, and self-awareness
• Establish a sense of safety and trust to express sensations and emotions
• Rediscover inner playfulness, vulnerability, and curiosity

Traumatic experiences and memories imprint on our bodies and are stored as sensations and emotions, making them difficult to fully process solely with words.

Trauma healing experts, Aaron Lightstone, Dr. Dena Register, and Dr. Heather MacDuffie, recommend the therapeutic use of sound and music as it invites us to access our traumatic memories and emotions in their true sensory form, offering voice and expression to what often feels like the unspeakable while strengthening the vagus nerve to help regulate and maintain a sense of safety within the body.

Living in an exhaustive state of hyperarousal after trauma often causes us to feel as though our body is not our own, making it difficult for us to return to a state of pleasure and play.

Trauma healing experts Maxine Bekker, Rebecca Love, and Hannah Loewenthal incorporate creative and expressive movement and dance therapies to help unify and integrate the mind and body to support the release of tension and trauma from the body while reconnecting you to your authentic and playful self.

Learn movement and dance therapy exercises to support in:

• Rediscovering a sense of safety in the body after chronic anxiety
• Helping the body move through grief and loss
• Rekindling a sense of curiosity, freedom, and self-agency
• Reconnecting with your creative, expressive, and playful self
• Nurturing self-attunement and connection with others

Deep healing begins once we have the resources to learn how to reframe our memories and emotions of the past. 

Drama therapist, Paula Kingwill, suggests drama therapy as a way to create a safe space for self-exploration to help reframe trauma-related memories and emotions while learning how to strengthen boundaries, map priorities, and cultivate self-agency.

Learn therapeutic exercises to support the release of trauma to help:

• Reframe memories and emotions about the past
• Heal and ground the trauma-affected nervous system
• Rewire trauma-related cycles and beliefs
• Use creativity and self-expression to validate and release trauma
• Enhance your ability to connect with others
• Rediscover inner playfulness, vulnerability, and curiosity

The full pain of our past often lies out of our conscious reach. Hypnotherapy supports us in learning how to access the creative subconscious mind to help release trauma-related memories and emotions.

Clinical hypnotherapist, master neuro-linguistic programming practitioner, and life coach, Lai Tattis, provides tools and techniques that use the power of the unconscious mind to help break habits, addictions, clear negative influences, emotions, and beliefs to heal from trauma while reconnecting to a sense of clarity and peace.

Learn therapeutic exercises to help process and release traumatic memories and emotions by:

• Regulating the overwhelmed and dysregulated nervous system 
• Safely accessing and reprocessing subconscious trauma memory
• Releasing worry to anchor feelings of inner safety and self-trust
• Allowing the subconscious to restructure past memories
• Improving sleep and immunity by soothing the nervous system