On Body-Informed Therapy: How Our Bodies Tell Our Stories

Our bodies matter in therapy because we exist in the world as embodied creatures.

Consciously or unconsciously, we are constantly taking in the world around us through our senses and making meaning of it. Tangible, physical experiences of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting help us find our way in our surroundings. Through our senses, we perceive danger, receive soothing, encounter connection, and experience wonderment.

What’s more, we carry the memories of our sensory experiences with us. Familiar scents might take us back to our grandmother’s kitchen. Or a familiar tune might remind us of a special moment with a loved one. These visceral memories are not merely mental but sensory.

In other words, our brains are not the only place we “remember.” Our bodies can also carry sensory (or implicit) memories that “keep the score” of our lived experience, as psychiatrist and trauma specialist Bessel van der Kolk would say. This can be true even if we don't explicitly remember a particular experience we have had.

Many of us have attempted to tune out the ways our bodies hold onto memories, especially the memories of our most painful experiences. It may not feel relevant or safe to pay attention to the physical sensations associated with our embodied memories. But as somatic psychologist Pat Ogden maintains, our bodies will reveal to us our stories if we can learn how to listen. Thus, we might begin to wonder: What is my chronic fatigue trying to tell me? Or the gnawing pit in my stomach? What does the tension in my neck or jaw want to say? Or, how long have I been holding my breath?

Our bodies will reveal to us our stories if we can learn how to listen.

At Bristlecone Therapy, we believe our bodies are full of clues about our lived experiences--both past and present--and we want to listen well. We believe that for our clients to find more freedom and healing in their lives, it is just as important (if not more important!) for them to grow in awareness of their somatic experiences as much as their cognitive and emotional experiences.

So we pay attention. We hold space to notice and sense. We move slowly and extend compassion to the parts of clients' bodies that hold pain. And then we support clients in integrating their sensory experiences with the stories about themselves they already know as well as by helping them to develop new, more coherent stories to tell about themselves.

If you find yourself carrying pain in your body or otherwise feel stirred to explore what stories your body has to tell, perhaps it is time for some accompaniment. Reach out to our team (630-492-1388 or info@bristleconetherapy.com) to set up an appointment today.