Enhancing Professional Development in Psychotherapy

What is trauma-informed somatic therapy and how does it work?

Trauma-informed somatic therapy is a body-based approach that supports healing by working directly with your nervous system — not only your thoughts.

Grounded in the work of Dr Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing®) and Dr Arielle Schwartz, it recognizes that traumatic stress can linger as unfinished defensive responses or nervous-system dysregulation, even after the mind believes the danger has passed.

In session, we slow down, notice body sensations, posture, and breath, and track subtle shifts with curiosity and care. As safety grows, the nervous system can gradually complete previously interrupted survival responses — a process Levine calls discharge or completion. Over time, this helps restore regulation, presence, and a greater sense of calm.

👉 Put simply: your body gets the chance to finish what it couldn’t during the stressful or traumatic event.

How can trauma-informed somatic therapy benefit mental health?

Somatic therapy bridges the gap between mind and body. By addressing patterns of physiological activation or shutdown, it can help reduce anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and emotional overwhelm.
When the body experiences safety, the mind often follows. Many clients describe better sleep, steadier moods, improved focus, and deeper connection to self and others.

This approach complements talk therapy by working bottom-up (through body sensations) as well as top-down (through thoughts and insight). Dr Schwartz calls this “integration from the inside out,” supporting both resilience and self-compassion.

Are there specialized trauma-informed somatic therapists in Singapore?

Yes — Singapore now has a small but growing community of practitioners trained in body-based trauma-healing modalities such as Somatic Experiencing®, Polyvagal-informed therapy, EMDR, and Brainspotting.

At Heal with Nav, sessions are led by Navroop Sood, a trauma therapist specializing in somatic and attachment-based work. She integrates Somatic Experiencing® principles, Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and EMDR to create a gentle, personalized path to healing — offering both in-person sessions at International Plaza and virtual sessions worldwide.

(Somatic Experiencing® is a registered service mark of the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute USA, used here in reference to the clinical model developed by Dr Peter Levine.)

What are the key principles of trauma-informed somatic therapy?

Trauma-informed somatic therapy rests on five core principles shared across Levine and Schwartz’s work:

• Safety and Stabilization – Healing begins only when the body senses safety.
• Choice and Agency – You set the pace; nothing is forced or rushed.
• Body Awareness and Tracking – We use the felt sense (sensations, movement, breath) as a guide.
• Titration and Pendulation – We approach activation in small, manageable steps, moving between comfort and discomfort to build capacity.
• Integration and Connection – Each session ends with grounding and reflection so mind, body, and emotion come back into sync.

These principles ensure the process honors your nervous system’s readiness and builds resilience rather than re-traumatization.

How does somatic therapy differ from traditional talk therapy?

Traditional talk therapy focuses mainly on thoughts and emotions through conversation. Somatic therapy adds a crucial dimension — the body.

We notice what’s happening physically — breath, tension, temperature, impulses to move — and how those patterns relate to your story. By including the body’s implicit memories, somatic work can help the nervous system unwind what words alone may not reach. Many people find that combining talk and somatic approaches leads to deeper, more sustainable change.