Somatics is Culture
Somatics is Culture:
Going Beyond Western Understandings of Embodiment.
By Juliette Roussel
In the realms of the online coaching industry, clinical trauma work, or spiritual development, one will quickly come across the terms “embodiment” and “somatics” being flashed all over Instagram. At first, I wondered if those words may belong to some psychology jargon I hadn’t come across previously. The extensive range of (potentially self-proclaimed) experts on these topics seemed to hold a similar understanding of such terms, even though their application in practice was varied, even scattered, and unclear to me, at first. At last, once enough time had elapsed and my own biases had been confronted, I understood that embodiment and somatics truly go beyond psychology. In this blog post, I argue that somatics is another word for culture for many - centuries of communal dancing, singing, and self-expression that existed long before the West colonized what used to be customary.
Somatics refers to theories and practices based on the premise that healing happens through the body - “soma” in Ancient Greek refers to the physical body. Embodiment is the state of being in one’s body and thus a crucial component of somatic therapy. Through embodiment practices, somatic therapy supports individuals to come back to their bodies as gently and safely as possible. In a state of embodiment, any lived experience is fully and harmoniously registered in the body, the brain, the mind - and, depending on your spiritual and religious beliefs, the soul.
Somatic work emerged in direct contrast to the Western understanding of healing, which is believed to occur through cognitive processes and intellectual insights, i.e. through talk therapy. Evidence on the importance of a somatic approach to trauma work has been exploding in academic literature and little doubt remains on its transformative impact. This is not to say that talk therapy is ineffective - in fact, many somatic practitioners and therapists are trained in both modalities. Instead, this paradigm shift in psychotherapy aims to emphasize the importance of a holistic approach to healing.
Practitioners come to somatic work from a variety of perspectives. Still, the dominant one has been through clinical psychology with researchers such as Peter Levine, Besser van der Kolk, and Stephen Porges. Their work has undoubtedly allowed radical progress in the field of somatics and remains highly influential. I’ve always felt inspired, motivated, and passionate about their scientific advancements. Still, I also came to realize that there was a deeper layer of understanding to uncover to properly value and respect the origins of embodiment work.
I believe that somatics is another word for culture for many. For thousands of years, communities all over the world have practiced trauma work, not as an individual journey but as a communal one through dance, music, drawings, storytelling, or songs. In Haiti, 70% of the population is believed to engage in Vodou practices. Vodou priests (Hougans) and priestesses (Mambos) have continuously conducted ceremonies to treat people with mental and physical illnesses and support their communities in processing loss and grief. Due to the lack of mental healthcare support available after the 2010 earthquakes, these religious leaders were instrumental in providing access to treatment to Haiti’s largely-traumatized population. On the other side of the globe, in Aboriginal Australia, healers have supported their communities for generations and continue to do so successfully by incorporating concurrently biomedical healthcare. These healers are natural leaders in their communities and have been found to positively influence the way patients use and experience healthcare services.
“What changed then?”, you might ask. The Western world put a name on things and pretended that it was new, while most cultures have always been about embodiment. In the world of somatics, just as in the world at large, processes of colonization and imperialist ideologies disrupted indigenous societies and lifestyles. Settlers sought to eliminate the cultures of those they invaded to replace them with Western mind-centric understandings of the world, societies, and human beings - be it for land and resource appropriation or reinforcing their perceived racial and ideological superiority over others.
Colonization was what created a break in the synergy between the body and the mind that was present in many indigenous cultures. In Haiti, as in Aboriginal Australia, and other parts of the world, traditional healing practices were stigmatized and rejected. You don’t need to look far; google “Voodoo” (not the correct spelling which is “Vodou”) and you will find a plethora of harmful and erroneous associations of this ancient spirituality with satanic symbols and rituals. The result was not a complete shift to Western medicine. Instead, the majority of indigenous populations remained (understandably) wary of Western healthcare considering how their communities had been harmed by white settlers. Only recently have international organizations such as the World Health Organization recognized the benefits of traditional healing practices as a complement to biomedical healthcare. Traditional medicine does not only shape the views and experiences of people on healthcare facilities, practitioners, and treatments but also holds centuries of valuable knowledge on herbal medicine and culturally appropriate ways to approach treatment.
Decolonizing trauma work thus does not only encompass incorporating body-based understandings of healing but also acknowledging the origins of embodiment itself as a cultural practice. For some cultures, embodiment even extends beyond the body, as life is not only an individual experience but a communal one by embracing nature itself as part of one’s entire state of being. For example, many tribes amongst indigenous peoples of North America identify familial links between humans and nature. From this belief derives the understanding that harming nature equals harming oneself. Most Western populations have an anthropocentric understanding of self in which one detains agency over their own world and surroundings. In opposition, indigenous peoples of North America and Australia, Haitians, and many other cultures hold cosmocentric worldviews which see people as deeply embedded and influenced by a larger spiritual and psychosocial context. The paradigm shift in psychotherapy to incorporate somatic therapy along with talk therapy is, even more, suitable considering working in cross-cultural therapeutic settings.
The shift to incorporate somatic work into traditional Western therapy stems from the limitations of talk therapy in supporting trauma survivors. Talk therapy finds its limitations with its top-down approach to healing. Top-down is indeed the modus operandi of the West. Just as colonization imposed ideologies and lifestyles on BIPOC populations, I argue that talk therapy colonized the body by establishing the mind as master and suppressing a previously inherent mind-body harmony. Decolonizing embodiment and somatic work is thus twofold. First, we need to reappropriate embodiment as a cultural practice by acknowledging its centuries-long importance for communities all over the world in their spiritual, artistic, and self-expression practices. Second, when we do engage in embodiment and somatic work, we need to recognize that this act itself is one of decolonizing the body. It is our responsibility, however, as therapists, practitioners, or facilitators, to do more than this and use our work as a tool for social justice and radical activism.
Being embodied is a revolution in itself. But let’s take it one step further. Here are a few suggestions on how to use your work or your personal practice as a tool for social justice and radical activism:
As a practitioner, consider your own practice whether it is yoga, dance, or any other embodiment practice. Do you know about the origins of this practice? Are there philosophical or spiritual considerations to it? Educate yourself about it and share what you know with people who also engage in this practice. We want cultural appreciation, not cultural appropriation.
As a teacher, therapist, facilitator, or coach, are you trained to offer trauma-informed care? Consider following a training to hold accessible and diverse spaces for all. Are your offerings welcoming and accessible to everyone? Consider your language within your classes or sessions. Maybe offer scholarships or tiered pricing for those with fewer financial resources. Adjust your marketing to make sure everyone feels welcome.
In your everyday life, encourage friends, family, partners, and strangers to take a breath, shake it off, dance it off. Often that’s where the revolution starts.
Sources
Auguste, E., & Rasmussen, A. (2019). Vodou's role in Haitian mental health. Global Mental Health, 6.
Forbes, J. D. (2001). Indigenous Americans: spirituality and ecos. Daedalus, 130(4), 283-300.
Korff, J. (2021, August 30). Traditional Aboriginal Health Care. Creative Spirits. Retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/health/traditional-aboriginal-health-care
Moloney, A. (2015, January 9). Voodoo priests, doctors on frontline of Haiti's mental healthcare. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-earthquake-anniversary-mentalhe-idINKBN0KI1NC20150109
Oliver, S. J. (2013). The role of traditional medicine practice in primary health care within Aboriginal Australia: a review of the literature. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, 9(1), 1-8.
Russell, D. (2015, July 22). The limits of talk therapy. Achievement Centered Therapy. Retrieved from https://www.achievementcenteredtherapy.com/the-limits-of-talk-therapy/
Sterlin, C. (2006). Pour une approche interculturelle du concept de santé. Ruptures, 11(1), 112-121.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. New York.
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/health-topics/traditional-complementary-and-integrative-medicine#tab=tab_1