ABSTRACT
Somatic interventions include embodied affective experiences to stimulate and reorganize the deeply unconscious bodily-based subcortical parts of the brain the invisible matrix for our fluctuating moods, thoughts, and behaviors. When a destabilized vestibular system is involved in trauma, it is critical to maintain an optimal tempo and pace when using somatic interventions. Orienting interventions involve somatic attention to the felt sense, the eyes, ears, spine, and subtle body movements, increasing a person's ability to assess the current reality of perceptions of safety, danger, or life threat. Subcortical somatic interventions of the face, eyes, and ears include invitations to touch the face, especially when a person is experiencing a visceral gut level numbness or distress. Somatic interventions of the eye invite a person to look more closely. Complex trauma results in ingrained patterns of neural reactivity and emotional disorders, underdeveloped connections between subcortical structures of the brain and higher cortical structures, and presents chronic states of hypoarousal, depression, dissociation, and powerlessness.
