Applications of somatic psychology: movement and body experience in the treatment of dissociative disorders

ABSTRACT

Somatic psychology is a powerful tool to address clinical dissociative disorders. Somatic modalities offer interventions to manage intense effect, offer corrective experience and build a coherent self-narrative. Using physical movement helps facilitate safety, strength and connection in dissociative disorder treatment. Clinicians can facilitate somatic regulation of dissociated experience by using somatic-based interventions with clients, therefore helping patients to re-pattern traumatic experiences and maladaptive coping strategies. Using case study examples from this author’s in-office experience treating patients with dissociative disorders using movement, this paper will address how bringing movement interventions into the treatment room addresses integration of psychological and physical systems. It will also discuss the foundations of somatic psychology and outline how somatic processing is important to the integration of insight and reconnection with the client’s sense of self as a whole.

KEYWORDS:

• Somatic psychology
• movement intervention
• emotional regulation
• dissociative disorders
• trauma

Disclosure statement

No, potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stacy Reuille-Dupont

Dr. Stacy Reuille-Dupont is a licensed clinical psychologist, addiction counselor, certified personal trainer and certified nutrition coach. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology/Somatic Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, MS in Community Counseling from the University of Wisconsin – Superior and BS in Kinesiology from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. Her integrative practice blends her training as an exercise scientist and psychologist to address mental and physical health concerns.