Healing Sexual Trauma Through the Body: A Somatic Approach
Sexual trauma is heartbreaking. I know because it happened to me. It has happened to many of the clients who I’ve worked with and supported. I am often devastated by the impact it has on individuals, relationships, and communities. Tragically sexual trauma is a common experience. I’m not going to share the statistics right now because they hurt. Instead I am going to focus on the path towards healing. Many people have to step onto this path and it feels important to give folks hope as they move towards reclaiming what’s lost when our consent and automony have been violated.
The healing path begins by understanding that sexual trauma lives not just in the mind, but in the body. After an experience of assault or violation, the nervous system can become stuck in survival mode—shutting down, going numb, or overreacting to perceived threats. You may feel disconnected from your body, like it’s not safe to live within your bones, brain, and beyond. This can lead to issues like PTSD, anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and relationship strain.
Somatic psychotherapy helps bridge the gap between the impact on your mind, body, and relationships. The healing path isn’t about reliving the trauma—it's about gently reconnecting with your body in a way that restores safety, presence, and control. Healing through somatic therapy means learning to feel again—not just the pain, but also pleasure, peace, and power.
What Is Somatic Psychotherapy?
“Somatic” comes from the Greek word soma, meaning the body. Somatic psychotherapy focuses on the connection between mind and body, especially how trauma affects the nervous system, muscles, breath, and posture. Taking this body-based approach, somatic psychotherapy gets into the “how” of healing, as opposed to focusing on the “why,” which is the territory of traditional talk therapy. By focusing on the “how,” somatic approaches help people regain their wellbeing in the here and now.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, somatic approaches often use:
Body awareness
Gentle movement or touch
Breathwork
Grounding exercises
Nervous system regulation techniques
Nonverbal awareness
Somatic psychotherapy teaches you how to listen to your body’s signals and wisdom, responding with care instead of fear.
Why Sexual Trauma Needs a Body-Based Approach
While there is no “right way” to address trauma, a large part of healing from sexual trauma depends on addressing the bodily aspects of your distress. Sexual trauma often overrides the body’s natural defense systems, which means you might have experienced:
Freezing during and after the assault
Dissociation or feeling "out of body"
Numbness or pain in certain bodily areas
Startle responses, tension, or chronic fatigue
Hyperarousal or feeling “unable to calm down”
These responses are very common and normal. They are your body’s way of protecting you and managing the extreme overwhelm that occurs during traumatic events. But over time, unresolved trauma can leave you feeling stuck or unsafe in your own mind and body. Somatic psychotherapy helps you move through these patterns with gentleness and compassion.
Somatic Practices to Support Healing
Different people find healing through various somatic approaches. Below I’ve included a few somatic tools that many trauma survivors find helpful. You don’t have to do them all—choose what feels safe and accessible to you. The key with somatic practices is consistency. In my experience personally and professionally, it is better to pick one somatic practice that resonates and focus on using it daily for five to 10 minutes or when you feel activated by past events.
1. Grounding Through the Senses
Use your five senses to come into the present moment. This helps anchor your body and calm your nervous system.
Touch something textured (like a soft blanket or smooth stone)
Notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste
Press your feet into the floor and notice the support beneath you
2. Trauma-Informed Breathwork
Shallow, tight breathing is common for folks dealing with trauma. Gentle breathwork can help regulate your nervous system—but go slowly. For example:
Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 2, exhale for 6
Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly as you breathe
Don’t force deep breathing—just observe your breath without judgment
3. Movement and Reconnection
Trauma can leave the body feeling frozen or fragmented. Movement helps restore flow and ownership. It also brings back your sense of connection to yourself.
Try slow stretching, walking, or shaking out tension
Move freely to music, even if it’s just swaying side to side
Explore yoga or somatic movement classes designed for trauma survivors
4. Resourcing
In somatic therapy, resourcing means calling in images, places, beings, and memories that generate sensations that help you feel safe in the present moment. We all have these internal resources that are always with us. This is also where your spiritual beliefs, if you have them, can help your healing journey. Working with internal resources supports managing trauma response.
Recall a calming memory (a place, person, or pet) and connect it to the present
Think about a supportive being (a place, person, or pet) and how your relationship with them helps you here and now
Consider how your spiritual beliefs give you comfort and resilience in the present
Working with a Somatic Therapist
While self-guided practices are powerful and a significant part of the healing journey, working with a trained body-centered therapist can deepen your healing. Because sexual trauma is relational, it is important to work with someone who inspires trust and safety. They can help you navigate:
Releasing trauma stored in the body
Learning somatic skills to manage trauma responses
Rebuilding trust in physical sensations
Improving your relationship with yourself and others
Reclaiming Your Body, On Your Terms
Healing from sexual trauma is not about going back to who you were before—it’s about becoming a new version of yourself who is resilient and even more connected. Somatic work reminds us that our bodies aren’t the enemy. They are our allies. Our bodies hold wisdom that can be reclaimed. I’ve seen so many people rediscover their power, creativity, and vitality after experiencing sexual trauma. Somatic psychotherapy can support a growth process that leads you home to more self trust and love.
Resources for Somatic Healing:
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): https://rainn.org
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Healing Sexual Trauma Workbook by Erika Shershun
Queering Sexual Violence: Radical Voices from Within the Anti-violence Movement by Jennifer Patterson