Trauma Resolution at The London Trauma Practice
What is trauma and how can we help resolve the imprint?
For Bessel van der Kolk, ( The Body Keeps the Score) trauma isn't just a past event, but the ongoing imprint of overwhelming pain, horror, and fear that gets stuck in the body and brain, disrupting memory, emotion regulation, and the sense of safety, causing individuals to relive it as if it's happening now, rather than processing it as a completed memory. It's an experience that overwhelms the nervous system, making it impossible to integrate, leading to symptoms like anxiety, rage, numbing, and difficulty forming relationships, as the body stores the unprocessed sensory information and survival responses.
This is where our Safety Net allows the body to heal, because trauma is stored in the body and the non-verbal parts of the brain. Traditional "talk therapy" is often insufficient for healing as the pre frontal cortex can bypass feeling , necessitating body-based approaches like yoga, EMDR, and neurofeedback.
Welcome to The London Trauma Practice Therapy
SOMATIC APPROACH
Trauma does not only affect thoughts and emotions; it is also held in the nervous system and the body. Somatic trauma therapy recognises this mind–body connection and works gently with physical sensations, movement, breath, and awareness to support healing at a deeper level.
One of the key benefits of somatic approaches is that they help individuals regulate their nervous system. Trauma can leave the body stuck in states of high alert, shutdown, or overwhelm. Somatic techniques support the body to gradually return to a sense of safety and balance, which can reduce symptoms such as anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional numbness, or chronic tension.
Another important benefit is that somatic therapy does not rely solely on talking about traumatic experiences. While understanding and meaning‑making are valuable, repeatedly recounting trauma can sometimes feel overwhelming or re‑traumatising. Somatic work allows healing to take place without needing to relive events in detail, focusing instead on present‑moment experiences and the body’s natural capacity to release stress.
Somatic trauma therapy can also help individuals develop a stronger sense of connection to their body, increasing awareness of signals such as boundaries, needs, and emotions. This often leads to improved self‑trust, emotional resilience, and a greater sense of agency in daily life.
Overall, somatic approaches offer a gentle, paced, and collaborative way of working with trauma, respecting each person’s readiness and capacity. They are suitable for a wide range of experiences, including developmental trauma, single‑incident trauma, and long‑term stress.
