Somatic therapy · Addiction and trauma treatment in Costa Rica
The body holds what the mind cannot always reach
Somatic therapy works directly with the body as a site of healing. At CRTC it is a key part of how we address trauma, emotional dysregulation and the physical dimensions of addiction that talk therapy alone cannot fully resolve.
Somatic therapy is an umbrella term for body-centered approaches to psychotherapy.
The core premise is that the body holds the imprint of experience, particularly traumatic or overwhelming experience, in ways that cannot always be accessed or resolved through talking alone.
Trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk famously described this as the body keeping the score. The nervous system stores the memory of overwhelming events as physical patterns of tension, contraction, hyperarousal or shutdown. These patterns can persist long after the events themselves are over, continuing to shape emotional responses, behavior and physical wellbeing.
Somatic approaches work directly with these body-level patterns. Through guided attention to physical sensation, movement, breath and the nervous system, somatic therapy helps clients access and discharge the stored charge of difficult experiences in ways that talk therapy alone often cannot reach.
How somatic work is used at CRTC
Integrated into the clinical program, not added on top
At CRTC somatic work is woven into the broader therapeutic program rather than delivered as a standalone session type. Somatic awareness and body-centered practices are integrated into individual therapy sessions, group work and the holistic modalities program.
Somatic work at CRTC is particularly important for clients with trauma presentations where the body-level charge of traumatic experience has not been resolved through cognitive or language-based work alone. It is used alongside EMDR, which also works at the neurological level, and with breathwork and yoga which support nervous system regulation.
What it includes
Guided body awareness and sensation tracking
Breathwork for nervous system regulation
Movement-based processing
Somatic grounding practices
Integration with EMDR and other trauma-focused approaches
Addiction lives in the body as much as in the mind
Addiction has a significant somatic dimension.
Cravings are physical experiences. The relief that substances provide is physical. The dysregulation that drives continued use is often grounded in the nervous system rather than in conscious thought.
Somatic approaches help clients develop a different relationship with the physical sensations that have been driving addictive behavior. Learning to notice and tolerate body-level discomfort without immediately reaching for relief. Developing the capacity to self-regulate through body-based practices. Building a physical sense of safety that does not depend on substances.
This is particularly important for clients with trauma, where the body has been in a state of chronic activation or shutdown and where re-establishing a sense of physical safety is a foundational part of recovery.
When I arrived at CRTC, I was hopeless and broken. The night before, I had almost ended my life with a bottle of methadone pills just to make the pain stop. I didn't really feel like I deserved another chance at recovery.
Before coming to…
I'm so grateful I chose CRTC. They gave me the knowledge to understand, address and change my self destructive behaviours. I really liked the holistic approach to heal my mind, body and spirit. The program content was comprehensive enough…
Life changing, world class luxury recovery treatment center. Are you ready to fly far from home, touch down in San Jose International Airport, drive through lush rainforest to a luxurious million dollar property in the heart of the Costa…
Yes. The evidence base for somatic approaches to trauma treatment is growing significantly. Key researchers including Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine and Pat Ogden have developed rigorously researched somatic frameworks that inform clinical practice internationally.
Do I need to have trauma to benefit from somatic work?
No. Somatic practices including breathwork, grounding exercises and body awareness support nervous system regulation, emotional wellbeing and stress management for anyone. Trauma-focused somatic work is used specifically with clients where trauma is part of the clinical picture.
How does somatic work relate to EMDR?
EMDR and somatic approaches are complementary. EMDR works with the neurological processing of traumatic memories while somatic work addresses the physical and nervous-system level patterns those memories have created. The two are often used together at CRTC.
