Counseling With Jade, MHC-LP | Somatic and Trauma Therapy in New York State

Writings by Jade

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Mindfulness has roots in Buddhist meditation practices and has been adapted into contemporary psychotherapy. Here, we define mindfulness as a non-judgmental awareness of, and presence in, our here-and-now experience.Mindfulness can play a significant role in somatic and trauma-focused therapies by bringing a witnessing capacity to one’s experience. In approaches like Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, mindfulness is foundational. Developing an ability to notice one’s present-moment experience can support nervous system regulation, deepen self-understanding, and reveal the wisdom underneath survival adaptations.For trauma recovery, cultivating curiosity and mindful awareness supports a path away from the traumatic past and toward the here-and-now. This is where healing can begin. In therapy, we offer a gentle, paced, and collaborative approach to support this journey.

What Does “Trauma” Mean?

Trauma is an experience that often threatens a person’s safety and overwhelms their ability to cope. As a result, the brain may not fully integrate the occurrence, and the memory can become fragmented. Sensory elements from the original event may remain intact and can later be re-experienced through intrusion symptoms. This can happen when we encounter a “trigger,” or something that reactivates the past in the present. We may find ourselves reliving associated feelings or body sensations, with or without a clear memory to understand what is happening.When certain criteria are met, a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be considered. If the trauma exposure was repetitive or prolonged, as is often the case in developmental or relational trauma, an expanded symptom presentation of complex PTSD (C-PTSD) can occur, further impacting one’s identity, relationships, and emotions.While a trauma-related stress response can be defined by a specific set of symptoms, what makes an event traumatic is unique to the individual. Two people can experience the same event and be impacted in different ways. One person may develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress while the other may not. Factors that can influence this include the availability and quality of resources and support.Because trauma may impact our present-moment experience and sense of safety, mindfulness can be a valuable tool for the recovery process.

How Can Mindfulness Help After Trauma?

When reminders surface, intrusion symptoms can make us feel like we are reliving the past. Here is where we can find a potential benefit in cultivating mindful awareness. If we develop an ability to shift our attention from the past toward curiosity about what is happening in our present-moment experience, there may be an opportunity to down-regulate the stress response within ourselves.TIST is one therapeutic approach that can help with this.

Understanding TIST Therapy and Parts Work

TIST is a model of psychotherapy developed by Janina Fisher, PhD, a clinical psychologist, international trauma expert, and former instructor at Harvard Medical School. The approach was designed to help survivors heal the impact of trauma without having to deeply reprocess the past.Parts work is a therapeutic approach in which aspects of one's experience are engaged as “parts.” A therapist will often guide clients toward increasing their awareness of, and internal communication with, parts. Internal Family Systems, referred to as IFS, and TIST are two such models growing in popularity.TIST is a trauma-informed approach. In TIST, we compassionately welcome, recognize, and support all aspects of one’s experience. Through mindful curiosity, we explore and recognize the positive intentions of protective parts, such as their efforts to safeguard the more vulnerable parts. With compassionate understanding, all parts can be heard and attended to.

How Does TIST Use Mindfulness

In TIST, distressing thoughts, feelings, and reactions are recognized as communications from parts of our experience that have been triggered. TIST relies on a mindful noticing of these parts because of the way mindfulness impacts the brain.When we “notice” our experience, we often engage our prefrontal cortex—what some call our “thinking brain.” When the thinking brain is online, it can help calm our “survival brain.” The thinking brain offers a wide lens to view a situation through and increases our ability to reflect on a situation.When the nervous system detects a threat, our focus can rapidly narrow, and the thinking brain may go offline. The body may respond instinctively from a survival state. This is because when we are in danger, we don’t need to think—we need to survive! The challenge for trauma survivors is that the nervous system may perceive a threat based on past learning when there is no active threat in the current environment. However, the body will receive the signal and can respond as if danger is imminent, activating a survival response—often a fight, flight, or shut-down reaction.By becoming curious and mindfully noticing what is happening in our thoughts, feelings, and reactions, we can support access to the thinking brain and our ability to reflect on a situation. When we notice our parts, we can begin to learn what they need and offer support. This can be healing for both clients and parts.

Who Is TIST For?

TIST may be helpful for people who have experienced early trauma or adversity during their life and are struggling with difficult, complex, or overwhelming emotions or behaviors they seek to change. In addition, people who see themselves in a parts work model or who have not found benefit from other therapies may find healing through TIST.This approach can offer and guide a new way of being in relationship with oneself in one’s here-and-now experience. If memory work or deeper reprocessing of past experiences would be beneficial and desired, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy shares a similar foundation and could support this path.

Understanding Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and the Mind-Body Connection

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a body-oriented talk therapy, developed by Pat Ogden, PhD, somatic psychology expert and founder of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. The approach is holistic, attending to a person's mind-body experience through mindful self-study of their thoughts, feelings, and somatic wisdom. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, like TIST, aims to support healing through present-moment experiences. The approach was designed for the treatment of trauma and deep emotional wounds, such as early relational and sociocultural injuries. These occurrences can be held outside of our awareness and reflected in our thoughts, feelings, posture, and patterned responses.

Who Is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy For?

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy may help people who are seeking a deeper understanding of themselves, experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, or depression, or struggling with relationship issues.

How Does Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Use Mindfulness?

In Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, mindfulness is not just a technique, but a state of being and a foundational principle. In this model, we often guide clients toward becoming mindful observers of their thoughts, feelings, and somatic experience. Together, we study what is occurring in the here-and-now, where deeper insight and possibilities for healing and change may emerge.Mindful awareness in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy also serves to support safety when moving toward deeper processing. When a person can witness their experience while also being present in it, their nervous system can receive support from the here-and-now focus.

Insight and Change in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

In every moment, our experience includes different thoughts, feelings, body sensations, sensory perceptions, and movements. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy refers to these connections as our organization of experience. The way we organize—or the types of thoughts, feelings, and sensations we have at any given moment—is often based on early and past learning experiences. This can explain our behavior and relationship patterns, demonstrating how the past can become the lens through which we experience ourselves, others, and the world. By being with and witnessing what is present, a path toward deeper change can begin to emerge.

How Does Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Explore Relationship Issues?

To understand healing through the mind-body connection when working with a relationship issue, let’s consider an example of a fictional client named Mary. Mary is in her thirties and feels a deep sense of loneliness. When her coworkers invite her out, she contemplates going, feels uncomfortable, has the thought that she doesn’t belong, and declines.One day, Mary became curious about this pattern and discussed it with her therapist. The therapist, practicing Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, invited Mary to notice the thought that she doesn’t belong in response to her coworkers’ invitation. Mary agreed since this was of interest to her. As she stayed with the thought, a feeling of shame began to arise, followed by an impulse to hide, and an urge to collapse in her core.While studying Mary’s organization of experience, an early memory came to mind. She expressed curiosity toward this and consented to further exploration. When witnessing the scene, Mary described herself during a painful social interaction with peers when she did not feel welcome. She saw how her young mind made sense of that situation by forming the belief: “There’s something wrong with me. I don’t belong.”The belief Mary identified existed outside of her awareness, yet was carried forward in her thoughts, feelings, posture, and behaviors for decades. In session, Mary began to feel the painful loneliness that belief caused her over the years.Afterward, Mary became aware of a desire to let that child inside of her know how untrue that belief was. She noticed an impulse to comfort the child with a hug, and when she imagined that in her mind, she placed her hand over her heart. Mary then used that gesture to anchor the healing experience in her body so she could revisit it in the days to come.By creating space to study Mary’s organization of experience, Mary gained insight and understanding. She began to bring attention and healing to the root of her shame and loneliness.The next time Mary’s coworkers invite her out, it is possible that she will notice new thoughts and feelings arise. Alternatively, Mary may recognize her automatic pattern, place her hand over her heart, recall the healing experience from her session, and then decide to take intentional action aligned with her current circumstances and desires.Mary’s example illustrates how creating space to notice one’s experience can lead to new understanding and the beginnings of healing and change.

TIST Versus Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Which Approach Is Right for You?

TIST is an approach that supports healing the impact of trauma within oneself, through parts work and the relationship a person has with their thoughts, feelings, and reactions.Sensorimotor Psychotherapy works within a relational context to support mindful self-study, memory reprocessing, and healing of deep emotional wounds.The approaches share a foundation in mindful awareness yet are unique and separate. Depending on your goals and a therapist’s training, the two may complement each other or be integrated with other types of therapy.

How to Begin a Mindfulness-Based Approach to Healing

If you enjoyed these topics and are curious about incorporating mindfulness into your healing, NYC Somatic Psychotherapy has a team of compassionate therapists available to guide you. With training in TIST and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, the team can welcome and support you in exploring mindfulness-based healing at a pace and depth that feels safe and right for you.

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