With so many modalities of therapy available now, it can be easy to forget that until recently, the scope of traditional therapy was confined to a somewhat narrower definition. Indeed, for many, the word “therapy” still conjures the archetypal mental picture of a client reclined on a couch beside a box of tissues, across from a suited professional armed with their notebook, asking the hard hitting question, “and how do you feel about that?” for a full 60 minutes. This–known as talk therapy–was, in fact, the basis for most of the contemporary practice of psychotherapy–and how Moushumi Ghose was trained. These days, however, the world of therapy is varied and diverse–perhaps a not-so-coincidental reflection of the varied and diverse clientele–and as Mou built her private practice, she, too, eschewed talk therapy alone. She found herself working with clients who were actively seeking help with sex and sexuality, which, of course, necessitates the integration of the body, which brings us to: somatic therapy.
Where talk therapy can have clients talking repeatedly about the same things week after week, leaving them “stuck” in their heads, somatic therapy hinges on the belief that in order to effect actual change, there has to be a mind-body integration. A practical approach to finding solutions, its use in sex therapy comes as no surprise. For those having difficulty in the bedroom or with intimacy, it’s helpful to look at how our feelings are regulating or informing our behavior, and through somatic therapy figure out the “stuff that’s being held in our bodies.” There is, naturally, a physical aspect to sex therapy, and this modality teaches clients to integrate that “stuff” going on in the body, with what’s going on in the brain. Clients also learn how to focus on sensations in the body, where they live in the body, and how to allow their existence without allowing them full reign of them and their lives.
If somatic sex therapy sounds like a path you’d be interested in pursuing, or you’d like to learn more about it, check out Mou’s videos below, as well as the other LAST team members who also integrate somatic practices!
Caitlin Oates
Author
New to the LAST team, Caitlin is a writer, creative, and executive assistant with a passion for sex-positivity, LGBTQIA advocacy, and mental health care.
Caitlin earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from Northwestern University, and now flexes those communication muscles teaching medical students humanism skills, coaching athletes in functional fitness, and learning from and working with LAST to promote, amplify, and normalize the importance of sexual and mental health.