EMDR Therapy and Somatic Therapy: Why Do They Feel the Same?
- Djuan Short, LCSW
- May 7
- 7 min read
By Djuan Short, LCSW | EMDR Certified Therapist | Philadelphia, PA + NJ
She has been in therapy before and knows her patterns. She has done the breathwork, the body scans, and grounding exercises. Trauma lives in the body.
So when she hears about Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and Somatic Therapy, something in her becomes curious that maybe this is what she needed. Except she is not sure if they are the same thing.
They are not. But the reason people confuse them is actually the most interesting part of how EMDR Therapy works.
Trauma is stored in the body, not just in memory.
The question I often hear from women across Pennsylvania and New Jersey is this: Are EMDR therapy and Somatic Therapy the same?
The short answer is no. The longer answer reveals the important distinction: EMDR Therapy begins with a memory or belief, while Somatic Therapy starts with bodily sensations. This difference in entry point means EMDR Therapy focuses on reprocessing memories, and Somatic Therapy targets physical responses first.
Are EMDR Therapy and Somatic Therapy the Same?
The association makes sense. Both approaches reject the idea that trauma is a cognitive event. Trauma is not a thought you can think your way out of; it is stored in the body as an unfinished survival response. The chest that tightens before you know why. The shoulders that never fully drop. The jaw that holds tension you did not consciously create.
EMDR Therapy and Somatic Therapy both work with that reality. Both value nervous system regulation. Both are attentive to what is happening beneath conscious thought. Both ask the body: what are you holding?
Clients who have tried yoga, breathwork, or other body-based practices often feel at home in EMDR Therapy faster than they expect. The language is familiar. The premise is shared.
But the method and the entry point are where they diverge.
EMDR Therapy vs Somatic Therapy: Key Differences
Somatic Therapy Experiencing (SE) enters the healing process through the body first. A practitioner tracks sensation, notices where activation is held, and guides the nervous system to slowly discharge what has been stuck—often without needing to revisit the narrative of what happened.
The body leads. The story follows, if it follows at all.
EMDR Therapy starts with a particular memory, belief, or felt experience and uses bilateral stimulation to reprocess it. The approach centers on the brain’s information-processing system, with the body involved throughout. In contrast, Somatic Therapy prioritizes the body’s sensations and seeks to release them, rather than necessarily focusing on the narrative.
The memory leads. The body confirms when the processing is complete.
Clinicians sometimes describe it this way: Somatic Therapy is bottom-up, moving from body to mind. EMDR Therapy is top-down, beginning with memory and meaning, then engaging the body. These directions reflect each method’s unique path to healing.
Neither direction is wrong. There are different roads to the same destination.
For many clients, particularly those with complex or layered childhood trauma, both approaches have something to offer. The question is sequencing and readiness.
Readiness is a collaboration between your instincts and my clinical judgment. My goal is for you to feel seen, supported, and empowered at every step.
The Role of the Body in EMDR Therapy and Somatic Therapy
Here is what surprises most people when they learn how EMDR Therapy actually works.
The body is not an afterthought. It is built into the protocol.
Before we ever begin active reprocessing, I am asking you to notice what is happening in your body. Where do you feel that? What does it feel like to hold that belief? Is there tension? Heaviness? A tightening anywhere?
Throughout reprocessing, we track body sensations alongside emotions and thoughts. We pause when activation rises. We check in when a shift happens. The body is the feedback system.
There is even a dedicated phase called the body scan. After a memory has been reprocessed, we sweep through the body specifically to check for any residual disturbance.
If the body is still holding something, we have more to do. If it is clear, we close.
This is why EMDR Therapy and Somatic Therapy share so much common ground in practice. EMDR Therapy is not purely cognitive. The body is always in the room.
For all eight phases and how they fit together, visit my EMDR Therapy glossary page. The body scan is Phase 6.
How Somatic Awareness Shows Up in EMDR Therapy Sessions
Somatic Therapy awareness is not a separate modality brought in from outside. It is a clinical stance. It is how this work is practiced.
What that looks like:
When a sensation surfaces during reprocessing, a tightening in the throat or a release in the chest, we do not rush past it. We stay with it. We let the body finish what it started.
When regulation is needed before we can go deeper, we use the body as the resource. Breath. Grounding. Orienting to the room. The body has to feel safe before anything deeper can move.
When a belief has lived in the body for decades, I have to do everything myself; I cannot be a burden. I have to earn rest, and we track how that belief shows up physically. Not just in words. In the body that holds it.
Every area of concern is approached with curiosity. With the question of what if.
We take the lid off slowly. We stay present together, tracking what the body is carrying alongside what the words are saying. We witness what surfaces without rushing past it.
And we put the lid back on. Every session closes with you grounded. Equipped. Not open and exposed. Not raw and unanchored.
Regulation comes before resolution. And regulation lives in the body. That is not a technique layered on top of EMDR Therapy. That is the foundation.
Somatic Therapy awareness is not a separate technique. It is how I practice—regulation comes before resolution, and it lives in the body.
Is EMDR or Somatic Therapy Right for You?
What This Means for Women Who Feel Everything in the Body
She was not unfamiliar with her nervous system. She had tried yoga and breathwork. She just did not know how to stay with what her body was telling her without overwhelming herself. And she was tired of holding it alone.
What she needed was not another body-awareness practice to manage on her own. She needed a structured container where the body's signals were welcomed, tracked, and worked with by someone who knew how to respond to them. That is what EMDR Therapy with Somatic Therapy attunement offers.
For women who feel everything, who absorb the room, who carry tension in places they cannot name, whose bodies respond before their minds have registered what happened, EMDR Therapy works precisely because it does not ask the body to stay quiet. It asks the body to participate. To confirm. To lead when it needs to lead and to follow when the memory needs to move first.
To the highly sensitive woman who has always felt like 'too much': you are not broken. You are accurate. Whether your trauma is reflected in a high Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) score or the invisible weight of household dysfunction, your body has been keeping score. Your nervous system isn't failing you; it has simply been doing exactly what it was built to do to survive a chronic threat
The work is not to feel less, but to process what has not been processed. Then, the body can let go of the past.
EMDR therapy and intensives are available via telehealth in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey.
Schedule a 30-minute consultation by clicking the button below or visit the EMDR Therapy in Philadelphia page for more information.
P.S. Your body has been keeping score. It does not have to keep it.
Frequently Asked Questions:
EMDR Therapy vs. Somatic Therapy
Q: Is EMDR Therapy the same as Somatic Therapy?
No, but they share important common ground. Both recognize that trauma is stored in the body. The difference is in the entry point. Somatic Therapy Experiencing enters through bodily sensations and works to resolve the nervous system's stuck survival responses. EMDR Therapy begins with a specific memory or belief and uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess it, with the body an active part at every step.[1] Different tools for overlapping terrain.
Q: Are EMDR Therapy and Somatic Therapy as effective remotely as in person?
Yes. Telehealth EMDR Therapy sessions offer a secure, private space for deep work. Through video, I guide you in reprocessing and Somatic Therapy awareness, closely tracking your body cues and emotions in real time. I’ll help you set up your space for comfort and safety, and together we’ll create a grounding plan so you feel supported at every step—no matter where you are. Remote therapy allows you to access healing from the safety of your own environment while still receiving attuned, personalized guidance throughout the process.
Q: Can EMDR Therapy help if I am already very connected to my body and have done Somatic Therapy work?
Yes, and often this makes the work more accessible. Clients who already have body awareness tend to notice more in EMDR Therapy sessions: subtle sensations, shifts in activation, and the moment when something releases. That awareness is an asset. EMDR Therapy does not ask you to start over. It meets you where your system already is.
Q: I feel everything physically, a tight chest, stomach knots, tension I cannot explain. Is EMDR Therapy designed for that?
Yes. Those sensations are not obstacles to EMDR Therapy. They are data. During reprocessing, I am tracking exactly those experiences alongside the memory and the belief attached to it. The body scan phase is specifically designed to check whether the body has cleared the disturbance after the memory has been processed. If there is still tension, we have more to do. If it is clear, we close. Your body's signals are not noise. They are part of how we know the work is complete. If at any point the sensations become too intense or overwhelming, we pause and use grounding or regulation techniques together, so you never have to manage those feelings alone or push past your comfort zone. Your safety is always at the center of the process.
Q: Do I need to choose between EMDR Therapy and Somatic Therapy?
Not necessarily. Many people find that EMDR Therapy provides the structured reprocessing they need, and that Somatic Therapy awareness is woven throughout the work rather than being a separate modality. We bring Somatic Therapy attunement into the EMDR practice, tracking your body's responses, using regulation and grounding when activation rises, and letting the body confirm when processing is complete.
