Svenja’s Return to Sensation

Approach: Psychosomato Therapy

“I needed to learn to get back into my body. To reconstruct myself.”

The Traumatic Accident – Amnesia and Early Recovery

In the early 1980s, at the age of fifteen Svenja had a motorbike accident following which she was in a coma for five days. She had multiple skin grafts and was an inpatient in hospital for four months. At one point an amputation was considered. She also lost sensation to her calf during this time. She was told that if this didn’t return within a year, it was never going to return.

For around seven years, she couldn’t remember the accident, nor that she had made an incorrect turn on the road. Amnesia can be considered as part of a Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD protective response (Bryant et al,. 2009) & (Warden et al,. 1977) Svenja is honest in her appraisal of the crash. It was her fault, and the other person on the bike died. She wasn’t told about their death until a few weeks after the accident.

She remembered that during her hospital stay, she gained 25kg, and felt this may have helped her to create a protective bubble around herself, something that she needed to cope from the trauma. No psychological assistance was given, nor was any physical assistance like Osteopathy recommended. When Svenja was discharged from hospital, she completed her required education, finishing her final exams, and then left Germany.

Moving on?

Her first job was working for a large holiday company abroad. This complimented her skills and helped her get on with life. Eighteen years after the accident she was having some marital problems with her first husband and she lost 25kg that she had gained during her hospital stay. In that moment, she recognised that something was going on inside her. She didn’t diet, nor did she have any insidious illness. She felt that she was going through the shock again, which felt like it was the first time after the accident.

She strongly felt the two instances of weight gain and then loss were connected with her psychological health following the accident.

Asking Questions about her Life

During the SARS outbreak of 2003 Svenja decided to enter a retreat on an island in Malaysia. This was a chosen semi-isolation for two months. She felt she was experiencing a depression at the time and deeply connected to the changing nature around her and related this to her personal experiences. Svenja felt a strong urge to take on meaningful work, rather than return to her corporate life..

She knew that her grandmother used to work as a Healer, and felt that she also had this strength in her hands. Initially she started to learn to practice Reiki through the advice of a friend. However, this friend was also a Psychosomato Therapist and this guided Svenja to study this.

Somatotherapy

The term “Psychosomato Therapy” was deposited by Dr Richard Meyer in the 1980’s. His European School of Socio and Analytical Psychotherapy (EEPSSA), has trained Doctors, Psychologists, Psychoanalysts and Psychosomato Therapists in France and Europe. (https://www.eepssa.org/) Svenja, however confirmed that she attended her the training at “L’Ecole du Corps Conscience”, Montpellier, France with Nathalie Alvarez & Michel Claverie (Co-founders) This school was more focused on bodily techniques beside the psychotherapeutic approach. The training took her 3-4 years.

She explains that following the instinct to train at the school, she recognised this was the first time she allowed herself to be guided. Having no clue what was in store, she arrived on the first day surprised to learn she would have to be massaged in order to learn how to massage others. Whilst she had a strong dislike of this idea, she decided to persevere with the course.

Thinking that she had no residual post traumatic effects from her earlier accident, Svenja discovered that she did. As a body psychotherapist, she had started to do work on herself.

“In Psychosomato we are really on the search of emotions. Like detective work.”

Surrender

In her first year, Svenja confirmed she maintained her control and did not let anyone in. She saw the need to accept massage as a requirement in order to become a Therapist. At the end of the first year she received a treatment with five Massage Therapists in unison. This was the moment she felt she could not maintain control any more, and let go of her barriers.

At the end of the treatment she was carried out of the treatment hall and into the garden. She had a flashback that she was in hospital, under the harsh lights of the projectors in surgery. This confused her, as she had been in a coma at the time. It constituted the first breakthrough in her recovery.

The second breakthrough came in the second year. Through a process known as Rebirth, she learnt again how to surrender and this was primarily done through Breathwork. She recalled during this Breathwork the memory of entering into her coma.

Breathwork methodologies have been commonly practised in ancient and indigenous cultures all over the world. It can be used to facilitate health and recovery from trauma. This paper explains some of the different mechanisms of how and when this is used. (Morningstar, 2021)

Reconnection with the Body

An additional technique followed closely behind the process of Rebirth, Svenja was asked to draw herself on a piece of paper. She drew a version of herself with a head so huge that nothing would fit on the paper below her hips. She was advised that this held an important meaning.

A significant awareness formed from this exercise, namely “I don’t have legs” which came full circle back to the accident. The therapist running the session advised Svenja to walk around the room, to enable her to feel the active awareness of her legs.

Svenja learnt that she needed to reconnect with her body and in particular, with her legs to support her reconstruction. She worked on that goal for the remainder of the course.

Art Therapist, Amy Stein shares her case studies with self portrait based art therapy. (Stein, 2008) One ex-military participant describes this work as a way to “affirm and connect to (his own) reality”.

“I shouldn’t say ‘I think’. Its really more of a feeling.”

Why does Somato Therapy work?

Svenja reports the therapy has a significant focuses on regaining body awareness. Having an awareness of feeling, both neutral and painful is something we don’t often do. Somatic Tracking is a key skill taught in programmes like Curable and the SIRPA Method.

She explains that Somato therapy is the search for emotions; like a self-detective, without force. The Somato room is a place where anger, fear and sadness can be released in a safe space. This can sometimes be experienced as heat and cold. The therapy can help the recipient learn what is behind the sensation.

Somato therapy is supposed to be undertaken by a client for around 3-6 months and the purpose is to learn about yourself and how to react to stimuli and question sensations in your body at any moment.

Recovery stories that include Somatic Awareness appear frequently on Liberation Found. You can find more of these here: Dana, Tamilla, Manju and Fiona.

Healing the Healer

Part of Svenja’s training was to find her own therapist. She found a body focused Psychotherapist but without the tactile part she was training in. She also found this type of Psychotherapy helped her to reconnect with her legs and her feelings of why she caused of the accident.

Svenja felt the only way to really understand what had happened was to feel it. Whilst one can have a cognitive understanding of what happened, it needs to be linked to a sensation to enable positive change.

Reiki: Return to Sensation

During her Somato therapy schooling, Svenja was also undertaking Reiki training. During an individual remote session with her Reiki Master a method was used called ‘Laochi’ which used to help with body traumas. Once the session was over, she stood up and for the first time since the accident she was able to feel sensation again on the back of her left leg. The sensation has now fully returned permanently, with only a mild reduction compared to the full sensation on her right leg.

This effectiveness study (N= 1284) found that people commonly experience changes in symptoms (17%) and changes in perception (11%) following courses of Reiki treatment. The author (Dyer et al,. 2022) interprets that Reiki can facilitate a transformative healing experience through the relaxation response.

What had to Change?

Svenja felt less that she had to make changes in her life, and more that she had to be open to allow change to happen. Once someone starts on the journey of healing and gains knowledge, there can be no turning back to past ways.

Therapists cannot always Treat Themselves

Svenja often requests the help of other Somato Therapists when there is a sensation or difficulty she is struggling to understand independently, remotely or in person. In-person sessions will include massage. She has learned the deep connection with Body, Mind and Spirit.

Once she healed the disconnect in body she felt she was living a completely different life than the one she lived after the accident. She reported her life was much richer and her heightened awareness had improved her own health and her relationships with others.

She is able now to have more tolerance, be more indulging and have a softer approach to her relationships. Her heightened awareness of anger allows her to release it easily and come down from that heightened emotion much quicker.

If Disconnection Happened Again?

She would continue to work through the Psychosomato Therapy. Svenja considers body work is the way to heal.

Intangible Factors: Mindset (What is this?)

• Honesty – in terms of the accident being her fault

• Altruism – to take on this type of work

• Following intuition – towards more meaningful work

• Surrender – to a new, uncomfortable process and allowance of a guide

• Gratitude – to learn about herself through the process

• Anger – to use it appropriately and let it go quickly

Tangible Factors: Environmental

• With a trained body work practitioner

• Completed within a safe treatment room

• Through the experience of touch from another person

• Learning felt sense and emotions (Somatic Awareness)

Barriers and Learning

• We hadn’t realised that our camera was coming out of focus for a few minutes at the beginning of the video. We apologise if this affects the viewing experience.

• Whilst Svenja is fluent in English, it is her third language which may have affected our interpretation.

• Apologies must be made to Svenja for mispronunciation of her name. The J is pronounced Y, phonetically, her name is pronounced “Svenya”.

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