Does Somatic Therapy Work Online?
If you're considering somatic therapy, you may be wondering whether it's worth travelling to see a therapist in person, or whether online sessions can be just as effective.
It's a question I'm asked quite often.
The answer isn't quite as straightforward as many people imagine.
Many people imagine that because somatic therapy emphasises the body, it must work best when the therapist and the client are in the same room.
It's a reasonable assumption.
After all, if we're paying attention to the body and nervous system, surely it's better to share the same physical space?
After years of both in-person and online work, my answer is surprisingly simple:
Sometimes. And sometimes not.
“In my experience, what matters most isn't whether therapy happens online or in the same room, but whether the conditions are right for you to engage in the work.”
It really depends on you, your nervous system, and what helps you feel supported enough to do the work.
Safety before technique
One of the central ideas in Somatic Experiencing® is that healing doesn't come from pushing ourselves harder.
It comes from creating the conditions in which the nervous system feels safe enough to begin exploring experiences that once felt overwhelming.
Notice I don't say completely safe. Life rarely feels completely safe.
Instead, we look for a feeling of enough safety.
Enough support.
Enough stability.
Enough curiosity.
Interestingly, those conditions can exist in many different places.
Why some people prefer to come in person
For some people, sharing the same room as another person makes a profound difference.
They may feel more accompanied.
More held.
More connected to the therapist's presence.
Some people also find that travelling to therapy helps create a psychological transition.
Leaving home, walking through a different door, and entering a dedicated therapeutic space can help them leave everyday concerns behind for a while.
Sometimes it simply means there are fewer distractions: the emails, the laundry, the guinea pig, or whatever it may be for you.
And for someone experiencing domestic abuse, home may not currently feel like a safe place to speak openly to a therapist, online.
In all of these situations, meeting in person can help create the conditions the nervous system needs to do the work.
Why online therapy can work just as well
Equally, many people find the opposite.
They arrive online already feeling more settled because they haven't spent an hour travelling across London.
They haven't rushed for trains or buses.
They haven't navigated crowds or traffic.
Others find it easier to explore what's happening in their lives while sitting in the middle of those lives.
Rather than talking about their life, they're sitting right in the middle of it.
Sometimes that makes it easier to notice what’s happening.
The conversation begins in lived experience, rather than having to recreate it from memory.
Some people also appreciate knowing that when the session finishes, they don't have to immediately re-enter the outside world.
Instead, they can make a cup of tea.
Sit quietly.
Go for a walk.
Or simply allow the session to continue settling.
As a client myself, I once had a deeply releasing online session while lying on my sofa.
At the end, my therapist invited me simply to stay where I was.
We said goodbye.
I closed my laptop, kept my eyes closed, and drifted gently off to sleep.
Had I been travelling home on the Underground, it would have been a very different ending.
What about the therapist?
People sometimes ask whether I can still work somatically as effectively if we're not physically together.
My experience is yes.
It's different, certainly.
But much of what informs my work isn't simply visual.
As therapists, we often notice subtle changes within ourselves while we're with another person:
subtle emotions,
body sensations,
thoughts and images.
They can offer gentle clues about aspects of another person's experience that haven't yet found words.
In psychodynamic language this might be called countertransference.
In Somatic Experiencing, we might think about it as part of the ongoing, embodied conversation taking place between two nervous systems.
Personally, I notice these processes just as readily when working online.
The medium changes.
The relationship doesn't.
There isn't a right answer
Some people always prefer to work in person.
Some always prefer online.
Many enjoy having the choice.
In fact, I encourage clients to notice what feels most supportive on a particular day.
Perhaps your nervous system would benefit from the grounding of travelling to a therapy room.
Or perhaps today it would benefit from staying exactly where it is.
“Learning to recognise those differences is already a form of self-awareness, and self-attunement.”
In many ways that’s part of the therapy itself.
So, does somatic therapy work online?
In my experience, absolutely.
Not because online is better.
And not because in-person is better.
But because what matters most isn't where the session happens.
It's whether together we can create the conditions in which your nervous system feels safe and supported enough.
If you're unsure, you're very welcome to get in touch. We can talk it through together and see what feels like the best fit for you.
