Susan Morgan Taylor, MA
Somatic Sex Therapist for Couples

Somatic Sex Therapy

What is Somatic Sex Therapy?

Somatic sex therapy is a specialty within the field of sex therapy, sex education, and sex and intimacy coaching that focuses on a holistic approach to addressing common issues people face in sex.

This approach uniquely includes body based experiences, learning environments, and practices to help the client to connect more deeply with their physical body experience (embodiment practices) and thus enables the client to learn more efficiently and rapidly  through actual embodied experience rather than just talking about a problem or issue. 

What does "somatic" mean?

"The word "somatic" means "pertaining to the material body" as distinct from the soul, spirit, or mind) and derives from the Greek word "somatikos"  meaning "of the body"" (https://www.etymonline.com/word/somatic)

So when we say "somatic sex therapy" we are referring to an approach to sex therapy that includes the physical body rather than only addressing the immaterial realms of thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions.

Somatic sex therapy includes the whole person and often incorporates helping the client build skills of awareness so that they can connect more deeply to the sensations in the body. Somatic sex education is a form of somatic sex therapy which is becoming more widely known and accessible. 

In somatic sex therapy the body is the gateway

In the somatic approach to healing, the body holds the wisdom.

The body and it's physical sensations become the portal into the insight, healing, and growth.  Somatic sex therapy thus can reach depths which most standard mental health approaches fail to touch due to their over emphasis on the mind, thoughts, and lopsided "brain as the source of everything" belief systems. 

In my opinion this is where mental health really gets it wrong.  And sadly mental health continues to perpetuate this mind-brain dominance through what have largely proven to be only mildly effective remedies and techniques. 

Bessel Van der Kolk, a world renowned author and trauma healing therapist writes extensively about the role of the body and how it "remembers" better than our brains in his book "The Body Keeps the Score". 

Van der Kolk describes at great length how it is the body that forms memories long before our minds were ever even capable of forming words. He also talks about how our bodies "remember" long after our minds have forgotten or when our minds failed to process what happened (as in the case of trauma).

The Body Keeps the Score is a worthy read for understanding how the physical body is the great keeper of our memories and how we can access the deepest wisdom of our soul and psyche via the somatic pathways. 

Curious about working with a somatic sex therapist?

If you're interested in learning more about working with a somatic sex therapy professional like myself please reach out for a complimentary and confidential consultation using the button below.

Somatic sex therapy can be conducted just as effectively virtually as in person.  I offer both virtual work as well as immersive in person experiences such as private retreats that are custom tailored to you and your unique situation.