Somatic Supervision: Supporting Clinicians Through Body Awareness

somatic therapySupervisionsupport
Written By Roxane Robotham

Somatic supervision integrates body awareness into the reflective supervisory process, helping clinicians recognise and work with their own bodily responses to clinical work.

Why Somatic Supervision?

  • Trauma and stress are often held in the body (Van der Kolk, 2014)

  • Clinicians can experience vicarious trauma physically as well as emotionally

  • Body awareness supports self-regulation and resilience

What Somatic Supervision Looks Like

  • Mindful check-ins on bodily sensations before, during, and after sessions

  • Exploring how the body signals stress or safety

  • Using breath, movement, or grounding exercises in supervision

  • Integrating theory with felt experience

Benefits

  • Enhanced emotional regulation

  • Greater awareness of countertransference

  • Improved self-care and professional boundaries


If you want a supervision experience that honours your whole being, somatic supervision offers a grounded, embodied path to professional growth and wellbeing.

References:

  • Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score

  • Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the Body

  • Porges, S. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory

Roxane Robotham
Next

Burnout Prevention: Creating Sustainable Boundaries in Clinical Work