Somatic Compassion
Somatic compassion is a natural human way to offer emotional support to another person, to help resolve painful events, to let go of painful feelings, and to find new positive possibilities in life.
The method uses compassionate presence enhanced with particular forms of affective touch, such as soothing strokes applied to the upper arms and the face.
While this combination of compassion and touch is intuitive, for example in the way a mother comforts a distressed child, recent advances in neuroscience show how somatic compassion has a powerful healing impact at any age. Specialised nerves in the skin detect a soothing touch and create many rapid changes in brain function, allowing us to process and heal painful life events and feelings.
Watch our video on Somatic Compassion
Join Robin Youngson as he guides us into the practice of Somatic Compassion, exploring how the body can become a pathway to deeper healing and presence.
The two elements of
Somatic Compassion
Compassion
Compassion is the human quality of understanding another person’s suffering combined with the desire to relieve that suffering – it’s more than just a feeling, it’s an action and a motivation.
Compassion is beneficial to both the giver and receiver and elicits powerful healing responses, for instance in reducing pain and promoting faster recovery from illness or injury. It combines elements of empathy, loving kindness, human bonding, and a desire to reduce suffering.
Affective touch
While most forms of touch are localised and give us information about the environment, affective touch is a non-localised form of touch that creates an emotional response. Examples include our intuitive action when we touch and rub the upper arm of someone in distress, or express love by caressing the face of another.
These forms of soothing touch have evolved as a critical element of our social connection and they elicit very powerful biological responses. Both the giver and the receiver of this touch feel more connected, safe and loved. This touch quickly regulates our agitated nervous systems, reducing anxiety, fear and physical stress responses.
Somatic compassion in practice
Somatic compassion taps into our inherent capacity for healing and provides methods that friends and family members can safely use to provide emotional support, heal past hurts and enhance personal strengths and resilience.
These methods are underpinned by neuroscience and may in the long run prove equal to mainstream approaches in mental health care – such as counselling or medication – for common problems such as anxiety, depression, phobias, self-harm, and past events that have traumatised us.
Understanding how trauma
is stored and released
We can make more sense of how somatic compassion works by understanding how and when trauma gets stored in the brain. Sometimes we get through very difficult life events without being traumatised – when we retain our personal power, are able to problem-solve, or take some action to overcome the threat.
However, when we are emotionally vulnerable and feel trapped and powerless, the distressing life event gets stored in the brain as a trauma. At a later time, when we are supported to feel completely safe and connected, we can safely revisit a traumatic event and it will start to dissolve away. Somatic compassion creates this feeling of safety, which is also accompanied by rapid brain changes that process and erase the traumatic memory.
Important Note
Somatic compassion is not a therapy as it simply taps into our inherent capacity to heal when we feel safe and supported. It should not be used in an attempt to treat major mental illness, such as chronic PTSD, psychosis, suicidal depression, or panic disorders.
Please consult your mental health professional for help and advice on such matters.
A philosophy of healing together
Somatic compassion also embodies a philosophy regarding our approach to mental health. It’s a move away from individualism and self-help towards human connection and community – we heal together, not alone.
It removes healing practices from the economic system, thereby making them available to all, and it takes back our healing power from the control of health professionals.
A vast body of research shows that social isolation and loneliness have major harmful impacts on both our mental and physical health, increasing the risk for hospital admission and shortening our lifespan. Conversely, close supportive relationships enhance health and wellbeing, of which the most powerful are those enabled with compassion and touch.
Listen to our song “We heal together, not alone” – lyrics by Robin Youngson, arrangement by Suno AI.
Listen to our song: We Heal Together - Not Alone
The Strengths Method
The first method used in somatic compassion is the Strengths Method. This is freely available to all users. Because this method is so simple and intuitive, we suggest you dive right in, find a friend or family member to practice with, and try out this method.
When you discover how magical this can be, then you can read more about what is happening in your brain and the other methods available to you.
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Learn before you start
Explore the foundations of this practice before diving in:
The philosophy of somatic compassion
The neuroscience of trauma and somatic compassion
How to apply safe touch
Read the story: how Jessica supported Sarah to deal with a bullying boss who undermined her in front of work colleagues.
Deepen Your Understanding
If you’d like to explore the Strengths Method, Working with Feelings, Supported Dialogue, Positive Questions, and Using Metaphor in greater detail, Robin provides comprehensive guidance on all of these in his book, available through his website.
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Phone: +64 21 660 344
If you'd like to partner with us in spreading the word about somatic compassion, or developing the methods, please get in touch