What Is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy? A Somatic Approach to Trauma Treatment
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Training in Australia: What It Is, How It Works, and Why Therapists Are Choosing It
A New Era in Trauma Therapy
In recent years, Australia has witnessed a rising demand for effective trauma treatment, driven by growing awareness of developmental trauma, attachment wounds, and the physiological toll of chronic stress. Mental health professionals are increasingly realising what trauma experts like Bessel van der Kolk (2014) and Pat Ogden (2006) have long argued: Trauma is not just a story to be told but a lived experience held in the body. Traditional talk therapy, while valuable, often fails to address this somatic imprint.
This growing understanding is propelling interest in somatic therapy training across Australia. Among the leading modalities is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP), a body-based, integrative approach that works directly with the nervous system, attachment patterns, and implicit memory. Developed by Pat Ogden, SP is taught globally and now offers training pathways for clinicians in Australia.
This article explores what Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is, how it differs from other approaches like Somatic Experiencing (SE), and why it is becoming a top choice for trauma therapists seeking somatic depth and clinical precision.
What Is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy?
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a therapeutic modality designed to address the ways trauma is held in the body. Rather than focusing exclusively on thoughts or emotions, SP works with posture, gesture, movement, and physiological arousal as primary avenues for trauma resolution. It integrates insights from neuroscience, attachment theory, and mindfulness.
The modality is grounded in the understanding that trauma disrupts the body's natural ability to regulate arousal and process sensory experience. As a result, clients often feel unsafe, disconnected from their bodies, or overwhelmed by physiological reactions. SP helps them restore a sense of agency, connection, and regulation by working bottom-up—from the body to the brain.
Key Principles of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Bottom-Up Processing: SP begins with the body, helping clients notice and track internal sensations, movement impulses, and autonomic responses before addressing narrative or cognitive content.
Neurobiological Integration: Drawing on Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 2011) and affect regulation research (Schore, 2012), SP supports clients in restoring nervous system flexibility.
Attachment and Relational Repair: SP is relationally driven. It incorporates principles from attachment theory to create a safe, attuned environment where clients can build trust and explore body-based memories.
Titration and Resourcing: Rather than diving into traumatic material, SP emphasizes small, manageable steps, using mindfulness and resourcing to prevent overwhelm and support integration.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy vs. Somatic Experiencing: A Comparative Lens
Therapists in Australia often compare SP to Somatic Experiencing, another popular somatic modality. While both focus on body-based healing, their clinical methods and training models differ.
Scope of Practice: SE focuses on completing thwarted defensive responses and discharging autonomic arousal. SP encompasses that, but also explicitly addresses attachment, emotion, and cognitive integration.
Training Pathway: SP training offers structured progression, experiential learning, and supervised practice. It is known for its robust clinical scaffolding and ethical considerations, especially around touch.
Therapeutic Relationship: SP emphasizes the therapist's embodied presence and the use of co-regulation as a tool for healing, aligning with attachment-based models of repair.
Clinical Applications of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is particularly well-suited to working with complex trauma, developmental trauma, and dissociation, areas where many therapists feel under-equipped. It is designed for clients who:
Struggle with chronic dysregulation or shutdown
Experience somatic symptoms like chronic pain or numbness
Are highly verbal but feel "stuck"
Present with fragmented sense of self or dissociative parts
SP provides concrete tools to work with these presentations. For example, therapists learn how to:
Track posture, micro-movements, and muscle tension
Facilitate new movement patterns to support agency
Use voice tone, pacing, and breath to foster co-regulation
Support the integration of fragmented parts without retraumatization
Why More Therapists in Australia Are Choosing SP TrainingSensorimotor Psychotherapy training is now available in Australia, with structured pathways including Level 1 and Level 2 training cohorts. This is particularly relevant for Australian clinicians seeking:
A somatic therapy training that is trauma-informed and evidence-based
A modality that integrates neuroscience, attachment, and embodied practice
A skillset that enhances existing clinical frameworks like psychodynamic, EMDR, or IFS
Unlike shorter workshops or modalities with limited supervision, SP training offers a comprehensive clinical foundation. Students are supported through small group learning, supervised practice, and a strong alumni community.
Training Structure in Australia
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Australia (SPA) is the official training partner of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute (SPI) in the United States. SPA offers:
Level 1 Training: Focused on working with trauma and nervous system regulation
Level 2 Training: Expands into developmental trauma and attachment
Certification Pathway: Participants may become certified SP practitioners following completion and supervision
The training is hybrid—offering online theory with in-person experiential components, allowing therapists across Australia to participate while maintaining the embodied nature of the method.
The Therapist’s Embodied Role
One of the distinguishing features of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is the emphasis on the therapist’s own somatic awareness. Therapists are trained to become regulated, attuned instruments using their own breath, posture, and presence as therapeutic tools.
This mirrors research by Siegel (2010) and Schore (2012), who emphasize right-brain-to-right-brain communication and affect regulation in the therapy relationship. In SP, the therapist’s ability to model safety through their own body is central to the healing process.
Who Is SP Training For?
SP is suitable for licensed mental health professionals—including psychologists, counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers, and mental health nurses—who work with trauma, dissociation, and emotional dysregulation. It complements modalities such as:
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Psychodynamic or attachment-based approaches
Whether you are a seasoned therapist or expanding your trauma focus, SP provides skills that can be integrated immediately into your practice.
A Somatic Pathway to Clinical Excellence
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy represents the future of trauma therapy—not because it replaces traditional models, but because it completes them. By bringing the body into the therapeutic conversation, SP empowers both therapist and client to engage trauma where it lives: in the nervous system, movement patterns, and relational field.
For Australian therapists searching for somatic therapy training that is clinically rigorous, evidence-based, and relationally attuned, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy offers a path toward deeper healing and professional growth.
Join the Waitlist: Applications for the next Level 1 Training cohort in Australia open in 2026. Join the waitlist via Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Australia.
References
Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy. W. W. Norton.
Ogden, P., & Fisher, J. (2015). Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment. W. W. Norton.
van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. Viking.
Schore, A. N. (2012). The Science of the Art of Psychotherapy. W. W. Norton.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. Norton.
Siegel, D. J. (2010). The Mindful Therapist. Norton.
De Jongh, A., et al. (2016). The efficacy of EMDR and prolonged exposure for PTSD in patients with childhood trauma. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 41, 12–23.