Expressive & Somatic Therapies
Whole-Person Support in Residential Mental Health and Dual Diagnosis Treatment
Healing is not only cognitive. For many people, stress, trauma, anxiety, and depression also live in the body. Northwoods integrates expressive and somatic therapies alongside evidence-based psychotherapy and psychiatric care to support regulation, self-awareness, and steadier day-to-day functioning.
What Are Expressive and Somatic Therapies?
Expressive therapies use creative process to support insight and emotional expression. Somatic therapies focus on the body’s role in stress and recovery, helping clients notice patterns, build grounding skills, and increase tolerance for difficult emotions.
In residential care, these modalities can be especially helpful for clients who:
- Feel “stuck” in talk therapy alone
- Struggle with emotional shutdown, overwhelm, or agitation
- Have trauma-related symptoms or chronic stress responses
- Need tools for sleep, anxiety, or body-based regulation
Services May Include
Based on clinical needs and appropriateness, expressive and somatic options may include:
Who Benefits Most
Expressive and somatic therapies can be valuable across diagnoses, but they are often helpful for clients experiencing:
- Trauma-related symptoms, hypervigilance, or dissociation
- Anxiety and panic symptoms
- Depression with low motivation or disconnection
- Emotional dysregulation and impulsivity
- Substance use patterns tied to stress relief or emotional escape
Next Steps
If you’re considering residential mental health or dual diagnosis treatment and want to understand how whole-person services fit into care, we can talk it through. Our admissions team can explain how expressive and somatic therapies are used alongside evidence-based treatment, and whether this approach may be appropriate for your needs or your loved one’s.
Call Northwoods at 1-800-731-2200 or request a time for us to call you back.