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Margaret Brittingham-LPC-MHSP

Holistic Counseling

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You are here: Home / My Method / Somatic Therapy

Somatic Therapy

We can almost all relate to the experience of knowing that a thought we have isn’t true, but knowing that doesn’t seem to matter because it still feels true. It lives in our bodies as truth, even if our rational mind knows that it’s probably not the whole picture, or not quite accurate. And don’t we all just want to actually feel good enough: to feel satisfied, to feel connected, to feel safe…and not just have thoughts that tell us we are?

Somatic Therapy Nashville

Implicit Memory

Intensely emotional experiences, or repeated experiences that give us the same feeling (whether pleasant or unpleasant and even traumatic) are imprinted in a part of our brain that language doesn’t access. They are stored as implicit memory. When something in current experience reminds some part of our whole body-mind system of this past experience, these implicit memories get triggered or activated. We experience them as happening now. This could be smelling a spice in a kitchen that a family member always used to cook with and suddenly feeling comforted and held. It could be a certain facial expression or tone of voice that then brings up painful feelings of rejection and inadequacy and a knot in your stomach.

Why Unintegreated Implicit Memory Can Be Paralyzing

We experience implicit memory as happening now, not as having happened in the past. And these implicit memories get activated before we even have time to think. An evolutionarily older part of our brain is constantly scanning everything that is coming in through our senses, and comparing it to our past experiences. If a certain song was playing during a panic attack you had before, hearing that song again may trigger feelings of panic. It doesn’t matter that you know rationally that that song isn’t a threat. And since you can’t think your way out of something that is happening before you even have time to think, you need to go into your body to heal from the ones that keep you from really being alive. We can’t do it just through our thinking mind, because our thinking mind doesn’t have a lot of pathways going down to the limbic system where all of this is happening. We need to help turn implicit memory into explicit memory by paying attention to the experience in our body. (Explicit memory is the kind of memory we experience as having happened in the past, and it has a narrative to it. )

The Healing Process

Brainspotting, mindfulness, and yoga all incorporate the felt experience of the body in the healing process. It is extremely valuable for all the problems that you can’t think your way out of, and it is scientifically consistent with what we actually know about how experiences are encoded into our nervous system and ‘live’ in our body, not just in our thoughts. Basically, our whole body is our brain, and listening to all of it can be powerful and transformative.

Integrating Implicit Memory

Doing this can open you up to a sense of inner spaciousness and peace, and it allows you to heal much more fully than when exclusively focusing on the content of your thoughts or your emotional experience, and you find yourself gradually more at home in your body and in your life.

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Testimonials

Margaret is an excellent guide through the tough times

“Margaret is an excellent guide through the tough times that I’ve been facing. She is a wonderful listener and I never felt judged with her in any ways, which is what I was most worried about in speaking to a therapist.“

- Client

Made me feel understood and valued

“The shared experience of being mothers made me feel understood and valued. (Margaret) has a calmness and gentleness that really put me at ease. I learned a lot during our sessions. I identified a lot of underlying belief systems that were causing some of my discomfort and showing themselves after having a baby.”

- Client

She’s offered new ideas and approaches

“Margaret has been a major help to me for dealing with anxiety and depression. She’s offered new ideas and approaches that I had never even thought of”

- Client

Margaret was very down to earth

“Margaret was very down to earth, met me where I was, and led me where I wanted to go.”

- Client

Like talking to a very informed friend

“(Working with Margaret) felt like talking to a very informed friend or colleague vs being talked down to. I really appreciated how informed she was at all times”.

- female client, 26

I feel so much better having someone there…working in my favor

“Highly recommend. Margaret is such a good listener, very understanding and insightful. She helped me find different perspectives and solutions to get over mental health hurdles, without being judgmental or harsh. I feel so much better having someone there that understands me and is working in my favor.”

- Client

I continue to benefit from the work we did

“(Brainspotting with Margaret) helped me to process the trauma in a different, more direct and healing way than I had previously. I continue to benefit from the work we did.”

- Female Client, 55

Clients have a wonderful experience with Margaret

Not only is Margaret a wonderful, skilled therapist, but she continues to explore and learn new ways of showing up with her clients. She is always a student, and that’s the kind of therapist I would want for myself! Clients have a wonderful experience with Margaret and know she is really present with them in the room. Her presence is very gentle, and the clients I have referred have experienced wonderful healing and insight in their work with Margaret.I love her whole body approach to healing and use of Brainspotting in her practice, as well as how she incorporates mindfulness and yoga which is wonderful for clients who already connect to these practice or are integrating it into their process for the first time. I would refer clients to Margaret anytime.

Melanie Reese, LMFT

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Contact

Margaret Brittingham, MEd, LPC-MHSP
2200 21st Ave S, Ste 405
Nashville, TN, 37212
Phone: 615.601.0647
Margaret@mindbodytherapistnashville.com

Office Hours

2200 21st Ave S: Mondays
Walk and talk and video sessions: Tuesdays
1305 16th Ave S: Wednesdays

Certified Professional

Certified Professional - Institute of Certified Anxiety Treatment Professionals

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