19/04/2025
Janina Fisher Ph.D.
Sensorimotor psychotherapy allows client and therapist to work with very early preverbal interactions at the level of muscle and autonomic memory. The experience of being able to explore empowering actions in the context of attuned interactive psychobiological regulation is not unlike the experience of securely attached young children. In Sensorimotor work, however, the client is encouraged to become a mindful witness as the process unfolds and inner experience is mentalized and verbalized.
As Mariela was able to notice her bodily and emotional reactions as they unfolded – rather than retrospectively – she was able to inhibit explosive responses and relax the body in relationships. Practicing her new movements and somatic resources, both inside and outside of therapy, helped her develop alternatives when dysregulated by attachment hopes and fears.
Eventually, her ability to stay present in the context of emotion allowed her to witness being witnessed by her therapist and by those she loved. ‘Hijacked’ by the body memories of abandonment and threat, Mariela hadn’t ever been able to take in the experience of being ‘seen’ and valued by others in her life. Witnessing their witnessing began to challenge her shame and sense of defectiveness.
Mariela has discovered that the experience of safety in relationship is as much a body experience as it is an emotional one. When arousal is within the window of tolerance, when the body feels both solid and relaxed, when we can mentalize, and when we can tolerate a gamut of emotions without feeling either overwhelmed or numb, we know we are finally ‘safe.’
Want to learn more? Read my full ebook on my website, Attachment as a Sensorimotor Experience:
The Use of Sensorimotor Pyschotherapy. https://janinafisher.com/resources/webinars/attachment-as-a-sensorimotor-experience-the-use-of-sensorimotor-psychotherapy/