04/28/2025
In my practice, I take a "bottom-up approach" which means I address physiological and sensory experiences before engaging with cognitive and emotional processing. I focus on your body's responses to stress and trauma to help you regulate your nervous system and promote a sense of safety and stability. This approach is especially helpful if you struggle with regulating your emotions or if you have experienced trauma. This approach can help to build a stronger foundation for healing.
The bottom up approach emphasizes the body's physical sensations and how they relate to emotions and trauma because trauma can be stored in the body, affecting physiological responses and emotional regulation. It also addresses underlying physiological dysregulation, such as fight-or-flight responses, through techniques like mindfulness, breathwork, and somatic exercises.
By addressing the body first, the bottom-up approach creates a more stable and grounded foundation for you to engage in other forms of therapy, such as cognitive processing, cognitive behavioral therapy and more insight oriented therapy.
My approaches are trauma-informed, and prioritize safety, trust, and client-clinician "fit" to addressing trauma-related issues. Some of the techniques I use in bottom-up therapy include grounding exercises, somatic experiencing informed techniques, Subtle yoga techniques, breathwork, and vagus nerve/bilateral stimulation.
I believe the mind and body are connected, and we heal from the "bottom up," starting with the physiological and sensory aspects before moving to the cognitive and emotional processing aspect of therapy. For more information or to schedule a consultation, call me at 919-228-8217 or email me at cindy@lotuscounselingservicespllc.com.
