Sensoriomotor psychotherapy was developed by Pat Ogden, in the early eighties. It is an approach for processing implicit memory and the neurobiological effects of trauma through the body. Drawing on findings in neuroscience, the study of trauma and dissociation,  and attachment theory, sensoriomotor psychotherapy places the bodily-lived experience as the central element from which to explore and heal. Unlike traditional psychotherapies, which try to recover “the forgotten history” and  process the experience in a “top down” way (from the cognitions down to emotions and corporal experiences), sensorimotor therapy employs a “bottom-up” approach (from bodily-held sensation to cognition).

Sensoriomotor psychotherapy proposes a process of mindful self-observation with special attention to body sensation and impulses for movement, a process that can lead to health-enhancing shifts in thoughts and emotions, as well reducing symptoms associated with traumatic experiences.