Somaterapia

Domain IV · Body-oriented psychotherapy · Roberto Freire · 1970 · São Paulo, Brazil

What it is

Soma is a group method created in Brazil in the 1970s by the psychiatrist and writer Roberto Freire (1927–2008). He is not Paulo Freire. The method grew out of four years of exercise research with actors at the Centro de Estudos Macunaíma in São Paulo (Myriam Muniz, Sylvio Zilber), out of the…

Format

• Format
• Closed group of about 20 participants.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• : a person who freezes or withdraws. Quietly check in with them.
• : people treating it as a performance target. Keep it about noticing.
• : people who join hoping for individual crisis care. Refer them instead.
• : theory being used to explain away feelings in the reading. Keep the two apart.
• : metacommunication being used as a weapon ("you're manipulating"). Keep it descriptive.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.