Natural Processing

When we are unable to manage particular situations or issues in our life, it means, from a physiological perspective, that our nervous system has become overwhelmed. This leads to fight, flight, or freeze symptoms such as panic, sweating, increased heart rate, difficulty thinking, or emotional numbing, just to name a few. And more often than not, because these experiences are uncomfortable, we find a million different ways to distract from them. Who hasn't zoned out to a favorite TV show, eaten too many sweets, or downed too much alcohol in a desperate attempt to avoid the unpleasantness?

In doing so, however, the energy from these experiences is unable to move through our bodies the way it needs to in order to be resolved and becomes stuck, ultimately causing everything from mild anxiety or depression to severe mental health issues and chronic pain and other chronic medical conditions. Therefore, healing requires increasing our capacity to stay connected to all facets of the experiences we have been avoiding, including the bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts, beliefs (e.g. "I'm not lovable."), and sensory impressions (stored sensory input from the experience such as images, smells, etc.).

Natural Processing combines the concept of somatic tracking (mindfully attending to physical sensations) from somatic therapy and bilateral stimulation (stimuli which occur in a rhythmic left-right pattern to both sides of the body) from EMDR therapy to facilitate the growth of the nervous system's capacity for managing stress. By bringing awareness rather than engaging in avoidance behaviors, our nervous system learns to feel increasingly safer and we become less reactive and more responsive to life circumstances. Simply put, Natural Processing is a way to learn how to go with the flow of life rather than fighting against it by distracting from difficult circumstances and allows us to become intimately aware and trusting of our own intuition. Our body has the answers if we are willing to listen.

And because the process is, at its core, about learning to be attuned to your body non-judgmentally and allow disturbances to move as necessary for resolution, it can be used to address any presenting problem or symptom a client may have when entering therapy.