le Friday 5 September 2025 Licia Sky: somatic practices to rediscover inner security
In trauma therapy, words alone quickly show their limits. Licia Sky, a body therapist and co-founder of the Trauma Research Foundation, offers somatic support: relearning to feel, to adjust and to choose, so that the body regains a sense of security.
Her approach brings an embodied dimension: a fine-tuned awareness of the body, a tuning that does not rely on words, the ability to listen with one’s whole being. It complements the work of Bessel van der Kolk, a world-renowned psychiatrist and researcher, who sheds light on the mechanisms of trauma and the healing process through the prism of neuroscience.
Somatic practices and trauma: why put the body back at the centre of therapy?
After a trauma, getting back in touch with the body can seem impossible: intense sensations, hypervigilance, fear of being overwhelmed, avoidance… The relationship with the body and emotions is often altered. When what’s going on inside you has no place to express itself, tension builds up, attention becomes fragmented and you can become cut off from your internal bearings.
Licia Sky’s approach is based on a simple principle: stabilise the physiology and regain a sense of security, so that understanding and integration can follow. You slow down, observe your breathing and tone, regain sensory support, and then you can put down words once your internal state has calmed down. The aim is not to explore everything: it’s to feel just enough sensations to spot micro-changes and regain security and choice.
Licia Sky: an invitation that restores the power to act
At Licia Sky, every suggestion is an invitation, never an injunction. The person chooses: to try, not to try, to stop, to start again. This freedom supports the power to act and reduces the risk of over-activation. The right pace is the one that the body can tolerate today, here and now.
The relational framework is just as important as the technique: a calm presence, benevolent curiosity, frequent pauses and validation of micro-changes (a breath that lengthens, a shoulder that relaxes, a warmth that appears). It is also the context of safety provided by the therapist that will make the practices effective.
Somatic practices (orientation, movement, voice): where to start?
Before you start practising, here are two points of reference:
- There is no universal somatic gateway: choose the one that seems most accessible to you today (sight, movement, voice, etc.);
- Dose: explore for 30 to 90 seconds, then observe what changes (breath, tone, warmth, desire to stop/continue) before going further.
The aim is not quantity, but simply to feel better, as far as possible. Let’s start with the one that is easiest for many people: visual orientation.
Visual orientation: finding your bearings
Let your eyes wander slowly around the room. Notice shapes, colours, sources of light and points of support (walls, floor, ceiling). Let your head follow your eyes, then your torso follow your head. Observe the effect on your breathing and shoulder tension.
Slow movements: feel gently
Sitting or standing, lengthen your spine without straining. Tilt your chin very slightly, then return. Ear to shoulder, then back. Nose towards the ceiling, then back. Everything is done in slow motion, with a modest amplitude, paying attention to comfort. Look for the minimum effective: as soon as a sign of effort or discomfort appears, reduce, pause, then observe.
Voices/sounds: vibrate to soothe yourself and come back to yourself
The voice travels through bone and tissue; vibration can soothe and support tuning. Try a slight “mmm”, a vowel held at low volume or a few soft syllables. The aim is not to hum perfectly, but to hear your voice safely, without judging yourself, for a few seconds at a time.
Three simple somatic practices on video, guided by Licia Sky
The aim of these practices is to calm you down and help you feel safe again. If you feel discomfort, change practice.
Therapeutic relationships: what the somatic approach changes
In a session, the somatic approach modifies the temporality and the posture: we move forward slowly, we observe the physiology (breath, gaze, tone) and we interpose short practices between two periods of speaking. There are three notable effects:
- Greater security: the patient learns to feel when “enough is enough” and to regulate without forcing himself.
- Greater clarity: micro-body changes guide the pace and depth of the work.
- Greater autonomy: simple gestures become rituals that can be transferred to the home.
Bessel van der Kolk & Licia Sky, a unique therapeutic duo
Bessel van der Kolk and Licia Sky form both a couple and a working team; this alliance strengthens the coherence between theory and practice. Their talks alternate between neuroscientific contributions and guided exercises, accessible to all therapists.
Together, they combine clinical data and somatic practices. They create a rare therapeutic experience, where science and presence meet, where the spoken word enlightens and the body guides. A true form of co-regulation: one leads the way with understanding, the other with feeling, and their dialogue becomes a bridge to inner security.
Join Licia Sky and Bessel van der Kolk on 16 and 17 September
for a unique event in France.
