Integrative Somatic Healing vs. Therapy: What’s the Difference?
- Andrea Goodwin
- Sep 26, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 30, 2025
Introduction
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “Do I need therapy, or would something like somatic healing work better for me?” — you’re not alone.
Both therapy and integrative somatic healing offer powerful paths to growth and well-being, but they approach healing from different angles. Therapy typically focuses on thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, while integrative somatic healing brings the body, mind, and spirit into balance through a variety of restorative tools.
In this article, we’ll explore the differences between therapy and integrative somatic healing, how they can complement each other, and how to know which path (or combination) might be right for you.
What Is Therapy?
Therapy, also called psychotherapy or counseling, is a talk-based process facilitated by a licensed mental health professional.
Key Features of Therapy:
Clinical focus: Therapists can diagnose and treat mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and trauma.
Talk-based methods: Sessions often involve conversation and reflection, though some therapists integrate modalities like EMDR or art therapy.
Exploration of the past: Therapy helps you understand where your patterns came from and why you respond the way you do.
Strengths: Provides a safe space to process thoughts, emotions, and life experiences with professional guidance.
What Is Integrative Somatic Healing?
Integrative somatic healing is a whole-person approach that works with the body, brain, and energy system to restore balance. Instead of focusing only on thoughts or emotions, this approach engages the nervous system, subconscious patterns, and the body’s innate capacity for healing.
Somatic Healing Tools That We Use At Retune Health:
Brainspotting: Accesses and clears subconscious patterns stored in the body and brain.
Safe and Sound Protocol™ (SSP): A therapeutic music intervention designed to calm the nervous system and reduce stress.
Rest and Restore Protocol™ (RRP): Supports mind-to-body connection, sleep quality, and recovery from stress.
Somatic IFS-informed coaching: Helps explore and integrate different parts of the self through a body-based lens.
Reiki energy healing: Balances and replenishes the energetic system for whole-body ease.
The Goal:
Rather than diagnosing or treating mental health conditions with a focus on the past, integrative somatic healing helps you move forward by creating safety and capacity in your body and mind. Together, we can:
Regulate your nervous system
Release subconscious stress patterns
Reconnect with your energy and vitality
Key Differences Between Therapy and Integrative Somatic Healing
Therapy | Integrative Somatic Healing |
Conducted by licensed mental health professionals | Offered by trained coaches, practitioners, and healers |
Clinical focus: diagnosis & treatment | Coaching/healing focus: regulation & integration |
Primarily talk-based | Body-based, sensation-focused, and experiential |
Often explores the past (“why”) | Focuses on the present and future (“how”) |
How They Work Together
Therapy and integrative somatic healing don’t have to be either/or choices — in fact, they often work best together.
Someone in therapy for trauma may add SSP to support their nervous system, making therapy sessions more effective.
A client working on anxiety in therapy may use Brainspotting to release subconscious patterns their therapist has helped them identify.
Reiki or RRP may be used alongside therapy to restore balance and resilience between sessions.
Together, they create a complementary approach: therapy provides insight and context, while somatic healing helps the body and brain integrate those insights into lived experience.
Who Might Choose Each Path?
Therapy May Be Right If…
You need a clinical diagnosis or mental health treatment.
You’re working through significant trauma, mood disorders, or relationship challenges.
You want to process your past and better understand the “why” behind your patterns.
Integrative Somatic Healing May Be Right If…
You’ve tried talk therapy but still feel “stuck.”
You’re burned out, anxious, or overwhelmed, and want body-based tools for relief.
You’re ready to explore subconscious healing and energy work.
You want to start with the body and spirit before diving into deeper talk-based processing.
Both Together May Be Ideal If…
You’re ready for a comprehensive, mind–body–spirit approach that allows for deeper, faster, and more lasting transformation.
Conclusion: It’s Not Either/Or
The truth is, therapy and integrative somatic healing are not competitors — they’re companions. Each offers something valuable, and together they create a fuller, more balanced roadmap for healing.
If you’re curious about whether integrative somatic healing could complement your therapy — or if you’re exploring a new path toward wellness — I invite you to connect. Let’s talk about what you need right now and design a personalized plan that helps you restore balance in your mind, body, and spirit.
✍️ About the Author
Andrea Goodwin is a Somatic Coach and the founder of Retune Health, a science-backed, heart-centered wellness practice that helps high achievers and wellness seekers regulate their nervous systems, release subconscious stress patterns, and restore balance in body, mind, and spirit.
With over 20 years of experience as a healthcare executive, Andrea brings a unique blend of real-world leadership, clinical insight, and holistic care to her work. Because burnout and overwhelm show up in our bodies, minds, and energy, she offers deeply personalized, mind-body-spirit support to help clients feel more grounded, clear, and alive — often in ways they never thought possible.
Through 1:1 sessions, group programs, and integrative experiences, Andrea guides clients toward a more intuitive, connected, and joyful way of being.
🌿 Explore sessions or subscribe to the newsletter at www.retunehealth.com
📍 Based in the northwest suburbs of Chicago | Virtual sessions available worldwide