Somatic psychotherapy is a theoretical approach described as bottom-up, a term used in reference to a model called Evolutionary Psychiatry, developed by a neuroscientist, Paul MacLean (1985). MacLean spent decades exploring the brains of different animals and developed his theory to try to explain how emotions work in the nervous system. He became known for the Triune Brain theory, based on an idea that the human brain consists of structures that can be categorized hierarchically by type: neomammalian at the top for cognitive function, paleomammalian as the source of emotion, and reptilian at the bottom for the processes that occur in the body (MacLean, 1970). Talk therapy is considered a top-down type of psychotherapy.
Somatic quieting as a therapy approach does not consider top-down vs bottom-up to be an option, though it acknowledges that there are processes of the human body and brain that work in one or both of those directions. It is based on one main principle: Emotion is a homeostatic process that is constantly operating, is usually subconscious, and comes into awareness when it is aroused. Psychotherapy is helpful when emotion is hyperaroused, is rarely aroused, or when it doesn’t seem to fit within the expectations of society. Somatic quieting is the calming of emotions and body sensations, and it is achieved in many different ways, using many different therapy approaches. At a molecular level, somatic quieting is bi-directional, concurrently top-down and bottom-up.
Somatic quieting intervention is a specific route to achieving calm by using attentive interoception, or feeling of physiological sensations.
We still do not know everything about the human body, especially how the endocrine system, immune system, genes, and nerve cells function together. But technology, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), is helping scientists to understand more. Emotion is a product of all of these systems and parts functioning together.
Though some psychologists dispute MacLean’s model, careful examination of his writings show that his only goal for the theory was to create a model to help us understand what emotions do. And it worked. Today we have many different therapy approaches at our disposal that are effective, and many are helping people reduce medication, reduce stress, and find emotional stability.
References:
MacLean, P. D. (1970). The triune brain, emotion, and scientific bias. In Schmidt, F. O. (Ed.), The neurosciences. Second study program (pp. 336–349). New York: Rockefeller University Press.
MacLean, P. D. (1985). Evolutionary psychiatry and the triune brain. Psychological medicine, 15(2), 219–221.
