Why It’s Not “All in Your Head”: Exploring the Mind-Body Connection in Therapy

Title: Why It’s Not “All in Your Head”: Exploring the Mind-Body Connection in Therapy

By Allison Puryear, LCSW | Featuring Cea Rubin, LCSW, LMT

Introduction:

You’ve probably heard it—or maybe even said it—“It’s all in your head.” But what if the truth is a little more… embodied?

In this episode of the Not Boring CEs podcast, I sat down with Cea Rubin, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and bodyworker, to dig into what it really means to integrate the physical and emotional anatomies in therapy. If you’re a therapist who’s ever asked a client, “Where do you feel that in your body?” but didn’t know what to do with the answer—this blog is for you.

We’re diving deep into how our bodies carry our stories, how stress physically manifests (hello, jaw pain!), and how therapists can create more healing by tuning into their clients’ physical cues.

Whether you’re looking for fresh ideas for continuing education for counselors or seeking new ways to connect with your own body, you’re in the right place.

The Problem With Staying in Our Heads

Cea started with a truth many therapists know but don’t always address: our mental health system often separates the emotional from the physical.

“As therapists, we often enter through thoughts and emotions, but leave out the body. But the body is also experiencing that emotion or thought—in heart rate, posture, hormones. If we ignore it, we’re only doing part of the healing.”

In other words, thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations happen at the same time. And if we’re only tending to thoughts and feelings? We’re missing a huge part of the picture.

“Where Do You Feel That in Your Body?”

Yep, it’s a therapist cliché. But Cea breaks it down in a way that makes it fresh and clinically meaningful:

Instead of just asking where clients feel something, she suggests:
- “Do you feel it in or around your body?”
- “Does this emotion kick you out of your body?”
- “What happens when you try to be present with it?”

These questions help clients (especially those disconnected from their physical selves) get curious without judgment.

Why Therapists Need Their Own Somatic Practice

Cea emphasized how important it is for therapists to feel their own bodies—not just talk about somatic work.

“Our clients can tell when we’re speaking from experience vs. theory. If you’ve never felt safety in your own body, it’s hard to guide someone else there.”

She recommends starting with safety and resourcing practices—things like body scans, grounding, or identifying one area that feels “a little more stable or spacious.”

The “Type A” Body Breakdown

We couldn’t not go there: the link between ambition and autoimmunity. Cea and I talked about how so many high-achieving, Type A women (hello, most of us in this field?) end up with chronic health issues.

“If we’ve burned through our adrenals trying to do it all, our bodies eventually crash. That physical breakdown? It’s trying to get our attention.”

It’s a powerful reminder that the stress we dismiss or push through isn’t just emotional—it’s somatic.

What the Body Tells Us: Physical Cues in Session

As Cea says, “The body is low-hanging fruit.”

Want to better understand your clients? Start paying attention to:

Posture – A slumped forward position can reflect shame, fear, or fawning.
Jaw tension – Often a result of unspoken words or suppressed emotions.
Chronic low back pain – Common with boundary struggles or unresolved trauma.
Breathing patterns – A shallow or restricted breath may indicate stuckness or trauma.

She recommends including a breath evaluation and posture check in your intake process. (Bonus: this can help therapists catch their own physical stress patterns, too.)

Simple Somatic Tools to Use Now

You don’t need to be fully somatic-trained to start helping clients connect with their bodies. Cea shared several accessible practices:

✅ Pretzel Posture

Cross your arms in front, turn thumbs down, interlace fingers, and bring hands to chest or belly.
Helps regulate the nervous system and integrate brain hemispheres.

✅ Butterfly Taps

Alternating taps on shoulders (like EMDR’s bilateral stimulation).
Calms anxiety and increases embodiment.

✅ Gentle Self-Massage

Traps, jaw, front of the neck.
Releases physical tension and builds awareness of where stress lives in the body.

Ethics & Staying In Your Lane

Cea stressed the importance of staying within your scope.

“If your client’s physical symptoms are out of your depth, that’s okay. Refer to a trained somatic therapist or trauma-informed bodyworker like a craniosacral therapist or someone trained in Esalen massage.”

You don’t have to do it all. Collaboration is key.

Final Thoughts: It’s All Valid

We wrapped with one of the most important reminders:

“If everyone agrees we hold tension in our shoulders, then everyone has experienced a psychosomatic symptom. It’s not shameful—it just is.”

So let’s stop treating the body like it’s separate from therapy.

Conclusion:

Whether you’re a seasoned somatic therapist or someone who’s been avoiding asking “Where do you feel that?” for fear of not knowing what to do next—this conversation is your invitation.

To explore. To be curious. To notice your own body in session. To make space for the full human experience—thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

Because continuing education for counselors should feel alive, embodied, and not boring.

And if you’re craving more CEs for therapists that honor the whole person, come hang out with us at Not Boring CEs. We’re redefining what it means to learn as a therapist—with humor, heart, and a little somatic sparkle.

Let me know if you’d like to repurpose this into an email or social post to promote the course!