Bottom-up processingbottom-up

Bottom-up processing is experience moving from the body and sensation toward the mind. In this approach, change is sought not by first changing thought but by first working with bodily sensation and the nervous system. Somatic psychotherapists such as Pat Ogden emphasize the importance of this direction, especially in trauma work; for some reactions are lodged not in words but in the body. Bottom-up processing makes the body the starting point of change. Working with the signal that comes from the body can touch layers the mind cannot reach on its own.