Somatic clinical psychotherapies—known in the scientific literature as body-oriented therapies (BOT)–are those modalities that engage a person’s body awareness and emotional experience to heighten the connection between the mind and the body. Somatic clinical psychotherapy has been used to treat obesity because of its focus on body experience in the here-and-now and because obesity usually includes issues of emotional disturbance and body image disorder.
Recently, researchers have asked the question as to just how effective it is in the treatment of obesity. A systematic review of the literature was conducted covering nine scientific databases. The quality of each study was assessed, and the subjective information of patients’ experience was synthesized.
The search found 7,766 records. From this pool, 82 papers were selected after screening titles and from these 21 made the final selection. and abstracts against our eligibility criteria, we read 82 full-text papers identified from our database searches and 11 full texts from citation tracking and contacts with authors, leading to a final set of 21 primary studies. Overall analysis points to realizing at least some improvement in eating disorder symptoms as well as improved body attitudes and emotional experience. Other quantitative studies reported improvements including emotion management, body awareness, body perception, and eating disorder symptoms. The qualitative results of personal narratives indicated positive effects on subjective body experience.
Closing Thoughts
In all, and as I have said in another blog-talk–The Existential Reality of Obesity—obesity is complex mix of body image disturbance, emotional restrictions, childhood experiences, and stigmatization by society and loathing of the self. It appears to need to be addressed by a holistic approach with emotional body experience as the central touchstone. I am pleased that this study confirms that BOTs have some effectiveness in treating this disorder.
Paul Shane, Ph.D., LMT
Director, Academic Content
References
Lucas, G., Sin, J., Cini, E., & Röhricht, F. (2025). Body-oriented therapies for the treatment of eating disorders: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 60, 101997, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2025.101997.