Befriending the Inner Critic: How Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Helps Transform Self-Judgment

This month’s blog is the fifth one in a series about self-criticism, the inner critic and how this impacts on our confidence and wellbeing. Each month I’ll take a look at the way different therapy modalities deal with the inner critic when it shows up. This month we look at Sensorimotor Psychotherapy.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, "I’m not good enough" or "Why can't I get it right?", you’ve encountered your inner critic — that persistent, often harsh voice inside that judges, corrects, and shames. For many, the self-critic feels like a permanent fixture, undermining confidence and reinforcing painful emotional patterns.

In Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, an approach developed by Dr. Pat Ogden, this inner critic isn't simply a "bad habit" of thinking — it's understood as a somatic and relational experience, deeply tied to the body, early attachment histories, and survival strategies. By working directly with the body and nervous system, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy offers a compassionate and effective way to transform the self-critical voice.

The Self-Critic: A Body-Based Perspective

Traditional talk therapies often focus on challenging critical thoughts cognitively. While this can be useful, many people find that understanding logically that they "shouldn't" criticize themselves doesn't necessarily change the underlying feelings of shame or fear.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy looks deeper. It asks:

• What happens in your body when the inner critic speaks?

• What memories or early experiences are linked to these sensations?

• How is the critical voice trying to protect you, even if its methods are painful?

The self-critic often developed early in life as a protective adaptation. Perhaps criticism from caregivers was internalized to maintain connection or to prevent abandonment. Perhaps being hard on oneself was a way to stay "safe" in an unpredictable environment. Importantly, these patterns are stored not just in the mind, but in the muscles, posture, breath, and nervous system.

Working with the Inner Critic Somatically

In Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, the self-critic is approached not as an enemy to be defeated, but as a wounded part that needs understanding, boundaries, and healing.

Some key elements include:

1. Tracking Body Responses

Clients learn to notice subtle body sensations when the critical voice arises — tightness in the chest, sinking of the shoulders, clenching in the jaw. These bodily patterns are somatic anchors for the critic.

2. Bringing Mindfulness to the Experience

Rather than arguing with the critic, clients are encouraged to observe it with curiosity, recognizing it as a part, not the whole self.

3. Identifying Survival Strategies

Through exploration, clients often discover that the critic emerged to help them survive emotionally — to motivate, to please, to avoid punishment. Acknowledging this original protective function opens the door to compassion.

4. Developing New Somatic Resources

Clients are guided to cultivate new body-based experiences — strength, openness, self-compassion — that counteract the habitual collapse or tension triggered by the critic. This might involve experimenting with different postures, gestures, or breathing patterns that embody kindness or empowerment.

5. Negotiating with the Critic

Rather than eradicating the self-critic, Sensorimotor work invites a new relationship: setting boundaries, offering gratitude for its past service, and redirecting its energy toward healthier, more supportive roles.

Healing Beyond Words

The beauty of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is that it doesn't just tell you to "think differently." It helps your body learn that it’s safe to be gentle with yourself. It allows new experiences of worthiness and safety to take root, not just intellectually, but somatically — creating lasting change.

By tending to the nervous system and offering compassion to the parts of ourselves that learned to survive through self-criticism, we begin to move from shame to self-respect, from harshness to healing.

The inner critic may not vanish overnight, but with somatic awareness and kindness, it can soften, transform, and even become an ally in your journey toward wholeness.

If you are curious about Sensorimotor or Somatic therapy and how it might be of help to you, feel free to contact us here at Rhizome Practice.