Somatic Therapy (Body Centered)

Somatic counseling invites the experience of the body into the therapeutic process including breath, internal sensations, postures, gestures, and expressive movements. ​Developing our ability to notice and listen to these embodied experiences is the most direct path to increasing self-awareness of our emotions, patterns, identities, values, needs, and desires.

I found my way to Pyschotherapy as a result of many clients emotional experiences as a massage/ CranioSacral therapist. So many clients were having emotional releases and needed help to process them, so I became a therapist. What does somatic therapy mean and look like? Implicit memories (the ones without a movie in our head) are stored in the body keep people stuck. These memories can be released and accessed to heal the body and the mind with or without the story being shared or even touched.

I found my way to Pyschotherapy as a result of many clients emotional experiences as a massage/ CranioSacral therapist. So many clients were having emotional releases and needed help to process them, so I became a therapist. What does somatic therapy mean and look like? Implicit memories (the ones without a movie in our head) that ares stored in the body keep people stuck. These memories can be released and accessed with or without the story being shared to heal the body and the mind.

I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and have personally been a client of SEP for many years. I believe working with the body and present physical symptoms are the window to true healing for mental health. I am trauma-oriented.

Body Psychotherapy is holistic; it takes the entire human being and his/her/their life experiences into account. It offers mindful consideration to the crucial role of the body in the structure and process of the psyche. During a session, I pay close attention to sensation and body states, which allow unconscious material to manifest and possibly be worked with using breath, spatial awareness, consented therapeutic touch, movement, sensation, and imagery.

I have trained in multiple somatic therapeutic modalities including Hakomi, Integral Somatic Psychology (an offshoot of Somatic Experiencing), Ray Castellino's Prenatal and Birth Trauma work, and Resmaa Menakem's Somatic Abolitionism work.

“This is your body, your greatest gift, pregnant with wisdom you do not hear, grief you thought was forgotten, and joy you have never known.” -Marion Woodman. Neuroscientific research shows there is no separation between body and mind. We feel symptoms of anxiety, depression, or trauma in the body: racing heart, churning stomach, fatigue, aches and pains. I use gentle, safe, somatic methods to help clients process experiences and learn simple, effective somatic skills to reduce symptoms.

Somatic therapy, sometimes known as body psychotherapy, is a therapeutic approach that places importance on what we experience in the mind and the body as well as the connection between the two. “Somatic” itself means “of or relating to the body.” I work with clients to hone their skills of listening to their body, their gut, and intuitive guidance to improve their self knowledge. If we are talking about the body and sexuality or the body as guidance to making decisions, the body is your friend!

I use body-work to guide clients in releasing their trauma histories. When trauma occurs early in life before language skills are fully developed, the trauma automatically becomes stored in the body. Symptoms of pain, repeated injuries, and even susceptibility to illness can all be signs of unprocessed childhood trauma. When we work somatically, we release the emotions stored in the body to relieve the physical symptoms and postural habits.

Our bodies hold important information, when we're able to listen. I've done trainings with Peter Levine and Bessel van der Kolk , and integrate their valuable lessons into my therapeutic work. We will get "centered" at the beginning of every session, slowing down and noticing the important experiences that we have in our core, in that "place without words." By listening closely to our emotions, paired with our thoughts, we find greater clarity and the energy we need for change and growth.

I use Somatic Experiencing with my clients and am currently in the process of becoming an SEP.

We live in a society that does not support embodiment- true connection with the wisdom of the body. As a result we may live disconnected from our bodies, especially when we have experienced trauma or stress. Numbing out, avoiding, overriding the signals of stress, anxiety, trauma reactions from the body, are common best attempts to cope. Somatic therapy offers a bridge between body and mind so that we can heal and release stuck trauma physiology, and return to wholeness.

Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses both traditional talk therapy and physical therapies for holistic healing. In addition to talk therapy, I use mind-body exercises and other physical techniques to help release the pent-up tension and trauma that negatively affects a person’s physical and emotional wellbeing.

The body doesn’t lie. When we pay attention to the signals of our body — flutters in the belly, chills up the spine, the urge to run, etc.— we learn a lot about the state of our nervous system and how safe (or not safe) we feel. Through somatic exercises, we can release what has been stored in the body through traumatic experiences, and learn to restore our sense of safety. Furthermore, with keen bodily awareness, we can gain greater trust in our own intuition and reclaim agency and empowerment.

My undergraduate studies were in pre-medical biological sciences, so my attention to and care for our bodily systems is always present in the room. I truly believe our bodies have wisdom to share with us, and I am passionate about providing care in the spaces where your mind and body seem to be at war. I also believe that we are meant to move through our emotions--physically move! I incorporate gentle exercises in therapy when helpful.

I believe your body is innately intelligent. It knows what it needs and communicates constantly. You might not have ever learned (or been allowed to learn) how to listen. Becoming curious about and aware of what it’s communicating - how and where it holds emotions, tension, trauma, memories - is foundational to healing. Through awareness and curiosity you can tap into your body’s wisdom and move toward wholeness.

Somatic therapy is technique used to support with processing trauma that is held in the body.

Trauma and stress are stored in the body. Effective healing will include exercises and routines that address areas of tension and support our bodies' natural ability to release and reset to a state of calm and safety.

Body Psychotherapy and Movement Therapy go beyond traditional “talk therapy” as these specialized approaches offer mindful consideration to the crucial role of the body structure and process of the psyche. During a session, I pay close attention to sensation and body states, which allow unconscious material to authentically manifest and possibly be worked with using breath, spatial awareness, consented therapeutic touch, movement, sensation, and imagery.

Somatic therapy incorporates the intelligent healing power of the body into the therapy room. A neuroscientifically researched approach, somatic therapy reaches well beyond the limitations of "talk therapy". This approach moves into the realm of how our bodies have processed wellbeing, stress and trauma throughout our lives and incorporates experimenting with : breath, movement, alignment and other "bottom-up" interventions to aid the progress of healing.