Somatic Therapy (Body Centered)

Somatic techniques can help you to detach from unwanted energy, emotions and negative core beliefs that may have attached to you during a traumatic event, inner child wounding or period of chronic stress. Learn to use the body as a tool for self-regulation. Learn to use somatic techniques to enhance healing. Learn to rewire and re-stabilize your nervous system.

I found somatic therapy when I began noticing that my clients who had survived so much were experiencing a plateau in talk therapy. As a student of Somatic Experiencing and I continue to be amazed by the healing that can come from slow and gentle body-based therapy. Our bodies hold memories that our minds may not recall. Somatic therapy allows the Nervous System to complete the survival responses that were thwarted in the natural "freeze" that occurs during trauma.

Trauma disrupts healthy adaptive functioning and causes dysfunction in many areas of life. Somatic therapy focuses on releasing stress from the nervous system, regulating your nervous system to safety, ease and well-being. Benefits include reduced physical and emotional discomfort and distress, strengthened connection between the mind and body and nervous system regulation, improved relationships and health, and joy.

I have a certificate in somatic psychotherapy from anti-och university.

I primarily use somatic therapy techniques in trauma, body image, and emotional awareness development. Our bodies and minds connect in more rapid ways than direct thoughts, and until we develop our awareness of that connection, we are very likely to misunderstand what our body is trying to tell us which can create more distress than is necessary. This is also important for athletes to strengthen as they train so they can best utilize the skills they are developing.

At this point in my career I am continuing to learn about Somatic Therapy and the importance of being in the body. I work closely with my supervisor on this topic, particularly on how to help clients integrate their thoughts and experiences into the body. This integration can be done through first learning how to be in our bodies and then through mindful movement.

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 am certified in a somatic-based model for healing complex PTSD and I am furthering my education in somatic therapy in Somatic Experiencing International's training program. Trauma, especially preverbal developmental trauma, is stored in our body in implicit memory. This means that we cannot cognitively access memories for why we react or feel triggered. In healing trauma, we need to connect to our body. Somatic therapy is about learning our own nervous system and body language/sensations.

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 completed the Embody Lab Somatic Attachment Therapy certificate program.

Oftentimes, unconscious psychological material gets reflected in our posture, breath patterns, tension and constriction in our muscles, habits, movement impulses, quality of voice, eye movements, and much more. When we more fully understand the subtle and complex interactions and communications throughout mind-body unity, we are more equipped to recognize what might be interfering with that natural healing force (or organicity) within us. We are then more equipped to cultivate and promote it.

I am a BIG believer that trauma and emotions get stored in the body! I have a strong background in physiology, but what informs me the most is my prior career as a full-time Massage Therapist, my own extensive experience with body-focused forms of meditation and my enrollment in Peter Levine's 3+ year Somatic Experiencing® Professional Training Program. This particular sect of my work is such an incredIble passion of mine because it weaves together everything that I love and I see that it WORKS.

I have my 200 hour certification in yoga and mindfulness, and integrate somatic approaches into my work through a trauma-informed lens. My work is informed by sensorimotor psychotherapy, trauma-sensitive mindfulness, and expressive arts.

Somatic Experiencing is a way of dealing with really tough experiences, like trauma, that can leave a mark on our bodies and minds. Instead of just talking about it, this approach pays attention to what's happening in your body, like the physical sensations and reactions. By gently working with those sensations, it helps release the stuck energy from the past and helps you move forward and feel better.

My graduate degree is in somatic psychotherapy and a lot of the trainings I have attended since graduating have focused on neuroscience and body based interventions. I don't have particular certifications because I studied many different modalities in school. We experience the world around us through our bodies, so the healing has to include the body. I typically start with education about how our bodies process the world and then utilize body based interventions.

As a dedicated Vipassana meditator, I try to meditate two hours a day and have participated in more than 100 days of silent retreat. From this personal experience I know firsthand how powerful and healing somatic approaches can be. It can be far from easy to access this type of healing, however, as our bodies also carry our accumulated pain and trauma. A somatic approach can often initially lead to more discomfort, but "moving through" can lead to incredible healing.

Every experience we have affects us on a bodily level. We feel emotions in a physical way, thoughts make us cringe or tense up, memories can make us feel like we are physically back in the past. Traditional talk therapy ignored the body and tried to change our patterns by only engaging our thinking mind. Somatic therapy is a powerful new tool we have for healing. When we engage the body, we engage and heal all parts of our experience. I use sensorimotor psychotherapy, yoga, and meditation.

My core approach to therapy is mindfulness focused, relational, and integrative. I am trauma sensitive, while integrating techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and somatics. Sessions consist of a combination of talk therapy and experiential & somatic activities that incorporate mindfulness and creativity. The approach is excellent for short-term problem solving and long-term in-depth work.

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.