Somatic Therapy (Body Centered)

Somatic therapy is the healing part of therapy. It uses the body's natural drive to process through traumatic and painful experiences.

Working with thoughts and emotions through the body is transformative. Using a science-based approach, I help clients explore how various bodily sensations are linked to their emotional experience. This method can help us identify and heal old wounds, increase awareness of needs and desires, and provide greater insight around how we relate to ourselves, others, and our environment.

You will learn skills to guide YOU into an introspective state of mind where habitual psychological patterns can be accessed and worked with in the body.

Somatic Therapy is talk therapy enhanced through breath work, body awareness, movement, & touch. This orientation was established in the 1930s, is evidence-based, neuroscience-approved, & trauma-informed. I have a master's degree in somatic counseling from Naropa University, & I am a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT) through the International Somatic Movement Education & Therapy Association (ISMETA).

Somatic Therapy is focuses on body sensations and gentle movement to increase the flow of energy in your body. This is important because we store our emotions, memories and experiences in the tissues in our body so without addressing our trauma and pain from a somatic place it's easy to feel "stuck". Somatic Therapy brings self-awareness to your physical body and emotional states for a deeper understanding of what you're feeling and then what you need to care for yourself in the moment.

Prior to my career as a counselor, I practiced as a Licensed Massage Therapist in the state of Florida for 7 years. Since beginning my career in counseling I have received training and supervision in a range of somatic-based therapies and have consistently brought awareness of the body into my work with clients.

I've been practicing somatic techniques since 2014 and have attended and assisted a 9-month Somatic Soul-Based Trauma Training over the last 2 years.

My favorite way of working includes the body. When the body mind connection are recognized, you access your wisest self. You also experience an improvement in mood, a decrease in anxiety, and experience more fulfilling connections with yourself and with others.

The body is wiser than the mind. I can help you drop your awareness into your body so that you can hear its wisdom. Ultimately, the goal is to integrate mind, body, and spirit. I am a board-certified dance/movement therapist. But don't worry, I won't make you dance, unless you really want to! This is about body awareness, not leaping and spinning around the room.

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 have practiced somatic-based therapy for over eight years, and continue to grow my skills to better serve my clients. Because our life experiences not only impact our mind, but our whole bodies, having a body centered approach integrated into therapy is critical towards long-lasting and sustainable well-being. I am trained in the Trauma Resiliency Model and the Community Resiliency Model, and my goal is to also equip clients with skills they can use to find relief outside of session,

I'm skilled in helping individuals reconnect with their bodies, promoting healing from past traumas, and fostering a greater sense of self-awareness. Somatic therapy is a core element of my practice, as I believe it plays a pivotal role in achieving holistic wellness.

My practice is informed by Somatic Experiencing.

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.

If you're prone to over-thinking, somatic therapy can help you get off of the "hamster wheel", get clear, and move through what is keeping you stuck so you can feel better.

I began training in Somatic Experiencing in 2010, officially became a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner in 2014, and was an assistant trainer for years. It and the basis in understanding the nervous system from Polyvagal Theory is deeply integrated into how I approach treatment and in addition to providing individual therapy from this lens, I have been built a group therapy program called Resiliency and Regulation where individuals can learn the principles and practices.

I believe that most mental health issues are the result of our limbic brains working to keep us safe. Limbic brains don't understand logic, but they do understand stories and metaphors. I believe that change, at the limbic level, must include connecting to our bodies in new ways and that the most direct pathway of communication to the limbic brain is through bodily sensations. I use my training in tantric healing and in Somatic Experiencing to help guide you to healing.

"I want to be a more fully integrated person. All these different parts of me get me from one place to another, including my feelings, thinking, and body. These parts feel so separate – like they’re strangers – and I think it’s time to be introduced". Somatic Focusing is the practice of focusing and listening to your body and discover new personal insights. It's like having a conversation with your body and being able to integrate what it's telling you".

as a client in therapy myself, i have experienced profoundly transformative shifts through somatic therapies. our bodies are inherently designed to process through trauma; unfortunately, many minds have been taught to override this organic process. slow, somatic practice creates opportunities to reconnect with our felt-sense, strengthen body-mind communication, and allow our bodies to tap into their natural healing capacities.