Somatic Therapy (Body Centered)

Emotions live in the body. I implement somatic therapy into my practice by helping you bring awareness of physical sensations of emotions to help better identify and express them.

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. Somatic approaches can be transformative, including cultivating the felt sense, engaging the right brain & limbic system, and working with body-based approaches.

So much of what we experience in life and the impact of those experiences are stored in our bodies. Sometimes we've lost connection to our body, sometimes we have access but are still feeling frozen or stuck in many ways. We have clinicians trained in attachment focused somatic experiencing that can help move you through the somatic healing process in a gentle and freeing way.

It is through identifying sensations and patterns in the body that we can facilitate shifts in the nervous system and move toward regulation. Shifts happen by tracking impulses, facilitating movement in the body, resourcing with positive sensations, and restructuring outcomes so that the body can have the experience it needs to have.

Everything in life is a physical, mental, social, and spiritual experience. Yet, many of us are disconnected from our bodies. I believe that our bodies are vessels of wisdom from which we hold our experiences of pain, joy, belonging, intuition, and information. Through the process of slowing down and noticing, we can uncover a well of resources you already have within you, as well as heal from a foundational level. I am a Certified Somatic Attachment Therapist.

Somatic therapy is the physical underlying prompting of all emotion and action. It is physically felt through the vagus nerve (12th cranial nerve in the brain) throughout our whole body. When you develop awareness of your sensations you can learn how to “feel” feelings in a completely new way. It is like having another sense. Once you have this sense, you can develop techniques that make moving through emotions, trauma, eating disorders and other “intense” states a breeze. It is fun and easy!

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.

Somatic Psychology (body mind psychotherapy, body-oriented psychotherapy, etc.) is a holistic form of therapy that respects and utilizes the powerful connection between body, mind, and spirit. How we are in this world, how we relate to ourselves and others, is not just purely about the mind or our thoughts, but it is also deeply rooted in our bodies and our spirits. Unlike traditional talk therapy or cognitive therapy, Somatic Psychology tends to be more experiential.

I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner-in-Training. Somatic Experiencing is a body-oriented therapeutic model for healing trauma and other stress disorders. It focuses on bringing our nervous system back into regulation, instead of constantly being activated because of past (or ongoing) traumas.

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.

Somatic Psychology (body-mind psychotherapy, body-oriented psychotherapy, etc.) is a holistic form of therapy that respects and utilizes the powerful connection between body, mind, and spirit. How we are in this world, how we relate to ourselves and others, is not just purely about the mind or our thoughts, but is also deeply rooted in our bodies and our spirits. Unlike traditional talk therapy or cognitive therapy, Somatic Psychology tends to be more experiential and powerful.

After a decade of hands-on bodywork, I became trained to provide psychotherapy. Your body can be your greatest ally in healing. It alerts you to your distress before you've reached the point of blowing up. It can tell you (and me) what's really going on so we can help you recover more swiftly and deeply.

There is a wealth of knowledge in the bodymind. I enjoy assisting clients in coming into a greater intimacy with their own physical sensations and emotional experiences.

I believe in the wisdom of the body, and support my clients to pay close attention to their present moment bodily experience during therapy sessions. We utilize the body as a resource for bearing feelings, understanding dilemmas and finding creative choices to live more fully. I have trained in embodied approaches to trauma both at the California Institute of Integral Studies Somatics Psychology department and through Sensory Motor Psychotherapy where I completed one year of intensive training.

Somatic therapy includes + brings attention to the experiences of our bodies, including sensations, emotions, feelings, and yes, even your thoughts, and how they all interface to create a fuller picture of our situation. Many of us have had to survive by (or have been socialized to) diminish our connection to our body. While this was a brilliant solution for us as children, as an adult we can feel dissatisfied by this disconnection, noting that we feel stuck, anxious or depressed.

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.

Get ready to talk a lot about your nervous system and how to heal trauma on a body level for lasting change. I also give homework to observe body sensations and provide guided body scans to try at home (if you like that sort of thing).

I am currently training in Somatic Experiencing®, a body-centered trauma therapy. I am also supervised by an Orgonomic Therapist who incorporates bodywork. Our group practice is holistic and collaborates with other healing modalities such as massage, movement, and acupuncture.

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.