Individual Somatic Therapy
What Issues Is Somatic Therapy Effective For?
Somatic therapy is well-suited for any issues for which one would typically seek therapy, such as anxiety, depression, grief, interpersonal problems, low self-esteem, life transitions, social anxiety, unhelpful relational patterns, sexual issues, coping skills, spiritual crises, and more. We offer a FREE consultation and can help assess whether we are the right fit for your needs.
Why Include the Body in Psychotherapy?
In our increasingly busy and virtual world, most of us rarely find the opportunity to slow down and pay attention to our inner life. In somatic, or body-centered therapy (soma is Greek for body), we deepen our conversation by paying close attention to your experience of inhabiting a physical body in the here and now.
The body is never silent; through sensations, expressions, postures, gestures, and fidgets, it "speaks" in a language that carries deep personal meaning and history for each of us. Likewise, the body "remembers" much that the mind may not. By mindfully attuning to the body's language and listening to its profound memory, we gain more focused access to the core wounds underlying current psychological issues.
What Happens in a Session?
Like every kind of therapy, somatic therapy includes supportive dialogue exploring the themes in your life that feel painful or stuck. However, rather than just talking, analyzing, and strategizing, somatic therapy offers abundant opportunities to slow down and give mindful attention to how these issues occur in you in real time. No experience with mindfulness or meditation is required; your therapist will gently guide you toward mindful self-awareness and support you in bringing sustained, compassionate curiosity to your present experience. When we are able to witness ourselves with interest and care, new possibilities have space to emerge:
Becoming curious and accepting toward parts of our lives that have felt unacceptable or shameful.
Identifying and understanding our core beliefs or “protector parts”—those survival strategies we develop in childhood that can create limits and stuckness in adulthood—and helping them transform.
Rewiring the neural pathways behind limiting beliefs and habitual reactions.
Studying how certain habitual ways of holding and moving our bodies perpetuate anxiety and mood problems.
Learning how to respond tenderly rather than avoidantly to our sad and scared moments.
Experimenting with new ways of moving, communicating, and relating that break us out of limiting patterns.
…and much more.
We look forward to getting to know you and helping you create the life you want.