Individual Somatic Therapy
What issues is somatic therapy effective for?
Somatic therapy is well suited to any of the issues for which one would normally seek therapy: anxiety, depression, grief, interpersonal problems, low self-esteem, life transitions, social anxiety, unhelpful relational patterns, sexual issues, coping skills, spiritual crisis, and so on. 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 long and profound memory, we are granted more focused access to the core wounds underlying current psychological problems.
What happens in a session?
Like every kind of therapy, somatic therapy will include supportive dialogue exploring the themes in your life that feel painful or stuck. But rather than just talk, analyze, and strategize, somatic therapy includes abundant opportunities to slow down and give mindful attention to just 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 limit 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.