Our minds and our bodies work together. So they need to heal together, too.
Somatic therapy is all about listening to and trusting our body’s inner wisdom, and learning how to use that wisdom to achieve greater wholeness and healing.
“Soma” is the Greek word for body. While some approaches to therapy can feel like they are simply focusing on the cognitive or intellectual parts of ourselves - somatic therapy helps create awareness for the language of the body as felt through sensations. Our body holds our experiences, emotions and memories. Whether through a quickened heartbeat, a feeling of tension in your core, or an unconscious fidget - our bodies are always speaking to us and sending us signals about what is happening inside of us on a deeper level. This approach is rooted in the belief that your body not only wants to heal but also has great wisdom about how to do so. The therapy journey is about learning how to listen and respond to the tremendous wisdom that your body already has and is offering to you in every moment. Through Somatic Therapy you can learn to listen to your body’s signals and understand its messages, and unlock healing that goes deeper and lasts longer.
Somatic Therapy is for everyone who wants to heal on a deep level. Whether you are struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD, an eating disorder or chronic illness, Somatic therapy offers a path to a holistic healing that honors and includes every part of your being.
It can be an effective approach to helping with a variety of struggles, including:
The experience of anxiety can often be a deeply physical one. Whether it’s tension in the shoulders, your heart rate going up, or your stomach starting to clench - our body will often start to send out distress signals long before our mind starts to interpret the cues. Somatic therapy helps you learn to read those signals, understand them, and heal their root cause.
When you live with chronic illness it can be easy to start to feel that your body and you are on two opposing teams. You want to live and function in a certain way and, on some days at least, your body simply refuses to cooperate. But the truth is that you and your body are on the same side! You’re both doing the best you can and Somatic Therapy can help you to feel more compassionate, united and at peace with your physical needs.
Trauma that we’ve experienced in the past doesn't just go away - it is stored in our bodies and nervous systems. In order to heal that trauma we need to access it safely and allow ourselves to process and release it.
Loss impacts us in profound ways, often in ways that go deeper than we are consciously aware. Somatic therapy is one way to allow both your mind and body to fully process and deeply heal from grief.
Individuals living with depression often describe feeling worn out and disconnected. Sometimes there is a persistent feeling that things just aren’t right, and a persistent feeling of exhaustion and emptiness. Somatic therapy can help you create a renewed connection with yourself, helping you to turn a new page and move forward in a new, more balanced direction.
Somatic therapy is experiential. Going beyond traditional talk therapy, in our sessions you’ll be invited to be curious and notice sensations that you are experiencing physically. Together we’ll work to create new patterns of moving and relating to others. You’ll learn to view yourself with greater compassion, and identify patterns of movement and behavior that may be holding you back. Body awareness, mindfulness, visualization and breathing techniques may be part of the work we do together.
Providing Somatic Therapy in Los Angeles and all of California
The mind, body and spirit are all woven together. To heal one, we must learn to honor and listen to the others. On Your Journey to Healing, I’m Here to Help.