Somatic Mind-Body Therapy
A Dynamic Bottom-Up Therapeutic Approach for Healing
Do you sometimes find yourself getting numb or dissociated from what’s happening in your life? Or maybe you get so overwhelmed that your body gets panicky and hypervigilant. It might also feel like your mind and body operate at different intensities or speeds.
Somatic therapy is rooted in the belief that the mind and body are inherently connected. You store emotions in your body, and building body awareness can help you heal from past traumas and feel more embodied in daily life.
Bottom-up means tuning into your bodily sensations instead of just cerebrally connecting to your thoughts or cognitions. In this work, you learn about your own survival instincts and the patterns created within your fight-flight-freeze-fawn system. Somatic therapists can help you understand the connection between your physical sensations and your emotional experiences.
In my practice, I find that somatic mind-body therapy is particularly helpful for deepening self-acceptance and self-compassion. This is important work if you struggle with feeling like you’re “too sensitive” or “too much.” It’s also valuable if you identify with patterns of people-pleasing or suppressing your own desires.
Somatic Therapy Vs. Talk Therapy
The more we learn about the benefits of mind-body healing, the more we become aware of the potential limits of traditional talk therapy. That’s because we’re more than just our thoughts and intellect. We’re emotional. We’re body-based. And you’ve been storing different experiences in your body throughout your life. Somatic work can help you unpack and resolve the origins that may drive unwanted behavioral patterns.
Improving your mental health may mean building awareness of bodily sensations instead of just cerebrally connecting to thoughts or cognitions. This can be an integral part of trauma therapy.
Somatic therapy techniques are proven to be effective in treating a variety of struggles, including:
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD and C-PTSD symptoms)
- anxiety
- depression
- dissociation
- chronic pain or acute physical pain
- chronic stress
- core shame and toxic shame
- difficult life transitions
Understanding Somatic Therapy and Somatic Awareness
Trauma is stored on a cellular level, and traumatic memories can be expressed through your body. With that, there are different types of somatic therapy. My somatic work is integrative, and it combines elements of somatic experiencing, internal family systems (IFS), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), relational therapy, and other body psychotherapy frameworks.
Understanding Your Autonomic Nervous System
Your nervous system is a complex, interconnected system that drives your ‘fight or flight’ reflexes. Traumatic experiences can significantly affect this process. This may account for why you sometimes feel hypervigilant even in calm situations. It might also speak to difficulties with conflict or emotional regulation. Dysregulation can also coincide with physical symptoms like sleep disturbances, poor digestion, and muscle tension.
“Go Slow to Go Fast”
Change in therapy can take time, and it’s common for the brain to want to move faster than the body. However, mind-body techniques honor the pace of your nervous system. Somatic psychotherapy is about learning how to titrate into feeling your emotions. You will learn that even your most unwanted behaviors were once crucial solutions for managing difficult emotions. If you have a history of trauma, slower is faster- you are not broken, but the healing process does not move at a linear pace.
Somatic Work Complements Other Forms of Therapy
Somatic therapy engages your body in understanding your emotions, relationships, and patterns. From this approach, the body is not an afterthought- it is the starting point and the compass for our work. Somatic therapy aims to strengthen body awareness, support pendulation (move into relaxed states after talking about trauma stress or other forms of discomfort), and guide resourcing (leaning into what makes you feel calm and safe).
Online Somatic Therapy in Washington State
Nearly everyone can benefit from somatic therapy. This type of work is non-pathologizing, compassionate, and introspective. It also complements many other therapeutic approaches.
As a somatic therapist, my first goal is always to prioritize your sense of safety. This can’t be overstated. Many people come to therapy feeling quite disconnected from their bodies. So, with that, we will move at a pace that feels comfortable to you. As you become more aware of your physical symptoms or emotional needs, we will focus our therapeutic efforts on achieving your most meaningful goals.
I work with adult clients virtually throughout Seattle and all of Washington State. Online therapy offers a convenient and accessible therapy option for people with busy lives. It also provides discreet care from the comfort of your home.
To start your therapy journey, please follow these steps:
- Contact me!
- Schedule your first session.
- Start building body awareness and strengthening your mind-body connection
I’m currently accepting Premera and Lifewise insurance. If you’re interested in working together but don’t have one of those plans, that’s totally fine!
I offer out-of-network services, and I can provide you with billing information to submit to your insurance for reimbursement at their out-of-network rate. These are known as superbills. Depending on your insurance plan, you could get reimbursed for part or even all of your session fees.
Also, I work with Thrizer, a platform that helps clients get money back on out-of-network therapy sessions. HSA and FSA payments accepted. Don’t hesitate to reach out—I’d love to help you through the process!