Maybe you’ve tried talk therapy before and found yourself feeling disappointed, or maybe saying it out loud feels impossible.
Somatic therapy affords you an opportunity to reconnect with your body and process emotions, relational wounds, make meaning of your experiences, and navigate new ways of being without having to divulge every detail.
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is a holistic approach to wellness that blends healing techniques with a focus on the connection between the mind and body (the soma). My work helps you understand the relationship between your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations, and how to make use of this wisdom in service of your goals and values. It enables access to the parts of you that exist beyond language, and a broad set of adaptable skills you can incorporate into your daily life. One of my favourite things about somatic therapy is the way it honours exactly who you are right now with curiosity and compassion, fostering deeper attunement to your core needs and values.
While somatic therapy invites you inward, it is also a tool for connection and deepened relations. The more we can attune to our own inner world, the more deeply we can connect with those of our loved ones and broader communities. Somatic therapy gifts you the tools to foster meaningful connections by ensuring your own needs are addressed, so your capacity to show up in relationship can expand.
Somatic therapy is a powerful modality for anyone feeling stuck or struggling with the exactness of language. I have used somatic therapy to support people navigating depression, anxiety, recovery from acute and complex trauma, burnout and stress, chronic pain, relational wounds, meaning-making, and more.
If you are a survivor of abuse or violence, you may find that somatic therapy helps you heal your relationship with your body by affording you an opportunity to experiment with embodiment in a controlled, titrated way (aka slow and steady). Learn more about how I integrate somatic therapy with trauma treatment here.
What can I expect?
At the beginning of every session, I like to offer an invitation to check-in with the body, either with a moment of embodied awareness or a moment of artistic expression. We can then build upon whatever comes up, honouring where you’re at and what your needs may look like that day.
Sessions tend to focus on connecting what you’ve brought in (e.g. an experience, a memory, a relationship, a dilemma, a curiosity) with what manifests in the present moment by way of body sensations, emotions, and thoughts. I might suggest a variety of creative activities and movements to help us identify and process what you’re experiencing, leading us to greater clarity as more information is revealed. I offer gentle prompts that orient you to your inner world to make sense of your life, and what may be needed.
If moving the body or artistic creation aren’t on the table, we can attend to your experience through the imagination, visualizing in the mind’s eye what feels inaccessible in the tangible world. Doing so often opens up opportunities for deeper exploration, clarity, and processing.
By the end of a session, you might understand the world differently, have answered a question, or have acquired a new skill.
Learn more.
My somatic therapy practice is primarily informed by trauma therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Polyvagal Theory. Learn more about how I work here.