What is a Somatic Therapist?

What can I expect from my session?

What is Somatic Therapy?

Somatic therapy and yoga therapy is the professional application of the principles and practices of embodiment to promote health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship that includes personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and somatic practices for individuals or small groups.

What is a Somatic Therapist?

I draw from the principles of embodiment, the patterns of the nervous system, and a full range of assessment skills, as well as familiarity with biomedical and psychological foundational knowledge.

Somatic therapists work with the client to develop and implement a self-empowering therapeutic plan appropriate to the client’s needs and oriented around prevention and health promotion. An IAYT-Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) has undertaken specialized training beyond that of a yoga teacher, in accordance with the IAYT’s educational competencies for the training of yoga therapists or has met IAYT’s requirements for certification under alternate pathways.

My Approach

I focus on the somatic experience of the body with regard to building your awareness of internal sensation/interoception, nervous system awareness and regulation, pain, injury recovery, and functional movement.

I primarily focus on the tools of breath, embodiment, movement, grounding in present awareness, somatic awareness of emotion, trauma resiliency and awareness/recovery. I help with working with and managing the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD/C-PTSD, and issues with embodiment regarding gender and body image.

I am trauma-informed regarding many intersections of experience: transgender/gender-diverse, body image, gender dysphoria, eating disorders, attachment and developmental trauma, family-of-origin issues, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, sex work, intersections of race and gender identity (inasmuch as possible, being white-bodied and living in a space of privilege), also broadly neurodivergent and Autism spectrum informed. I am also polyamory and kink informed. I primarily work with adults.

I hold a firm container of warm familiarity, with plenty of dry humor, and an open-ended approach with regard to offering a spread of tools and techniques for building an arsenal of coping mechanisms and grounded healing that is tailored to your individual needs and temperament.

Everything is connected and we can start anywhere, physical issues or mental/emotional issues and the spaces in between.

I ground the work we do together with a detailed treatment plan of about 8 to 10 sessions, depending on your individual needs. I check in on your progress once a week for accountability and support, if needed.

If you have any questions about whether or not somatic therapy can support you with your healing, wellness, or empowerment towards your most embodied and resilient self, please reach out and let’s talk!