Somatic Therapy | Mind-Body Healing and Psychotherapy
At its core, somatic simply means relating to the body, as distinct from the mind. Most people come to therapy already aware of how much their mind shapes their experience of the world. Our perceptions, beliefs, and inner narratives deeply influence how we move through life. Because of this, therapy often starts with exploring thoughts: untangling long-held beliefs, questioning assumptions, and noticing the stories we tell ourselves. There is real value in that work, and for many people, it is an important part of healing.
But often, clients reach me after they have done plenty of cognitive work. They know their thought patterns, they have mapped out where their behaviors come from, and they have deconstructed the old stories. And still, something has not shifted. Their body has not quite caught up.
Maybe your behavior still feels impulsive or misaligned with your values. Maybe setting boundaries feels impossible, even when you know exactly what they should be. Maybe anxiety still lingers in your body, even though you have worked through every possible mental scenario.
That is because healing does not just happen in the mind. Neuroscience shows that our nervous system is in constant two-way communication: not only sending signals from the brain down to the body, but also sending even more signals from the body up to the brain. In other words, our lived experiences shape not only our thoughts but also our physical being.
You can see this in subtle ways: how stress or trauma shows up in posture, in tension you cannot quite release, or in the patterns carried through your fascia. Through epigenetics, we also know that experiences can influence how our genes are expressed, shaping our physiology, our brain and body development, and the way we relate to the future.
Our experiences live in the body just as much as the stories we tell ourselves live in the mind.
A somatic therapy session with me is not about forcing your body to “perform” or creating dramatic movement. It is not about something being done to you, or about me touching or moving your body according to a set protocol. Instead, it is about learning how to listen to the signals and sensations your body is already sending, and developing the capacity to hold those sensations in a way that allows them to move fully through you.
This might look like noticing sensations in the body: the weight of your feet on the ground, the rhythm of your breath, the subtle ways your body holds tension or ease. From there, we may introduce gentle practices such as breathwork, grounding, guided imagery, or small, mindful movements to help you stay with what your body is holding and begin to renegotiate its meaning. Somatic work may also involve exploring the embodiment of beliefs, emotions, and ways of being. Noticing the patterns and habits your body has learned to hold, and experimenting with new shapes or movements, can be a powerful way to invite both body and mind into new possibilities of living.
Somatic therapy is not about “fixing” you. It is about building a relationship with your body, so that your mind and body are no longer working against each other but in partnership. Over time, clients often describe feeling more grounded, clearer in their boundaries, more confident in their desires, and more fully present in their lives.
After years of doing this work, here is what I know: your body is your most powerful tool, on your side 100% of the time. It is brilliantly designed with the capacity to hold all of your experiences and support you in living your most expansive life. Learning to live fully in it is the greatest gift you can offer yourself.