Somatic Therapy (Body-Centered)

Somatic therapy, also known as body-centered therapy is a technique that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses both psychotherapy and physical therapy for healing. According to somatic practitioners, our bodies hold on to past traumas and may manifest in symptoms like pain, digestive issues, sexual dysfunction, immune deficiencies, depression, anxiety and addiction.  

Local Experts in Somatic Therapy (Body-Centered)

Rowen Mikodah

Individual Therapy, Group Therapy

If we aren't addressing the body, we aren't getting to the root of suffering. I guide clients into awareness and eventually deeper connection with the body, utilizing mindfulness, visualization, energy work and feeling/sensing practices to build safety and gently move through blocks on a deep level.

Melanie Smithson

Group Therapy, Individual Therapy, Couples Therapy

MA

Foundations Family Counseling

Adolescent/Teen Therapy, Child Therapy, Couples Therapy, Individual Therapy

Extensive experience in Somatic approaches, interventions, and skills, including specific training in Somatic Experiencing.

Dr. Faye Kouimelis

Adolescent/Teen Therapy, Child Therapy, Group Therapy, Individual Therapy

Some traumas or developmental diagnoses are better treated through the body than with words or thinking exercises. Occupational therapists are proficient at both physiological systems as well as neurological systems. At times it can be more productive to organize the body before processing trauma or learning new skills. Connecting the mind and body is often the goal when healing trauma in OT.

Kathy Temple

Adolescent/Teen Therapy, Child Therapy, Family Therapy

I used mindfulness approaches in the therapy I do with my clients which supports getting in touch with body sensations to understand their feelings.

Todd Thillman

Individual Therapy, Couples Therapy

I initially received training in this in graduate school and use it with all of my clients.

Suzanne Sellers

Couples Therapy, Individual Therapy

To alleviate the symptoms of stress or trauma, a variety of therapies can be employed. However, a trauma therapy that utilizes a somatic approach, such as Brainspotting trauma therapy, is most effective. Somatic therapy engages the mind, the body, and the nervous system to dispel the energy that has become trapped by trauma.

Carolyn Duhn

Individual Therapy

My understanding is that we are a mind-body-spirit, there is no separation as they all impact each other. Due to our overemphasis on our thoughts and thinking in our culture, we are often separated or out of touch from our bodies. Becoming connected to our bodies is a means of greater wholeness and integration and often an important foundation to our work together.

Amanda Rebel

Individual Therapy

Thoughts and feelings not only live in our head--they also are stored in the body and can be accessed through Body-Centered approaches. We may work with body sensations by using Mindfulness exercises (nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment) and Body Awareness exercises in order to process and change thoughts, feelings and behaviors via body sensations.

Elinor Nygren Szapiro

Individual Therapy, Adolescent/Teen Therapy, Couples Therapy, Family Therapy, Group Therapy

'The Issue is in the Tissue'- meaning that our issues and emotions are felt and stored in our physical body. So, to be free of our uncomfortable feelings, we need to release them from our body sensations as well from as our minds. Otherwise, we'll continue to be stuck in those 'yucky' feelings. Body-Centered therapy involves tuning into our sensations to gently and safely free them from our body.

Lauren Northrup

Individual Therapy, Couples Therapy, Adolescent/Teen Therapy

As a therapist and yoga teacher, I utilize the breath, movement, and psychotherapy to addres my client's concerns. I utilize this theory to understand and treat past traumas that are disrupting, both physically and mentally. Somatic therapy will help you better understand and treat past traumas that are disrupting, both physically and mentally.

Christina Jensen

Individual Therapy

Our thoughts and emotions often trick us or we can use them as justification for things not aligned with our highest good or confirmation of negative beliefs that trap us in old stories about ourselves. The body, however, can provide clearer messages and information. I work with attuning to the soma to support the nervous system and find better understanding of changes we need.

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