Is Somatic Therapy Right for Me?

You've Tried Talking About It. So Why Are You Still Carrying It?

Many people come to me with a long list of symptoms and no clear answers. They've had their blood work done, they've been medically cleared, and there's no diagnosable condition explaining what they're feeling. As a Registered Nurse Psychotherapist, that medical lens is always the first thing I bring, ruling out what needs ruling out before we go further.

What's often left after that is something harder to name. People want something different from talk therapy. They've sat in sessions that started to feel like a venting session, going over the same story again and again without much shifting.

I understand that, because I've lived it myself. I used to label a certain feeling in my body as anxiety. It took my own somatic work to realize that underneath that label was an actual physical sensation and my mind was building a story on top of it. I'm not saying the anxiety wasn't real, we know anxiety is a very real thing. I'm saying that getting curious about the sensation itself, instead of immediately naming it and assuming the worst, changed everything.

What a Somatic Therapy Session With Me Actually Looks Like

Shifts can happen within minutes, sometimes within half a session. I'm trained in Somatic Stress Release™, which means I focus heavily on where stress lives in the body, though the work reaches further than stress alone.

Here's an example. A client comes in aware that their heart has been racing. They've ruled out any medical cause, and they've recently gone through a significant life transition. Instead of jumping to a story about what that racing heart means, we lean in with curiosity. We ask what else is present. Are there other sensations? Other feelings? Other thoughts? We don't build a narrative around it. We just notice.

From there, the body tells us what it needs. Sometimes that's movement. Sometimes it's breath. Sometimes it's putting words to something for the first time. And sometimes it's simply staying with the sensation until it's fully felt and heard.

Life moves fast, and most of us never get the time, the capacity, or the space to actually process what's happened to us. This work creates that space.

You've Tried Talking About It. So Why Are You Still Carrying It?

Many people come to me with a long list of symptoms and no clear answers. They've had their blood work done, they've been medically cleared, and there's no diagnosable condition explaining what they're feeling. As a Registered Nurse Psychotherapist, that medical lens is always the first thing I bring, ruling out what needs ruling out before we go further.

What's often left after that is something harder to name. People want something different from talk therapy. They've sat in sessions that started to feel like a venting session, going over the same story again and again without much shifting.

I understand that, because I've lived it myself. I used to label a certain feeling in my body as anxiety. It took my own somatic work to realize that underneath that label was an actual physical sensation and my mind was building a story on top of it. I'm not saying the anxiety wasn't real, we know anxiety is a very real thing. I'm saying that getting curious about the sensation itself, instead of immediately naming it and assuming the worst, changed everything.

What a Somatic Therapy Session With Me Actually Looks Like

Shifts can happen within minutes, sometimes within half a session. I'm trained in Somatic Stress Release™, which means I focus heavily on where stress lives in the body, though the work reaches further than stress alone.

Here's an example. A client comes in aware that their heart has been racing. They've ruled out any medical cause, and they've recently gone through a significant life transition. Instead of jumping to a story about what that racing heart means, we lean in with curiosity. We ask what else is present. Are there other sensations? Other feelings? Other thoughts? We don't build a narrative around it. We just notice.

From there, the body tells us what it needs. Sometimes that's movement. Sometimes it's breath. Sometimes it's putting words to something for the first time. And sometimes it's simply staying with the sensation until it's fully felt and heard.

Life moves fast, and most of us never get the time, the capacity, or the space to actually process what's happened to us. This work creates that space.

Who This Work Is For, and Who It Isn't

Signs somatic therapy may be a good fit for you

You're open to a different way of doing therapy. You've talked about your struggles extensively already, and yet something still feels unresolved. Like it's hanging around in your body even after you've said all the words out loud.

It's almost like carrying a bag of heavy weight without realizing you're carrying it. That lack of awareness can be the hardest part.

I've worked extensively with clients managing anxiety and depression using this approach, often alongside other tools depending on what's needed.

When it might not be the right starting point

If you're deeply attached to processing everything cognitively, talking it through again and again on a bit of a loop, this likely isn't the right fit.

And if you're struggling significantly with your mental health and may need medication or a different level of support, that needs to be looked at first. I'm not saying somatic work is wrong in those situations, but it's important to assess what's actually needed before we begin.

For some people, especially those who haven't spent much time connected to their bodies, we simply go slowly. Reconnecting with this bag of bones we walk around in takes time when you've spent years living almost entirely in your head.

A Moment That Stays With Me

As a therapist, I have the privilege of holding space for a lot of breakthroughs. What stands out most is watching clients grow in their ability to recognize an emotion as it arises and meet it with curiosity instead of a story.

One client I worked with needed, more than anything, to have a good scream and let the tears come, to really acknowledge what they had been through. That was a huge turning point for them.

It's a reminder that when we connect with the body, shift becomes possible. Our bodies and minds hold a kind of wisdom we don't always stop to acknowledge.

What to Expect if You Work With Me

I don't work from a single tool or modality. Alongside somatic therapy, I'm certified in Brainspotting and TEAM-CBT and I'm a Reiki Master. I look at what a client needs in that moment and what will be the best fit, often that means combining approaches rather than keeping them separate.

I also hold my clients accountable. That means homework between sessions and an expectation that you're showing up outside our time together, because that's where a lot of the growth happens. If difficulties come up in between, we talk about them and I support you through it.

I truly believe we have a choice. We can be a victim of the things we've been through, or we can turn them into guidance, knowledge, and experience, and genuinely grow from them. I'm the practitioner for someone who is ready to make a change, as frightening as change can be.

Getting Started

You can book a free consultation to talk through what you're looking for. We'll meet virtually first so you can get a sense of whether we're a good fit before committing to anything further.