Healing Through the Body-Mind Connection
Your body remembers what your mind sometimes can't access. Somatic therapy helps you tap into your body's wisdom to release stored tension, process trauma, and find greater emotional balance.
Somatic Therapy in Lafayette, CA
What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach that recognizes emotions and trauma aren't just stored in our minds—they live in our bodies. You might notice this when:
Your chest tightens when you're anxious
Your shoulders carry stress from the day
Your stomach drops when you remember something painful
You feel "frozen" or unable to move when overwhelmed
Rather than only talking about feelings, somatic therapy helps you tune into these bodily sensations, understand what they're communicating, and gently release what's been held.
How Somatic Therapy Works in My Practice
My extensive training in drama therapy provides a rich foundation for body-based therapeutic work. Drama therapy is inherently somatic—it uses movement, breath, embodiment, and creative expression as paths to healing.
In our sessions, somatic work might include:
Noticing Body Sensations
Learning to identify where and how emotions show up in your body—recognizing that tight chest, that pit in your stomach, that tension in your jaw.
Breath Work
Using conscious breathing to regulate your nervous system, calm anxiety, and create space between stimulus and reaction.
Grounding Techniques
Physical practices that help you feel safe and present in your body, especially useful for anxiety and trauma.
Gentle Movement
Exploring movement—sometimes subtle, sometimes expressive—as a way to release held tension or complete interrupted protective responses.
Body Awareness
Developing greater attunement to your body's signals, helping you understand what you need before feelings become overwhelming.
Embodied Expression
Using your body to express what's hard to put into words, making the invisible visible and tangible.
Who Might Benefit from Somatic Therapy?
People with Anxiety and Stress
If your anxiety shows up physically—racing heart, tight breathing, tense muscles, digestive issues—somatic therapy meets it where it lives. You'll learn:
How to regulate your nervous system in the moment
Ways to release physical tension before it becomes chronic
Grounding techniques you can use anywhere
How to interrupt the anxiety spiral in your body
People with Trauma and PTSD
Trauma gets stored in the body, not just the mind. Somatic therapy is especially effective for trauma because it:
Doesn't require retelling traumatic stories
Works with the body's protective responses
Helps complete "interrupted" fight/flight/freeze responses
Restores a sense of safety in your body
Releases trauma held in muscle memory and the nervous system
Many clients find somatic approaches help when talk therapy hasn't fully resolved trauma symptoms.
Children and Teens
Young people often process better through their bodies than through words. Somatic approaches help kids and teens:
Release big feelings without having to verbalize everything
Learn body-based coping skills for school stress
Develop emotional awareness through physical sensation
Work through experiences when language feels insufficient
Parents and Families
Somatic therapy helps parents:
Notice their own nervous system reactions during parenting challenges
Co-regulate with their children more effectively
Model healthy body awareness for their kids
Release the physical toll of parenting stress
In family therapy, somatic awareness helps everyone attune to each other's nonverbal cues and emotional states.
Anyone Feeling Disconnected
If you feel numb, disconnected from your body, or "living in your head," somatic therapy helps you:
Rebuild connection to physical sensations
Integrate mind and body
Feel more grounded and present
Access emotions that have been cut off
Somatic Therapy Online: Does It Work?
Yes! While in-person somatic work has advantages, online somatic therapy is highly effective. I guide you through:
Body scans and awareness exercises
Breathing and grounding techniques
Gentle movements you can do in your space
Noticing sensations as we talk
Many clients actually prefer the privacy and comfort of their own home for body-based work.
My Unique Approach:
Drama Therapy
Meets Somatic Healing
Drama therapy is inherently somatic. It recognizes that:
The body is intelligent and communicative
Movement and embodiment access unconscious material
Creative expression bypasses intellectual defenses
Physical action creates psychological change
This training allows me to guide somatic work in ways that feel natural, creative, and tailored to you. Whether you're comfortable with movement or prefer subtle body awareness, I meet you where you are.
Somatic Therapy Integrated with Other Approaches
I often combine somatic work with:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) - noticing where different parts show up in your body
Mindfulness - cultivating present-moment body awareness
Family Systems Therapy - helping families regulate together
CBT techniques - adding body-based coping skills to cognitive strategies
This integration means you get the benefits of multiple approaches working together.
What to Expect in Somatic Therapy Sessions
Somatic therapy doesn't mean
constant movement or exercise.
Sessions might include:
Traditional talk therapy with occasional check-ins about body sensations
Guided exercises to notice what you're feeling physically
Teaching specific techniques for anxiety, stress, or overwhelm
Exploring movement when it feels right
Processing what comes up through body awareness
You're always in control, and we move at your pace. Somatic work is about attunement and safety, not forcing anything.
Common Questions About Somatic Therapy
Do I need to be physically active or flexible?
Not at all. Somatic therapy is about awareness, not fitness. Even noticing your breath or where you feel tension counts as somatic work.
Will I have to move around on camera?
Only if you want to and it feels helpful. Much of somatic therapy involves subtle awareness, breath, and small movements.
What if I'm not in touch with my body?
That's exactly what we'll work on. Many clients start with little body awareness and gradually build this skill.
Is this like yoga or meditation?
There are some similarities, but somatic therapy is more personalized and therapeutic. It addresses your specific emotional and psychological needs.
Why Choose Somatic Therapy in Lafayette?
The Bay Area is increasingly recognizing what research shows: healing isn't just cognitive. The body holds wisdom, memory, and the key to releasing what talk therapy alone sometimes can't reach.
Somatic therapy is particularly powerful for:
High-achieving individuals who "live in their heads"
Anyone experiencing chronic stress or anxiety
Trauma survivors seeking a gentler path to healing
People who've tried traditional therapy with limited results
Families wanting to connect more deeply
Getting Started with Somatic Therapy
Getting Started with Somatic Therapy
If you're curious about somatic approaches, I offer a free 30-minute consultation to discuss:
Whether somatic therapy might help your situation
What to expect åin sessions
How my drama therapy background enriches body-based work
Practical details about online somatic therapy
You don't need to know anything about somatic therapy to benefit from it. I'll guide you every step of the way.
Ready to reconnect with your body's wisdom? Contact me to schedule your free consultation.
Offering somatic therapy online for clients in Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Orinda, Moraga, and throughout California.
Related Services
Anxiety Therapy - Body-based tools for anxiety relief
Trauma Therapy - Gentle somatic approaches to healing
Teen Therapy - Help teens process through movement and body
Family Therapy - Somatic attunement for families
Other Approaches
Internal Family Systems (IFS) - Parts work with body awareness
Family Systems Therapy - Understanding family patterns
Mindfulness-Based Therapy - Present-moment awareness