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Somatic Therapy

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ONLINE TRAUMA THERAPY IN FLORIDA

What Is Somatic Therapy?

Traditional talk therapy usually focuses on emotions, behaviors, and experiences. Somatic Therapy also pays attention to those things, while noticing what is happening physically. It brings the body into the therapeutic process.

The goal of Somatic Therapy is not to analyze every sensation or assume every physical response is linked to trauma. Instead, it helps you notice what is happening in your body, understand how your physical and emotional experiences connect, and respond to what you learn.

With time, you’ll start to notice changes sooner. Rather than realizing you’re overwhelmed only after you’ve shut down, you’ll learn to recognize what’s happening while you still have choices about how to respond.

You Might Benefit From Somatic Therapy If You...

  • Have difficulty feeling your emotions.

  • Feel disconnected from your physical sensations.

  • Have difficulty recognizing your physical needs.

  • Notice tension or stress in your body but struggle to settle.

  • Feel easily startled, on edge, or hypervigilant.

  • Have difficulty feeling grounded or present.

  • Struggle to care for your needs even when you know what they are.

  • Have difficulty recognizing your internal cues.

How I Use Somatic Therapy

I integrate Somatic Therapy into every aspect of my work with clients. Every client starts our work together with the Social Rhythm Method (SRM).

The SRM is a gentle way to start somatic work because it asks you to track daily behaviors by paying attention to the basic rhythms that support your body day to day. This helps you become more aware of the relationship between your daily rhythms and how you feel.

Tracking these patterns gives us useful information about what may already be supporting you and what small changes might help create more stability. It’s a great way to get an early win in therapy and introduce the concept of learning different ways of noticing.

From there, we'll build your understanding of your own nervous system and work to help you become more familiar with the physical information your body gives you. For some people, this comes easily. For others, noticing physiological sensations is difficult. I might ask you to describe what you notice in your body, and you might say, “I have absolutely no idea.”

That’s actually helpful. It means we can start with clear, simple sensations and slowly build your ability to notice more. As you become more aware, your physical sensations can give you more information to support your healing.

Becoming more aware of your body helps in everyday life and is especially important for working through trauma. When we work with traumatic memories, it can feel overwhelming. As you get ready for trauma processing, we practice noticing when you feel activated, staying present, and knowing when to slow down.

Common Questions About Somatic Therapy

  • That’s completely fine. Part of our work together is to help you build more awareness of your body. We’ll begin from wherever you are and with whatever you notice.

  • We don’t start by focusing too much on what’s happening inside your body. Instead, we take it step by step, sometimes beginning with what you notice around you. If something makes you feel more uncomfortable instead of helping you stay connected, we’ll change our approach.

  • Not in my practice. I combine somatic approaches with traditional talk therapy.