Do you often struggle to express yourself, either feeling numb and disconnected from your emotions or that you’re emoting too much and unloading on the people around you?

 

Perhaps you’re aware of a trauma from the past and/or live with a perpetual aching emptiness in your chest, and you want to work through the pain in a supportive way that honors your experience.

 

Or maybe you have difficulty with intimacy in relationships, finding it hard to meaningfully connect with others or even yourself.

 

Anxiety and/or depression symptoms might be manifesting physically, creating feelings of fatigue, tension, aches and pains, an accelerated heartbeat and even panic. It might be that you’ve tried traditional talk therapy, and while it helped some, it only took you so far and you’re seeking another approach to facilitate genuine change. Do you want to become more open and self-aware, experience relief from painful patterns and get out of your head and more into your heart and body?

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Understanding The Inner World

 

If you’ve been living with mental, emotional and/or physical pain, you are not alone. Most of us are inundated with stress, living busy, demanding lives in a world that seems to be spinning faster and faster. With so much happening all of the time and the constant pressure to succeed, as a collective society, we’re becoming less and less connected to our bodies and emotions. Emotions can actually begin to feel like a foreign language, making relationships—especially intimate relationships—increasingly difficult to navigate. 

 

In this go-go-go culture, we’re also taught from a young age to “get over it” and “move on” rather than to take the time to feel into our experience and express what is coming up. This mentality can lead to us becoming harsh toward ourselves, beating ourselves up even when we’ve reached sought after goals. What is rewarded in the world—success, wealth, fame, etc.—can become self-defeating. While successful on the outside, it’s not uncommon to feel like something is missing or dying on the inside. As the inner world becomes less and less of a focus, it begins to atrophy, creating feelings of emptiness.

 

However, for many of us, there comes a time when we can no longer—and don’t want to—continue to ignore that we feel hollow, detached and dissatisfied.

 

It may be that you recognize that you no longer know your true self and may even struggle to be alone with just you. Perhaps you’ve realized that something is missing or needs to be healed and/or expressed. If you feel an innate push to tap into your inner world, better understand the wisdom within your body and learn how to be with yourself in a more nurturing and kinder way, I can help. As an experienced, skilled and highly compassionate somatic therapist, I can guide you through a holistic process of healing, discovery and personal growth.

 

Somatic Therapy Can Help You Feel Into Your Body And Heal Your Heart

 

Somatic therapy is a body-based approach to holistic healing that explores the connection between the mind and body. This gentle approach helps you be in your body,  noticing the feelings, sensations, texture, colors, shapes and degrees of heat that come up in a given moment. It opens up a portal to a new and different way of knowing what is present in your experience. By becoming aware of and curious about your mind-body experience in the moment, you can develop a much deeper understanding of patterns and tap into the deep source of wisdom held within your body.

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In somatic counseling sessions, we’ll work collaboratively to unpack your experience and draw from the body to discover what else is there. With a gentle curiosity, I can help you tune into your body, support you as you allow awareness to arise and guide you as you follow it. This following of your body can take you to a place of profound healing, relaxation and opening, allowing you to experience your thoughts, feelings and body sensations in a new and more expansive way, as well as release the long held patterns that have led to troublesome symptoms. Through this process, you can also learn how to put feelings and sensations into words, quiet the self-critic, increase your capacity for intimacy, heal trauma and heart-space pain and approach yourself with more loving kindness.

 

There is wisdom in all of our bodies. However, that wisdom is different for each of us, which is why this work is highly individualized and will be specifically tailored to explore and address what comes up for you. My approach to somatic healing is a highly collaborative, connecting, trusting and intuitive process, and we’ll move at a pace that feels right for both of us. As you tap into the wisdom of your own body, I’ll draw from my own intuition and body awareness to guide the questions that I ask. I will also notice what is coming up through you, both through your words and body language, sensing into the places of openings that can support you in developing a new understanding of both past and current experiences.

 

So much healing, discovery, growth and change can come through tapping into the wisdom of the body. Not only can you increase body awareness and experience relief from pain and patterns, but somatic counseling also helps you access a new and freer way of being. You can develop the awareness, insight and skills needed to be more fully with yourself and intimate with others. With the compassionate support and practical guidance of a seasoned somatic guide, it is possible to be with yourself in new, expansive ways and feel empowered to express who you truly are.

 

You might still wonder in somatic psychotherapy is the right healing path for you…

 

It’s hard for me to be in my body. I’m worried this work will feel too overwhelming for me.

 

It can definitely feel hard to be in the body, especially if you’ve experienced trauma or were never supported in developing body awareness and/or expressing yourself. The irony, however, is that the path to healing includes going through and releasing what is uncomfortable. Although parts of this work may cause discomfort, as a skilled and compassionate guide, I will be with you in a gentle way and we can move at a pace that feels okay for you, using your body as a barometer. I’ll be able to tell when and if you’re becoming dysregulated, and we can slow down. As a safe support, I’ll be there to help you integrate your experience and move into a more open, curious and comfortable way of being with yourself.

 

I’m worried that therapy of any kind used for any reason will make me feel and/or appear weak.

 

Given that you’re reading this, my feeling is that your innate wisdom is calling you to move toward something new, which we are not normally conditioned to understand, let alone do. It also might be that you have gotten as far as you can on your own and now it’s time to seek help in reaching a new level of connection and awareness. There is power and strength in being vulnerable with another, and seeking the help of a guide is not a sign of weakness, but rather one of innate intelligence. Furthermore, all sessions are confidential. No one needs to know that you’re working with a therapist unless you choose to share your experience.

 

How long does somatic therapy usually take?  

 

The length of time spent in therapy varies and really depends on your needs and goals. My goal, however, is to serve as your guide as you delve into this insightful work and to provide you with the skills, tools and insight you need to take this work out of the therapy office and into your everyday life.

 

Tap Into The Wisdom Of Your Body

 

If you’re ready to move toward healing, develop increased body awareness and expand your capacity for self-love and connection with others, I invite you to call my office in Berkeley, CA at 510-225-9188 for a complimentary 20-minute phone consultation. I’m happy to discuss your needs and goals and answer any questions you have about somatic therapy and my practice.