Somatic oriented counselling and psychotherapy offers a path to reconnect with your body. It is a way to regulate your nervous system, fostering better body awareness through the felt sense, and supporting recovery from burn-out, fatigue, insomnia, chronic stress and pain, trauma, and more. It offers a deeper understanding your own inner embodied wisdom and the ways you relate to yourself (intrapersonal) the outside world (interpersonal).
Embodiment is the practice of being fully present in your body, acknowledging its wisdom and intelligence. Movement is integral to embodiment, serving as a gateway to express emotions, release tension, and enhance the mind-body connection. Embodiment and somatics aim to shift the focus to a more holistic approach that emphasizes the bidirectional relationship between the mind and body. These practices acknowledge that the body holds wisdom and valuable information (emotions, sensations and intelligence) and by tuning into these signals (bottom-up), we empower ourselves to more effectively manage our mental states, decision-making processes, and overall well-being.
Somatic counselling and embodiment coaching employ gentle techniques rooted in trauma-sensitive somatic movement, sensory perception & polyvagal awareness, mindfulness/insight oriented practices, attunement & co-regulation. Through a person-centered and humanistic lens, sessions may incorporate elements of top-down talk therapy combined with embodiment, movement, stillness, breath, visualization/somatization, touch and sound healing. Somatic therapy and embodiment exploration is unique in that it moves beyond only talk or cognitive processes and incorporates an experiential learning through the felt senses. It honors the living body, embracing its unspoken narratives, stories and subtle expressions to heal holistically.
Through a relational and person-centered approach, I will meet you where you’re at and begin there each session.
A somatic counselling/psychotherapy session may include:
- trauma-informed and somatic oriented relational counselling/psychotherapy (integrating elements of psychodynamic therapy, attachment and polyvagal theory, EFT, narrative therapy, Parts/IFS)
- exploring the felt sense
- embodying emotions
- gentle movement and breathwork
- guided visualization
- integration through reflective prompts, journaling and art therapy
A somatic movement or embodiment coaching session may incorporate a combination of:
- exploring the felt sense and the systems of the body experientially (nervous, endocrine, fluids, fascia/ligaments, bones, muscles, senses and perception)
- sound meditation tools/vagal toning (crystal singing bowls, chimes, tuning forks)
- vocal toning
- bodywork (healing touch/attunement), which can also be offered on its own for the full session, with or without the aid of sound meditation tools
There are three core pillars of my practice that I follow:
- Safety - We practice in not judging ourselves or others & practice exploring sensations & soft observation or experimentation.
- Non-Violence - Nothing should hurt or cause pain, all movements should be soft and at your own speed and your own interpretation.
- Slow - This is a mindful practice, staying with the body's attention requires us to slow down so we can unlock & discover bodily wisdom that is often missed when we are moving fast or without awareness.
I have experience working with folks experiencing:
- Recovery (harm reduction, abstinence, AA/NA, SMART recovery)
- Chronic pain & stress
- Burnout
- Gender exploration/transition
- Poly/ENM/Kink/BDSM
- Grief, loss, bereavement
- Mental health challenges (anxiety, depression, PTSD, BPD, ADHD, ASD, ID/IDD, giftedness, intense minded, personality disorders)
- Intimate partner violence
- Sexual abuse (childhood & adulthood)
- Relational/developmental trauma
- Birth trauma/perinatal mood challenges
- Major life transitions
Other modalities/interventions that inform my therapeutic work with the mindbody include my training and practice in Body-Mind Centering©, Alexander technique, clowning/creative theatre/performance, Focusing, Art/Play therapy, Generative Somatics, Authentic Movement, yoga, pilates and functional movement.
