What Is Somatic Therapy? How Body-Based Healing Works

Somatic therapy is a body-based approach to healing stress, trauma, and emotional patterns. The word 'somatic' comes from the Greek 'soma' — the body. The core idea: our experiences, especially overwhelming ones, are stored not just in our minds but in our bodies and nervous systems.

While traditional talk therapy works primarily with thoughts and narratives, somatic therapy works with sensations, movement, breath, and the nervous system's responses.

How does somatic therapy work?

In a somatic session, we slow down and pay attention to what happens in your body as you speak about your life. A tightness in the chest, a held breath, a subtle impulse to pull away — these are doorways. By gently staying with these sensations, the nervous system can complete stress responses that were interrupted long ago.

Approaches I draw from include Somatic Experiencing, Compassionate Inquiry, Internal Family Systems, and breathwork. They share one principle: the body leads, the mind follows.

What does a session look like?

Sessions are conversational, but with pauses. I might ask: 'As you tell me this, what do you notice in your body?' There's no touching required, nothing you have to do, and no reliving of painful events. We work with what's present, at the pace your system allows.

• We start with what's alive for you right now
• We track body sensations alongside the story
• We use breath, movement, or sound where helpful
• We close by integrating — so you leave grounded, not opened up

Who is it for?

Somatic therapy is especially helpful for people who have already done a lot of inner work — who understand themselves well but still feel stuck. It's also well-suited for stress-related symptoms, burnout, anxiety, and the after-effects of overwhelming experiences.

Many of my clients are high achievers: people who function well on the outside, but whose nervous systems are running on empty.