Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapy is a body-based approach to psychotherapy that recognizes the important role the nervous system and the body play in emotional well-being. Rather than focusing solely on thoughts or insight, somatic work supports awareness of physical sensations, emotional responses, and patterns of activation or shutdown that often operate beneath conscious awareness.

Many experiences — particularly stress, trauma, and ongoing pressure — are held not only in the mind, but in the body and nervous system. Somatic therapy helps build the capacity to notice and respond to these patterns with greater regulation, choice, and steadiness.

This work is gentle, collaborative, and paced to your comfort. It emphasizes safety, presence, and restoring a sense of agency.

When we understand nervous system regulation and how the body responds to stress and trauma, it becomes easier to make sense of patterns that may feel confusing or frustrating. The nervous system is constantly scanning for cues of safety or threat, often outside of conscious awareness, and organizing our responses accordingly.

When the nervous system perceives danger or overwhelm, it naturally shifts into survival responses designed to protect us. These responses are adaptive and intelligent, shaped by our biology and lived experience — not signs that something is wrong.

Common survival responses include:

• Flight – often the first response, mobilizing energy to escape or avoid threat. This may show up as anxiety, restlessness, overthinking, hypervigilance, or a constant need to stay busy or “on the move.”

• Fight – mobilizing energy to confront a perceived threat, often experienced as anger, irritability, defensiveness, tension, or a need to control or assert oneself.

• Fawn – orienting toward others to maintain safety through appeasement or people-pleasing, often at the expense of one’s own needs or boundaries.

• Freeze – a last-resort response when neither escape nor connection feels possible, involving shutdown or immobilization. This may be experienced as numbness, dissociation, fatigue, collapse, or feeling stuck.

Somatic therapy is also informed by Polyvagal Theory, which emphasizes the role of the nervous system in shaping how we experience connection, safety, and regulation. From this perspective, healing involves not only reducing symptoms, but helping the nervous system learn when it is safe to settle, connect, and engage with life more fully.

Rather than forcing change, somatic therapy focuses on gently increasing awareness, supporting regulation, and expanding capacity — allowing the nervous system to move more flexibly between states of activation and rest.

This foundation supports the work of Somatic Experiencing®, TRE, and mindfulness-based practices by helping the body gradually move out of prolonged survival states and toward greater balance and resilience.

Somatic Experiencing® (SE)

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a trauma-informed, body-based approach developed by Peter Levine, PhD. SE is grounded in the understanding that trauma is not defined solely by what happens to us, but by how the nervous system responds to and processes overwhelming experiences.

When stress or trauma overwhelms the nervous system, it can become stuck in patterns of hyperarousal (such as anxiety, tension, or hypervigilance) or shutdown (such as numbness, fatigue, or disconnection). Somatic Experiencing works by gently supporting the nervous system to complete unfinished responses and return to a greater sense of balance.

In SE-informed work, sessions may involve:

• noticing physical sensations and bodily cues

• tracking shifts in activation or settling

• working in small, manageable increments

• building tolerance for emotion without overwhelm

• supporting the nervous system’s natural capacity for regulation

As Peter Levine writes, “Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”

Trauma & Tension Releasing Exercises (TRE)

Trauma & Tension Releasing Exercises (TRE) is a body-based approach developed by David Berceli, PhD. TRE is designed to help release chronic stress and tension through the body’s natural mechanisms.

TRE works by gently activating the body’s innate tremoring response — a reflex that helps discharge excess activation from the nervous system. While this response is common in animals and young children, many adults learn to suppress it over time.

Through a series of simple, guided exercises, TRE supports the safe and controlled release of held tension through neurogenic tremors. The emphasis is always on choice, pacing, and regulation rather than intensity.

TRE may be helpful for:

• chronic stress or tension

• anxiety or restlessness

• difficulty relaxing or settling

• feeling physically “held” or stuck

• nervous system overload

TRE is introduced thoughtfully and collaboratively, with attention to safety and containment.

Mindfulness, Breathwork, and Yoga-Informed Approaches

In addition to Somatic Experiencing® and TRE, somatic therapy may integrate mindfulness- and breath-based practices informed by yoga therapy and meditation traditions. These approaches support awareness of the present moment, nervous system regulation, and the relationship between body, breath, and emotional experience.

This work draws from principles of Buddhist Psychology, which emphasize curiosity, compassion, and understanding how patterns of suffering arise — and how they can soften through awareness rather than force. Rather than trying to “fix” experience, these practices invite attunement to what is already present, allowing the nervous system to settle and reorganize naturally.

Breathwork and mindful attention may also support the flow of vital energy (often referred to as prana in yogic traditions) through the body. Many people experience emotional states, stress, or tension as sensations of constriction or stagnation, particularly in areas such as the chest, throat, or abdomen — regions commonly associated with emotional expression, regulation, and connection in both somatic and contemplative frameworks.

Some clients understand these experiences through the lens of energetic centers described in yogic traditions, often referred to as chakras, which can offer another way to make sense of how emotion and regulation are felt in the body.

Rather than structured yoga postures or formal meditation practices, these elements are adapted to be accessible and grounding. They may include gentle breath awareness, grounding exercises, subtle movement, and mindful attention to sensation. The goal is not performance, mastery, or spiritual attainment, but cultivating practical tools that support regulation, clarity, and resilience in everyday life.

These practices can complement other somatic approaches by helping build the capacity to stay present with internal experience, support emotional balance, and foster a greater sense of connection within the body.

Tapping

Tapping, often referred to as Emotional Freedom Technique, is a body-based practice that combines gentle tapping on specific points of the body with focused attention on thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations. These tapping points correspond to acupuncture meridian pathways, which have been used for centuries in Eastern medicine to support balance and regulation in the body.

From a nervous system perspective, tapping helps calm physiological stress responses while bringing awareness to internal experience. By engaging both the body and the mind at the same time, tapping can support emotional regulation, reduce reactivity, and increase a sense of grounding and safety.

While Tapping is rooted in the meridian system, many people also notice that tapping supports areas commonly associated with emotional and energetic regulation, such as the chest, throat, and head. In this way, tapping may complement other somatic and mindfulness-based practices that work with awareness, embodiment, and self-regulation.

In therapy, tapping may be used to:

• reduce emotional intensity around distressing thoughts or memories

• support nervous system regulation and grounding

• increase tolerance for difficult emotions or sensations

• reinforce internal resources and a sense of safety

Tapping can be used as a standalone intervention or integrated alongside other somatic approaches, such as Somatic Experiencing® or TRE, depending on your needs and goals. As with all somatic work, pacing, choice, and collaboration are prioritized.

Who Somatic Therapy May Be Helpful For

Somatic therapy can be supportive for individuals experiencing:

• anxiety or chronic stress

• trauma or post-traumatic stress

• emotional overwhelm or shutdown

• difficulty regulating emotions

• feeling disconnected from the body or inner experience

• patterns that feel “stuck” despite insight or effort

It can also be helpful for those navigating ongoing pressure, high responsibility, or demanding environments where the nervous system has had little opportunity to rest or reset.

How Somatic Therapy Fits Into My Work

Somatic therapy is often integrated into individual psychotherapy rather than practiced in isolation; some clients see me exclusively for Somatic Trauma Therapy in which I might blend a few of these modalities together as an adjunct therapy, or solely see a client for Somatic Experiencing (SE) if the client is already seeing another provider for traditional psychotherapy. Sessions may include both talk-based exploration and body-based awareness, depending on what feels most supportive in the moment.

The goal is to build greater capacity, regulation, and choice — allowing insight and emotional processing to unfold in a way that feels grounded, respectful, and sustainable.