Since 2006, I have been studying somatic, or body-centered, approaches to psychotherapy. When appropriate, and/or when a client comes specifically wishing to explore this aspect of embodied transformation, I integrate these techniques into sessions. In 2010, I became a certified practitioner of Somatic Experiencing, a highly refined, scientific, and evidence-based system of working with trauma in the body, founded upon the work of Dr. Peter Levine. I find these practices to be highly complimentary to yoga and other spiritual practices.
When appropriate, I find that safely integrating body-centered approaches into the psychotherapeutic setting often accelerates the process of transformation. Why? Because trauma is stored not only in the mind but in the body. Whereas somatic psychotherapy rarely involves physical touch, together we can locate where traumas and contractions are held within the body, and gently begin to unwind them “from the inside out”, releasing long-held tension from within. Through interweaving somatic approaches to understanding with other modalities of psychotherapy, and teaching and empowering clients how to do this for themselves, individuals learn to integrate this practice into their own lives and report significant changes in their ability to self-regulate their emotions and nervous systems.