it starts from a simple premise...

Somatic Therapy in NYC

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Your nervous system has been doing its best to keep you safe, and sometimes it hasn't gotten the message that the danger has passed. That can look like tension you can't talk your way out of, a body that stays braced long after the moment ended, or a numbness that arrives before you've decided to feel anything.

Somatic therapy is a body-based approach to healing that works with the nervous system, not just your thoughts, to help release stored stress and trauma. I offer somatic therapy in person in Midtown Manhattan and virtually throughout New York State. I draw on Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, and Internal Family Systems, guided by a polyvagal understanding of how safety and threat register in the body. Because we're shaped and healed in relationship, the work is relational too. We move at a pace you set, building enough steadiness that you can stay present with what comes up rather than bracing against it.

  • As we talk about your concerns and your history,  I'll ask what you notice in your body while you're talking — where the breath goes, what tightens, what wants to move. We slow down around those moments instead of pushing through them.

    Sometimes that means tracking a sensation until it shifts on its own. Other times it means utilizing EMDR to process a specific memory. It can also mean turning toward a part of you that's been carrying something for a long time and asking what it needs. You stay in charge of the pace. If something feels like too much, we stop and come back to ground — that's not a failure of the work, it is the work.

    • People who understand their patterns intellectually, and found the body didn't get the memo

    • Complex or developmental trauma, where the difficulty isn't one event but a long pattern

    • Chronic anxiety, panic, or a persistent sense of being on alert

    • Dissociation, numbness, or feeling disconnected from your own body

    • Chronic pain and illness

  • I see clients in Midtown Manhattan and online throughout New York State. Sessions are 45 minutes, weekly to start.

    •  What is somatic therapy?
       Somatic therapy is a form of psychotherapy that includes the body in the healing process. Instead of working only with thoughts and memories, it pays attention to physical sensations, breath, and nervous system responses, helping the body release stress and trauma it's still holding.

    • How is somatic therapy different from talk therapy?
       Talk therapy works mainly through conversation and insight. Somatic therapy keeps the conversation but adds attention to what's happening in the body as you speak. It's often helpful for people who understand their patterns but still feel stuck in them physically or emotionally.

    • Is somatic therapy evidence-based?
       Research on somatic therapy is growing, including randomized controlled trials of Somatic Experiencing for PTSD. Somatic therapy also pairs well with established trauma treatments like EMDR, which is recommended for PTSD by the World Health Organization.

    • Do I have to talk about my trauma in somatic therapy?
       Not in detail. Somatic therapy often works by noticing how an experience lives in your body now, rather than retelling it. You decide how much to share, and we go at a pace your nervous system can handle. Can somatic therapy be done online?
       Yes. Online somatic therapy works by tracking sensation, breath, and movement over video, and many clients find it easier to settle into the work from their own space. I offer virtual sessions throughout New York State.