Somatic Support in a Virtual Space
For women and gender expansive folks who are ready to re-connect with and tend to their body so they can experience a greater sense of ease, purpose, and belonging.
Disconnection from the body is often overlooked in health care spaces.
For most people, much of the trauma resolution process is focused on recovering mental health. Attention is rarely spent on our physical body, unless pain is present.
Additionally, if someone has experienced physical injury, the treatment usually ends after returning the body to what is considered “functional form”, but our health care system is seldom concerned with mending the relationship to our bodies.
This is where Somatic Guidance comes in.
In our work together we can fill in the gaps from health care, develop a deeper connection to body and build a strong foundation that allows you to move through the world in a more centered and connected way.
This is the care I take.
In addition to receiving traditional care, I work with somatic practitioners who witness my behaviors, reflect my experience and provide compassionate practices centered in choice.
“Rachel is so grounded, comforting, and easy to talk with about things I have a hard time finding words for.”
-Private Client
Session Cost
Each session is priced at the standard rate of $120.
Sliding scale is available within the range of $95-120.
Schedule your initial session today.
This meeting provides the opportunity to discuss the highlights of your experience and determine if this work is in alignment with your goals.
This practice begins simply, by slowing down and noticing the messages coming from the body.
In our sessions we used various tools, techniques and resources that include but are not limited to:
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Somatic exploration is a guided practice of experiential reflection that does not require navigating the narrative of thoughts and memories.
This work is deeply influenced by the Somatic Experiencing method.
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Neuromuscular bodywork is an active practice aimed at body awareness and re-patterning limiting shapes and movements.
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Therapeutic movement is curious action that invites full participation and exploration of static posture and expressive motion with:
responsive movements that meet you exactly where you’re at with invitation to expand
foundational postures that build relationship with stability
dynamic exercises to further develop joint range and expansive patterns
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There is a vast world of research for the nervous system and approaches to health. In our sessions, I center Polyvagal Theory and additional supporting claims aimed at whole system integration
Breakdown of our work together
Our first few sessions will be aimed at building a solid framework of support:
Resource building and learning sensation language
Developing the felt sense surrounding choice
Building a connection to center and establishing personal boundaries
Once we both feel like you have a strong foundation, our work continues with:
Applied practices using all of the insight, tools, and techniques learned in earlier sessions
Processing challenging experiences and patterns held in your body
Creating dynamic practices that are personalized to your experience and goals
I created this offering to serve those who often say:
I don’t feel connected to my feelings or physical sensations
I don’t know what I need in order to feel cared for by my loved ones
I don’t have the capacity for even the smallest conflict
There are some experiences that I just can’t describe with words
I want to connect in a deeper way beyond cognitive behavioral processing
I don’t recognize my body after my injury/surgery
FAQs
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While somatic guidance is a great compliment to traditional talk therapy, it does not replace clinical attention. Licensed psychotherapists treat individuals based on their assessment of a person’s history, behavior, and symptoms.
Additionally, clinical treatment is highly valuable for those experiencing mental illness and seeking diagnosis, and/or medicinal therapies.
In contrast, somatic support does not aim to analyze the cognitive process rather discuss lived experience and educate the individual on helpful methods of intervention.
With somatic sessions, body-based practices and methodologies are centered, with the implementation of tools and resources to support your goals.
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The root of the word “somatic” is “soma”, which translates to “body”. So, one could say that a somatic experience is of the body, or a bodily experience.
When someone is describing their work as “somatic” like myself, they are describing the orientation of their approach. For example, somatic work is not a top down, or mind centered approach.
Somatic work focuses on current experience of sensation, feeling, emotion, visualization, and meaning.
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I can not, and I do not believe trauma is something to release, rather resolve.
I feel it is important to note that there is a vast amount of misinformation swirling the internet about what trauma is and how to “release” it. What I know from my training and experience is that this is not possible. There is no tool, button, or hip opener that can cure any one, let alone everyone. Otherwise we would have a better sense of what world peace might look like.
What I am hoping to offer you is support through feeling the hard things, guidance through integration, and practices that help you keep connection to sensation in this world.
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Short answer: yes and no.
I believe the words “regulate” and “release” to be pretty attractive outcomes when it comes to wanting to rid oneself of uncomfortable feelings. Of course I want this for myself and others, but I just don’t think it’s that simple.
The work “regulate” reminds me of the social narrative that expects us to control ourselves and “get it together” in order to get back to work.
While most of us need such resources in order to function, and work to survive, I like to reframe emotional regulation, as emotional relationship.
This describes the act of being able to sit with the difficult and notice choice. This means that your anger, sadness, resent, disgust and all of those other bigger feelings are welcome and valid.
With a somatic practice, we might better hold ourselves with compassion, recognize our emotions, patterns, and activations.
Whereas before, they possibly ran the show and brought shame along.
Emotions will always be here with us on this ride of the human experience, but acceptance of that might be a good first step to noticing them.
Private clients have shared experiencing an increased sense of belonging & grounding along with the ability to find peace during anxious moments.
Benefits of a Somatic Practice
Greater Capacity
This practice can build your capacity for the inevitable challenges life brings so that you can engage in your present moment with awareness.
Growth in capacity can improve your sense of self agency and feeling security in body.
You’ll also be able to establish boundaries that hold this expansion in ways that honor your integrity.
Deeper Connection
With focus on your sensations and experience, you can develop a deeper relationship with your emotions, intuition and self-healing abilities.
This connection allows you to be able to recognize subtle signs of activation so that you might recognize your choice before response.
With re-connection to yourself, you’ll be able to identify and articulate your desires, and needs. You’ll know what you need to be care for, and you’ll know what you want in this life.
Relieving
Working in this way has been shown to help with the integration of traumatic experiences and relief of resulting expressions such as: grief, pain, anxiety, IBS, and other psychosomatic symptoms.
With this relief, you’ll be able to recognize and experience more than unpleasant sensations.
You’ll be able to notice and celebrate joy.