Somatic Therapy: EMDR, Brainspotting, and IFS

What Is Somatic Therapy, and Why Should You Care?

My clients tend to be highly analytical, intellectual people who spend most of their lives up in their heads. They prefer the world of thinking to the world of feeling and sensing, and often have a strong drive to “figure things out.” Their intellect is their safe space, away from the confusing and overwhelming emotions and sensations in their body. This cognitive strength can be an incredible gift, leading to significant insights and essential realizations! 

And yet, while their curious mind is a powerful tool in making sense of their patterns, beliefs, and how their past influences their present, they still find themselves feeling stuck in old habits and painful feelings. They’ve done CBT, talk therapy, and read self-help books. They know, intellectually, what they “should” do, like be compassionate with themselves, open up to safe people, and take courageous action even when they’re afraid. Yet, they can’t shake deep feelings of shame, anxiety, mistrust, and self-judgment. 

Enter somatic therapy. “Somatic,” based on the Greek word “soma” meaning “body,” incorporates the body in the therapy room, rather than focusing on analyzing and figuring out. Through the use of tools like mindfulness, breath, eye gaze position and eye movements, body movement, and sound, somatic therapy can gently and effectively heal the underlying causes of your pain and distress, leading to lasting transformation of anxiety, trauma, depression, self-judgment, chronic pain, addictions, eating disorders, and more. 

Informed by both the latest neurobiology research and ancient wisdom traditions, and led by a trustworthy, experienced guide, somatic approaches like IFS, EMDR, and Brainspotting offer a gentle way of engaging with the body and emotions, leading to deeper, long-lasting healing compared to talk therapy alone. Experience what’s on the other side of your pain and stuckness: the vitality, confidence, peace, clarity, and connection that is possible for all of us! 

Somatic Therapy and Neurodivergent People: A beautiful match, or a terrible one?

Given that my clients tend to be neurodivergent and rather heady people, the idea of somatic therapy can often be profoundly scary and intimidating. You may have spent much of your life feeling quite disconnected from, or distressed by, your body, due to overwhelming sensory experiences, co-occurring traits like low interoception and alexithymia, trauma-related dissociation, or body image concerns. Put simply, you may have very good reason for being up in your head!

Yet, vital information is communicated through our emotions and bodies, including self-care basics like our needs for food, water, movement, or the bathroom, as well as more complex information like whether we trust a particular person, whether we want to change careers, or when we need to set a boundary. For these reasons, somatic therapy can be both particularly challenging, and particularly helpful, for neurodivergent people.

As somatic therapy approaches have grown in popularity in recent years, sometimes there can be a subtle but pervasive sense that being “in your head” is bad, and you should get more in your body if you really want to heal and grow. Here’s my potentially controversial opinion: I don’t believe in the hierarchy of somatic therapy being “better than” or “less than” talk therapy. I believe both strategies, when in the container of a safe, trusting therapeutic relationship, can and do lead to transformation. I am trained in and offer both talk therapy (so-called “top down”) and somatic therapy (“bottom-up”) approaches with my clients. I frequently use both approaches, toggling back and forth between them, to build safety, help you make sense to yourself, and heal on the deepest levels.

I have a particular passion and expertise for making somatic therapy approachable and gentle for neurodivergent people. I’ll never shame or criticize you for living up in your head or “doing therapy wrong.” (Hint: there’s no such thing). I won’t be fazed if, for example, when I ask you what you’re feeling emotionally or noticing in your body, your answer is “I have no idea, but I don’t like that question.” I have a gift for helping neurodivergent people safely and gently build bridges between their powerful, curious intellects, and the wisdom of their hearts and bodies. I’d love to help you do just that.

If you’re feeling stuck in your healing journey, somatic therapy, like IFS, EMDR, and Brainspotting, can help. Reach out to me for a consultation to learn more.