About our Work

Somatic Therapy & EMDR:

a trauma informed, mind-body approach to healing the whole self

At Boston Somatic Therapy, we provide a trauma-informed, body-centered approach to healing. Our work blends Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, mindfulness, and relational attunement to help clients release tension, regulate the nervous system, and deepen self-awareness. Whether you are navigating trauma, chronic stress, or seeking a closer connection to yourself, we honor your story while supporting your body’s innate capacity for healing. Virtual sessions are also available, offering the same depth of somatic support throughout Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island.

What Is Somatic Therapy?

Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach that helps you work with the physical impact of trauma, stress, and overwhelming experiences. Rather than focusing only on thoughts, this method guides you to tune into sensations, posture, breath, and movement. Many people discover that their body holds tension, emotions, and protective patterns that talk therapy alone may not reach. By paying attention to these cues with curiosity and support, you begin to release what has been stored and reconnect with a grounded sense of safety.

Tuning Into Your Body

Somatic therapy teaches you to notice your internal experience with greater clarity. You learn to sense where your body feels tight, activated, or shut down and where it feels open or calm. This awareness helps emotions surface in a safe and manageable way. Through gentle practices such as breathwork, mindful attention, and subtle movement, your nervous system starts to settle and complete stress responses that were interrupted in the past. As regulation grows, so does your capacity to feel present, connected, and steady.

Building Safety and Resilience

Safety is at the core of this work. You build resources that support your body, such as calming sensations, grounding imagery, or memories that bring steadiness. These anchors help you stay regulated as you explore more difficult emotions or memories. Somatic therapy moves at a pace that respects your nervous system, taking small steps that foster integration without overwhelm. Over time, your system learns it can experience activation and return to balance, creating resilience and emotional flexibility.

Integrating EMDR

For clients seeking deeper trauma processing, we also integrate EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) with somatic awareness. EMDR activates the brain’s natural healing system and reduces the emotional charge of painful experiences. When combined with somatic tracking, you learn to notice how your body responds during reprocessing. This combination allows tension to release more organically and helps the nervous system move toward healthier patterns of regulation. Together, EMDR and somatic therapy create a powerful pathway for healing that engages both mind and body.

A Path Toward Wholeness

Somatic therapy can support healing from PTSD, anxiety, depression, and chronic stress, as well as patterns of disconnection or people-pleasing. By working directly with the nervous system, you create space for genuine change, deeper clarity, and a more grounded way of moving through life. If you are looking for a therapy experience that honors your whole self, somatic therapy offers a compassionate and transformative approach.

“The nervous system needs to complete what it could not finish at the time of trauma. Healing begins by listening to the body’s story.”

— Peter A Levine, PhD, founder of Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Therapy FAQs

  • Somatic work is all about tuning into the body as a source of insight, healing, and regulation. In the therapy space, this can take many gentle and collaborative forms—always guided by your comfort and readiness.

    Somatic interventions may include:

    • Somatic Experiencing: helping you notice and release stuck survival responses in the nervous system.

    • Trauma-Informed Yoga: inviting mindful movement to reconnect with your body in a safe and empowered way.

    • Somatic EMDR: integrating body awareness with trauma reprocessing for deeper healing.

    • Grounding & Regulation Exercises: learning simple tools to settle your system when you feel activated, overwhelmed, or shut down.

    • Mindful Meditation & Visualization: cultivating present-moment awareness and internal safety.

    • Breathwork: using the breath to calm the body, release tension, and reconnect with yourself.

    Every session is shaped by your needs, and somatic tools are woven in gently—whether you’re lying on a yoga mat, sitting on the couch, or simply noticing your breath together in conversation. You don’t need any prior experience with these practices to benefit. Your body already holds the wisdom—we’re just learning to listen.

  • Somatic therapy supports a wide range of challenges by working directly with the nervous system. It can help with anxiety, depression, panic, chronic stress, and trauma-related symptoms—including PTSD and complex trauma. Many clients also find relief from physical symptoms like chronic pain, fatigue, or digestive issues that may not have a clear medical explanation. Somatic interventions are also useful for processing difficult memories, navigating identity-related stress, improving emotional regulation, and healing from grief, relationship struggles, or body image concerns. This approach offers a path to feeling more grounded, connected, and resilient in both body and mind.

  • Somatic therapy supports people who want to feel more connected to their bodies. It’s especially helpful for those who’ve experienced trauma, chronic stress, or emotional overwhelm and still feel stuck, even when they intellectually understand their experiences. If you often feel anxious, shut down, emotionally reactive, or notice physical symptoms related to stress, somatic work can offer meaningful relief. Whether you’re new to therapy or have been in talk therapy and want to go deeper, this approach gently helps you reconnect with your body’s natural ability to regulate, feel safe, and heal.

  • Yes, you absolutely can talk in somatic therapy—it's a conversation, not a silent practice. While somatic work focuses on tuning into the body and nervous system, my approach is rooted in mental health therapy, which naturally includes talking, processing, and emotional insight. You’re always welcome to share what you're feeling, noticing, or thinking as we work together.

    Sometimes we’ll pause to explore a sensation or use a grounding technique, but we do so in a way that feels supportive—not disruptive to your process. There may be moments of quiet, but you’ll never be expected to stop talking or “do it perfectly.” Your voice, your pace, and your comfort are always central to the work.

  • My scope of practice is rooted in mental health therapy, which is not the same as bodywork or massage. While my work primarily focuses on increasing awareness of bodily sensations to support emotional healing, it may at times include gentle, supportive touch—such as a hand on the shoulder or back—only when agreed upon and when it’s assessed to be grounding or beneficial. Any touch used is always consensual, non-invasive, and collaboratively discussed to ensure your comfort and safety.

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