Therapy That Integrates The Body’s Experience
Somatic psychotherapy begins in the body—because that’s where patterns are held and where they can shift. Change proceeds only at the speed of trust, because when the nervous system was once flooded, things unfolded too quickly and safety fell away. When tension, numbness, or bracing have become so familiar you barely notice them, the mind can end up chasing the wrong problem—trying to “figure it out” while the nervous system remains unconvinced.
In our work, we slow down and track breath, sensation, emotion, and impulse with care and choice. This helps the body contact and release what it’s been holding and allows insight to land as lasting change and embodied wisdom.
Somatic Therapy
Trauma Therapy
Sex Therapy
Self-Transformation Through Somatic Experiencing ™
My work is rooted in a deep conviction: healing becomes more possible when the body is welcomed into the therapeutic conversation. For a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), the body isn’t just something we “include”—it guides the work.
We treat the nervous system as a truth-teller and a kind of triage system: it shows what’s most alive now, what’s ready for attention, and what needs more safety before we go there.
Many people arrive with a sharp mind and a tired nervous system—able to explain what happened, yet still stuck in triggers, patterns, or shutdown. Somatic awareness helps us notice when we’ve slipped out of the grounded adult state and into an older protective posture, where choice and clear thinking are harder to access.
In the therapy room, we slow things down and work with the body’s signals—sensation, breath, impulse, and emotion—to help unresolved survival patterns release. Sometimes we “freeze-frame” a moment, rewind it, and try new moves in small, tolerable steps until your system recognizes something more effective. Over time, those new responses become available in real life.
This approach replaces shame with information and self-judgment with curiosity—shifting the question from “What’s wrong with me?” to “What is my system trying to protect, and what does it need now?”
The aim is to help you feel more at home in your body, more resilient under stress, and more authentically connected to yourself and others. If you’d like, book a complimentary consult to explore fit.
For over 20 years, I have guided clients into the quiet corners of themselves – to discover beliefs that had been running in the background – quietly shaping
Practical Tools, Reframed
Many therapeutic tools work best when the nervous system is included. In this section, we explore familiar, evidence-informed practices—boundaries, communication, conflict skills, personality frameworks, dreamwork, and sexual symbolism—through a somatic lens.
Each approach below can be woven into therapy as it fits your goals, pacing, and capacity.
In Somatic Experiencing, boundaries aren’t just an idea—they’re a felt experience in the nervous system. Many people “know” what they want to say yes or no to, but their body doesn’t cooperate: they freeze, appease, over-explain, go numb, or push past their own limits. In SE-oriented work, we learn to notice the body’s early boundary signals—tightening, pulling back, bracing, heat, collapse, urgency—and treat them as meaningful information rather than something to override.
In session, we practice boundaries in small, manageable steps: pausing, tracking what happens inside, and experimenting with new moves (a clearer “no,” a slower “yes,” a request for space, a change in pace). Over time, your system begins to trust that you can protect yourself without panic or shutdown. Boundaries become less about confrontation and more about self-connection, clarity, and choice.
In an SE-informed approach, communication isn’t just about choosing the right words—it’s about staying regulated enough to mean what you say and hear what the other person is saying. When the nervous system goes into fight, flight, freeze, or appease, even a “good script” can come out sharp, vague, collapsed, or overly intense.
So when we use Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in therapy, we start with the body. We slow down and track what happens inside as you speak or listen—breath, tension, heat, constriction, urgency, blankness—so you can notice the moment you’re leaving your grounded adult state. Then we use NVC as a structure that supports coherence: naming what happened (without blame), what you feel, what you need, and what you’re asking for—while staying connected to your boundaries and your capacity.
Over time, this helps communication feel less reactive and more true. You learn to pause before escalation, make cleaner requests, hold a clearer “no,” and repair more easily—because your nervous system stays online while you communicate.
In Somatic Experiencing, conflict de-escalation starts before the argument does—at the moment your nervous system begins to mobilize. Escalation usually isn’t a communication problem first; it’s a state shift: the body moves into fight, flight, freeze, or appease, and suddenly tone sharpens, listening narrows, urgency rises, and repair becomes hard.
SE-informed de-escalation teaches you to recognize the early cues—tightening in the chest or jaw, shallow breath, heat, pressure, speeding up, going blank—and to intervene at the level of the body. In session, we practice small, concrete moves: pausing, orienting, slowing the pace, taking space without abandoning connection, naming what’s happening internally (“I’m getting activated”), and returning to a more regulated state before trying to solve the issue.
Over time, couples and individuals learn that the goal isn’t to never get triggered—it’s to get faster at noticing, downshifting, and repairing. When the nervous system comes back online, perspective returns, language softens, and conflict becomes something you can navigate rather than something that takes you over.
When helpful, we can use the Enneagram as a gentle map for self-understanding— as a way to notice patterns of attention, coping, and protection. Each type describes a familiar “strategy” the nervous system can default to under stress: how you manage fear, seek safety, maintain control, pursue connection, or avoid vulnerability.
In therapy, we explore what your pattern looks like in real life and in your body—tracking how it shows up in breath, tension, urgency, shutdown, inner dialogue, and relationship dynamics. The goal isn’t to become a “better type.” It’s to recognize when an old strategy is running the show, meet it with compassion, and expand your options—so you can return to a more grounded, flexible, and authentic way of being.
When it feels useful, we can work with dreams as a doorway into the unconscious—an inner language that often speaks in images, mood, and metaphor rather than logic. In a depth-psychotherapy tradition, dreams aren’t treated as puzzles to “decode,” but as living communications: they may reveal unfinished emotion, hidden conflicts, emerging strengths, or parts of self that haven’t yet found a place in waking life.
In session, we approach dreams gently and collaboratively. We track what happens in your body as you recall dream scenes, characters, and themes—because the nervous system often knows what a dream is touching before the mind can explain it. This allows dream work to become grounded and practical: not just insight, but integration—new choices, softened defenses, and a deeper sense of inner coherence.
Sexual fantasies can carry symbolic meaning—more like dream material than a moral verdict. When explored with maturity and care, fantasy can reveal how your psyche organizes themes like safety, power, tenderness, freedom, surrender, longing, boundary, visibility, or shame. This doesn’t mean fantasies must be acted out. It means they may hold information about what your nervous system is trying to resolve, integrate, or reclaim.
In sessions, we explore fantasy as an inner language. We learn to notice the body’s responses through a different lens—arousal, inhibition, tightening, collapse, excitement, aversion—so we can distinguish between authentic desire, protective conditioning, and trauma echoes. The aim is greater self-understanding, more choice, and a more truthful relationship to your erotic life.
Important note: Sessions are psychotherapy sessions conducted through conversation and somatic awareness practices. This is not bodywork or sexual surrogacy. We work with emotions, nervous system states, relational patterns, and embodied self-awareness in a professional therapeutic setting.
Supporting the Parasympathetic Nervous System Through Breath, Sound, and Nervous System Skills.
A central part of this work is helping your nervous system access its own resources—especially the parasympathetic pathways that support settling, digestion, sleep, connection, and recovery. When your system has been living in chronic activation or shutdown, “calming down” isn’t a mindset—it’s a skill we build, gently and consistently.
When it’s appropriate, I offer practical tools that help you shift state in real time: breath-based regulation, simple meditation practices, sensation-tracking skills, sound support (including binaural beats), and clear psychoeducation informed by polyvagal theory. The goal isn’t to force relaxation or bypass difficult emotion, but to strengthen your capacity to return to safety, widen your window of tolerance, and meet stress from a more coherent, resourced place. Over time, these practices become portable—support you can draw on between sessions and in the moments that matter most.
We would not be where we are today—more solid than ever—without your guidance and support.
I’m not sure our marriage would have survived the affair and breach of trust. Something deep had to change, and you helped us find what that was. - Westport, CT
How to determine if we are a good fit?
This work tends to fit best for those who have already done a lot of self-reflection and still feel stuck—because what’s missing isn’t intelligence, it’s integration. You may be high-functioning, capable, and self-aware, yet if your inner experience is effortful, with anxiety, shutdown, rumination, chronic tension, or repeating relationship loops, then somatic integration can help the nervous system release what no longer needs protection.
If you want therapy that’s deep and practical—where insight becomes embodied change—this may be a good fit.
- You’re insightful, articulate, and self-aware—but still feel stuck in anxiety, shutdown, over-functioning, or the same relationship loop.
- You can “know” what’s true, yet your body doesn’t seem to believe it.
- You tend to live from the neck up—because feeling has been overwhelming, unsafe, or simply unavailable.
- You want therapy that is relational and depth-oriented, but also practical and embodied—so your progress isn’t just conceptual.
Schedule a Complimentary Consultation
A 20-minute, low-pressure conversation to ensure our work feels like a natural fit. We will discuss what brings you in and what you’ve navigated so far. I’ll ask a few focused questions about your goals and how your nervous system responds to stress—whether through anxiety, bracing, or shutdown. We may also share a brief moment of pause, allowing you to experience the somatic lens firsthand.
Common Questions About my Practice
Yes. The consult is a brief, low-pressure conversation (about 20 minutes) to see whether the approach feels like a fit. You can share what’s bringing you in and what you’re hoping for, and I’ll ask a few focused questions to understand what’s getting in the way and how your nervous system tends to respond under stress. I may also invite a simple pause to notice what happens in your body as you speak—so you can get a feel for the somatic lens. By the end, you’ll have a clear sense of next steps.
At the moment, I work online only. Somatic work translates well to online therapy because we’re working with your internal experience in real time—breath, sensation, impulse, tension, emotion, and nervous system shifts. I’ll guide you to notice small changes as they happen, and we’ll use pacing, pauses, and “freeze-frame” moments to support regulation and integration. Many clients find online work surprisingly effective—especially when they’re in the comfort of their own space.
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I do not bill insurance directly. However, my psychotherapy sessions are often eligible for out-of-network reimbursement, depending on your plan. I can provide an invoice after each session or a monthly superbill that includes all the information typically required for submission to your insurance provider.
Questions to have on hand when calling your insurance provider
- Do I have out-of-network mental health benefits for psychotherapy (CPT 90834 / 50-minute sessions)?
- What is my deductible, and have I met it yet?
- After the deductible, what percentage or dollar amount is reimbursed per session—and is there a reimbursement cap?
- Do you require pre-authorization or a referral?
- What documentation do you need for reimbursement (is a superbill accepted), and where/how do I submit it?
If asked to verify your provider, specifically, my National Provider Number is: 15384846969
$175 / 50-minute session (the standard format, and often ideal for somatic work)
$225 / 75–90-minute session (occasionally helpful for couples sessions or trauma-focused work that benefits from more time)
New client appointments are generally available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Please see my calendar for current availability. (Link to scheduling page here.)
A waitlist is available for group therapy.
This work is often a great fit for people who are thoughtful and self-aware—who can describe their patterns clearly—but still feel stuck in anxiety, shutdown, chronic tension, reactivity, or repeating relationship loops. It’s also helpful for those who tend to overthink or override themselves, and who want change that doesn’t rely on willpower alone. If you’re looking for therapy that’s deep and practical—where insight becomes embodied and usable—this approach tends to resonate.
Yes. Anxiety and panic are often nervous system patterns—not just thought patterns. Somatic therapy helps you learn to recognize activation early, understand what increases or decreases it, and build the capacity to return to steadiness. Over time, many people notice fewer spirals, faster recovery, and a more resilient baseline—so stress becomes more manageable and less consuming.
Couples commonly come in around recurring conflict loops, communication breakdowns, emotional distance, resentment, trust and betrayal wounds, parenting stress, desire mismatch, and difficulty repairing after rupture. Often the “topic” changes, but the pattern stays the same—pursue/withdraw, criticize/defend, explain/shut down. A somatic lens helps us work with the pattern underneath the content.
Sometimes. Many couples do best with primarily joint sessions, and occasionally one or two individual sessions can help clarify patterns, nervous system responses, and personal history that’s affecting the relationship. When individual sessions are included, we make clear agreements about purpose, confidentiality, and how that work supports the shared goals of the couple.
