Somatic Psychotherapy Addressing the Nervous System Root cause of Trauma, Anxiety, Emotional Distress, and physical (somatic) symptoms.
Somatic psychotherapy is a trauma-informed, body-based approach to therapy that recognizes a simple truth: stress and emotional pain do not live only in the mind. They also live in the nervous system, the breath, the muscles, and the felt sense of the body. Many people understand their patterns intellectually yet still feel stuck in anxiety, shutdown, chronic tension, or emotional overwhelm. Somatic psychotherapy helps bridge that gap by working with both the psychological and physiological layers of experience.
In this practice, somatic psychotherapy is offered as integrative care for adults seeking anxiety relief, trauma healing, nervous system regulation, and deeper emotional resilience. Sessions are available in New York City and through secure teletherapy across New York State.
What Is Somatic Psychotherapy
Somatic psychotherapy, also called body-based psychotherapy or nervous-system–informed therapy, supports healing by helping you notice and work with internal cues such as sensation, breath, posture, impulses, tension, and emotional activation.
Rather than forcing change through willpower alone, somatic work helps your system develop greater capacity for regulation, self-trust, and steadiness.
Somatic psychotherapy may be especially helpful if you experience:
Anxiety that feels physical or lives in the body
Panic sensations
Chronic stress or burnout
Trauma symptoms or PTSD
Emotional numbness or shutdown
People-pleasing or difficulty setting boundaries
A sense of being overwhelmed by daily life
High external functioning with internal exhaustion
What We Focus On in Somatic Psychotherapy
In somatic psychotherapy, we may focus on:
Learning to recognize your body’s signals and early stress cues
Building nervous system regulation skills you can use in real time
Tracking activation and settling patterns to reduce overwhelm
Understanding how emotions show up in the body
Developing stronger boundaries through body awareness
Increasing capacity for closeness and connection without losing yourself
Reducing trauma-related reactivity
Strengthening emotional resilience and self-trust
Somatic psychotherapy is often integrated with other evidence-based approaches depending on your goals, including:
Trauma-informed talk therapy
EMDR therapy
Internal Family Systems–informed work
Cognitive behavioral strategies
The pace is always collaborative, respectful, and grounded in what feels safe and supportive for you.
Somatic Experiencing Therapy
Somatic Experiencing is a specialized form of somatic psychotherapy developed to address the effects of trauma, chronic stress, and nervous system dysregulation.
It is based on the understanding that trauma is not only what happened to you, but how your nervous system responded and what it continues to carry. After overwhelming experiences, the body can remain stuck in fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown. Somatic Experiencing helps gently resolve these patterns so your system can return to greater balance and flexibility.
Somatic Experiencing is not about reliving trauma. It is a structured, titrated approach that works with the body in small, manageable steps. Many clients find it surprisingly gentle. Over time, the nervous system learns that it can move through activation and return to safety without becoming flooded.
What Somatic Experiencing Can Help With
Trauma symptoms and PTSD
Anxiety and panic
Chronic hypervigilance
Burnout and emotional exhaustion
Nervous system depletion
Somatic symptoms related to stress (tension, restlessness, agitation)
Difficulty relaxing or sleeping
Feeling unsafe in the body
Emotional reactivity and irritability
Grief and major life transitions
What We May Work With in Somatic Experiencing Sessions
Tracking sensations and micro-shifts in the body
Identifying triggers and noticing how activation builds
Developing internal and external resources for stability
Grounding and orienting for regulation
Allowing incomplete survival responses to resolve safely
Building capacity for presence, connection, and calm
Somatic Experiencing is often integrated into a broader trauma-informed treatment plan. Some clients use it as a primary approach, while others combine it with EMDR therapy, supportive psychotherapy, or cognitive work to address both symptoms and root causes.
What to Expect and How to Begin
Somatic therapy is practical and experiential. You do not need to have perfect language or explain everything clearly for the work to be effective. We go at your pace, with respect for your history, your nervous system, and your goals.
Therapy begins with an initial consultation where we clarify:
What you are experiencing
What you want to shift
Which approaches are most supportive
Frequently Asked Questions About Somatic Therapy
Is somatic therapy evidence-based?
Yes. Somatic psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing are grounded in neuroscience, trauma research, and nervous-system science. These approaches are widely used in trauma-informed clinical settings and are recognized for their effectiveness in treating trauma, anxiety, chronic stress, and nervous system dysregulation.
What is the difference between somatic psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic psychotherapy is a broad category of body-based, nervous-system–informed therapy. Somatic Experiencing is a specific, structured method within that category that focuses on gently resolving trauma and stress stored in the nervous system. In practice, Somatic Experiencing may be integrated into a larger somatic psychotherapy framework.
Can somatic therapy help anxiety and panic?
Yes. Somatic therapy is particularly effective for anxiety and panic because it works directly with the nervous system rather than only with thoughts. Many people experience anxiety primarily in their body, and somatic approaches help reduce physiological activation and build regulation.
Can somatic therapy help trauma and PTSD?
Yes. Somatic therapy is widely used for trauma and PTSD. It helps the nervous system process overwhelming experiences safely and gradually, without requiring you to relive traumatic events.
Do I have to talk about my trauma in detail?
No. Somatic therapy does not require detailed verbal retelling of traumatic experiences. The focus is on present-moment sensations, regulation, and building capacity for safety rather than recounting past events.
What does a somatic therapy session look like?
Sessions may include talking, noticing physical sensations, gentle grounding exercises, tracking internal experience, and developing regulation skills. The work is collaborative, paced, and tailored to your comfort level.
Is somatic therapy helpful if I feel emotionally numb?
Yes. Emotional numbness is often a nervous-system response to overwhelm. Somatic therapy can help gently restore sensation, emotional access, and connection at a pace that feels safe.
Can somatic therapy be done online?
Yes. Somatic therapy and Somatic Experiencing can be very effective through teletherapy. Many nervous-system–based interventions translate well to online sessions.
How long does somatic therapy take?
Length of treatment varies. Some people notice meaningful shifts within a few sessions, while others engage in longer-term work for deeper healing. We regularly assess progress and adjust as needed.
Can somatic therapy be combined with EMDR or talk therapy?
Yes. Somatic therapy is often integrated with EMDR, trauma-informed talk therapy, Internal Family Systems–informed work, and cognitive approaches to create a comprehensive treatment plan.