Hands-on somatic therapy

As a somatic therapist and educator, I combine empathetic listening touch and Gestalt counseling, integrating body and mind in one holistic approach. Trained by Ilana Rubenfeld in the Rubenfeld Synergy Method® of touch-talk therapy, I take a somatic psychology approach to mindbody integration, relying on sensory awareness to establish contact and deepen sessions rather than verbal talk alone. The work is done sitting in a chair or lying on a massage table in a deeply relaxed meditative state. We start by touching, feeling and listening to the client’s body story—acknowledging how our bodies hold not just personal memories but also cultural and societal imprints. The goal is to release physical, emotional and mental blockages and compensations in order to optimize healthier adaptation skills—including better somatic awareness, emotional regulation, cognitive languaging and social connectedness. Touch provides the somatic feedback loop that grounds the therapeutic conversation in the body metaphors that tell the body story of what happened and the feeling of what happened to cause dysfunction and pain. I also use the Internal Family Systems model to help clients integrate their parts into a more functional synergy. The result is a greater capacity to regulate stress, heal from trauma and illness, negotiate relational boundaries and conflict, and sustain healthy balance in the face of life’s challenges. At a time when over 50% of Americans already have one or more chronic illness, including mental illnesses and mood disorders that stress individuals, couples, families and communities, I also coach clients to create self-care plans and improve their self-care practices.