West LA Somatic: The care you deserve.
Thomas Klepper: Somatic therapist, nervous system specialist, and creator of Embodied Regulation Therapy.
How This Work Began
In 2006, Thomas traveled to Sikkim, India, where he began studying yoga in a context far removed from the wellness industry he would later work alongside. What he encountered there was less a fitness practice and more a living tradition: a systematic approach to the relationship between body, mind, and nervous system that had been refined over centuries.
That experience reoriented everything. He returned to Los Angeles with a different set of questions than the ones he had arrived with, and spent the following years building the clinical and theoretical foundation to pursue them seriously.
Developing ERT
Over years of clinical work at the intersection of somatic therapy, yoga, and addiction treatment, Thomas identified a gap: existing somatic frameworks, while valuable, lacked the structural specificity needed to address nervous system dysregulation across the full range of clinical presentations in a consistent, reproducible way.
Embodied Regulation Therapy (ERT) emerged from that observation. Built on four neurobiological pillars, including interoceptive awareness, autonomic regulation, cerebellar integration, and prefrontal engagement, ERT provides a structured clinical map for body-centered work that is grounded in contemporary neuroscience and adaptable across populations.
ERT is currently integrated into all individual sessions at West LA Somatic. Training and certification programs for clinicians are in development.
Training and Credentials
Thomas holds a Master of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University, where he studied English Literature and Creative Writing, alongside advanced training in somatic therapy, yoga therapy, and addiction treatment. His clinical credentials include:
MA, Loyola Marymount University
RYT-500 and E-RYT-200, Yoga Alliance
YACEP (Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider)
Holistic Addiction Treatment Professional (HATP)
Embodied Regulation Therapy (ERT) certification
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Candidate (SEP Candidate)
He has worked as an independent contractor across multiple mental health and addiction treatment settings in Los Angeles, including Coastwise Mental Health Center, Recover Integrity, and Antedote, while building his private practice under the West LA Somatic name.
Approach and Philosophy
Thomas works from the conviction that the nervous system is the appropriate center of gravity for most clinical work. Symptoms that present as psychological, behavioral, or relational frequently have roots in how the body learned to manage overwhelming experience. Addressing those roots directly, through the body, tends to produce changes that are more integrated and more durable than insight alone.
Sessions are collaborative, paced, and built around the individual's capacity rather than a fixed protocol. The work draws on ERT alongside a range of somatic and yoga therapy methods, adapted to what each client's nervous system can comfortably hold at any given stage of treatment.
Beyond the Clinic
Thomas is a sitarist studying Indian classical music under Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, one of the foremost living exponents of the Etawah gharana. His interest in raga, musicology, and the relationship between sound and nervous system states informs his sound healing work, including sound baths featuring custom singing bowls tuned to specific ragas alongside sitar, tanpura, and various ethnic instruments.
Working with Thomas
Individual sessions are available in person in West Los Angeles and via telehealth throughout California, the US, and worldwide. If you're curious about whether this work is a good fit for what you're navigating, reach out to schedule a free consultation.