Your body holds the story. Somatic therapy helps you rewrite it.
What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach to healing that works with the nervous system directly, rather than relying on insight or talk alone. Where traditional therapy asks what happened, somatic therapy asks where do you still feel it and works from there.
Research in neuroscience and trauma science has shown that unresolved stress and trauma are stored in the body as physical patterns: tension, bracing, collapse, numbness, hypervigilance. These patterns can persist long after the original experience has passed, showing up as anxiety, emotional reactivity, chronic stress, or a sense of being disconnected from yourself.
Somatic therapy works by building your capacity to notice, tolerate, and shift those patterns, gently and at your own pace.
Who This Work Is For
You may be a good fit for somatic therapy if:
You've tried talk therapy but feel like something is still stuck
You experience anxiety, panic, or a nervous system that feels constantly on
You're living with the effects of trauma or PTSD
A psychiatrist or physician has referred you and you're exploring non-medication options
You're simply curious about what a body-based approach might offer
No prior experience with somatic work is required. Many clients come in having never heard the word "somatic," just a sense that they want something different.
A Note on Approach
In addition to foundational somatic methods, this practice integrates Embodied Regulation Therapy (ERT), a structured, neurobiologically informed framework developed to support nervous system regulation and trauma recovery.
What Sessions Look Like
Sessions at West LA Somatic are collaborative and paced to what your nervous system can comfortably hold. You won't be pushed to revisit painful memories before you're ready. Instead, we build the internal resources and regulation skills that make deeper work possible over time.
Depending on what's most useful for you, sessions may include:
Guided body awareness and breath practices
Movement and grounding techniques
Titrated trauma processing using evidence-informed somatic approaches
Psychoeducation about the nervous system and stress response
Work is available in person in West Los Angeles and via telehealth throughout California, the US, and worldwide.
Ready to explore somatic therapy?
If you're not sure whether this work is right for you, that's a completely reasonable place to start. Reach out to schedule a free consultation, no pressure, just a conversation.
“My traumatic memories don’t feel so traumatic anymore, they lost their charge and feel like they’re part of the past, no longer part of my present.”
— Victoria R., West LA Somatic client
