Somatic Psychotherapy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida: A body Centered Approach to Healing and Transformation
I specialize in somatic psychotherapy, a body based holistic approach to healing and transformation based on the fact that the body, mind and brain are a single integrated system. I work with the whole person not just thoughts, beliefs, stories and behavior to support healing, and deep personal transformation. I also continue to offer traditional talk therapy that is informed by somatic psychotherapy.
The underlying premise of somatic psychotherapy is that the body, mind and brain are inseparable. The nervous system, muscles, organs, breath, emotional centers, the heart, and the gut are in constant communication. Emotions are not just a thought with feelings but manifest physically: tight shoulders, back pains, a clenched jaw, shallow breathing, a “knot” in the stomach and more. The body has an intelligence that arises from this integrated system in constant communication internally and externally.
Somatic Psychotherapy in Ft. Lauderdale is Beneficial for:
Trauma and PTSD
Chronic Stress
Anxiety and Depression
Grief and Loss
Recovery from Addictions
Relationship difficulties
Personal Growth and Transformation
How Traditional Talk Therapy is different from Somatic Psychotherapy in Ft. Lauderdale
Cognitive Behavioral modalities currently dominate the psychotherapy profession. This is a “top-down”, “outside in” approach in working with a client. These models emphasize the neocortex- the seat of thought, analysis, insight and language. The therapist is typically considered to be the expert who has answers or suggestions to help the client. Traditional talk therapy focuses primarily on conversation, cognitive restructuring, and behavioral techniques. Diagnoses are considered essential for insurance purposes, psychotropic medications and often to just work with a client.
A Paradigm Shift from Evidence-Based Psychotherapy
Somatic therapy is a process oriented, “bottom-up” “inside out” approach where the whole person or body is the focus of the transformational journey to healing, self-actualization, well-being and personal growth. Somatic psychotherapy typically accesses different areas of the brain, some of the deeper systems as well as the neocortex-cognition, thoughts, dreams, and behaviors also. By engaging in these deeper systems clients can access, process and resolve experiences stored in the body beyond words and below the thinking mind.
My Approach
I do not diagnose clients. Instead, I focus on exploring the function of symptoms as information and how they are expressed in the body: posture, breath, muscle tone and tension, energy, vision, movement, and reactivity. Physical symptoms are meaningful signals to explore not just problems to eliminate. Somatic therapy focuses on the whole body, including the different systems of the body, works directly with emotions, engages memories and implicit or body memories of trauma. Because somatic therapy accesses the deeper areas of the brain and body that are nonverbal and not cognitive there is more of a “felt” sensory experience for the client. As a result, it becomes difficult for clients to put into words and describe their experience of somatic therapy.
Discover the wisdom of your body for deep changes and
personal growth. Call or text 954-525-8088 to start your dynamic journey.
A Holistic, Trauma Informed, Experiential Approach
Somatic therapy is a practical, trauma informed, clinically grounded, experiential and neurologically based approach. Going through the transformational process to obtain wellbeing and change of what is no longer beneficial is multidimensional. The whole body is the entry point to this journey. That includes for example: the physical body, physical symptoms, thoughts and beliefs, emotional and behavioral patterns, energy, verbal and nonverbal communication, relationships and relational patterns. Epigenetics and neuroplasticity is also taken into consideration with the possibility for changes in physical symptoms. By addressing, expressing and processing these different areas there is a potential for profound effects on improving the functioning of the immune system and overall health.
Individual Therapy For Anxiety, Grief, Stress, and Depression
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Couples Therapy For Breakups, Relationship Rebuilding, and Emotional Growth
Neuroscience and the Bodymind: Why Somatic Therapy works
Trauma is Stored in The Body
Physical and psychological trauma can become locked in the body’s tissues, muscles, fascia, autonomic responses, emotional and behavioral reactions and flashbacks. Healing therefore requires an approach that includes the body rather than focusing solely on cognition and language.
The Body Mind Network
Somatic psychotherapy is supported by contemporary neuroscience. Ongoing research shows that conscious experience exists throughout the entire body extending beyond the cerebrum and central nervous system. Information and even memory extend throughout the body. There is an increasing body of neuroscientific research about how the body shapes the mind as much as the mind influences the body. The body mind system that may be worked with as needed in somatic therapy includes cellular memory, the vagus nerve (polyvagal theory), vascular and muscular communication, the enteric nervous system (“belly brain”) and the cardiac nervous system (“the heart brain”). The “cranial brain” may be worked with as well especially the subcortical regions, limbic system (emotions and memory), and autonomic nervous system (flight, fight, freeze and fawn). By using a variety of experiential body-based techniques these areas of the body can be accessed releasing information, memories, emotions and energy from the body towards healing and transformation.
What sessions look like: The Therapeutic Relationship and the Neuro-Experiential Frame
Attunement, Presence and Collaboration
Somatic psychotherapy is a collaborative, attuned process. I guide clients to track sensations feelings, emotions, thought, impulses, memories and subtle shifts emerging from the body mind. The therapeutic relationship-often described as “right-brain to right-brain” is foundational for safety, regulation and healing. That means utilizing my felt sense and intuition with the client. I follow the client’s internal process with an open, grounded curious presence, allowing the client and client’s body to lead. I offer guidance and various somatic techniques as needed to support the ongoing process of the client. Because somatic psychotherapy works with the whole body during a session, it is necessary to experience somatic therapy in person in Fort Lauderdale.
Some of the Techniques Used in Somatic Therapy in Ft. Lauderdale
Depending on the clients’ needs, sessions may incorporate some of these techniques but are not limited to:
- Body awareness and mindfulness
- Breathwork (various forms)
- Movement and dance
- Energy work and releasing blocked energy
- Somatic techniques targeting specific body regions from head to toe
- Eye based methods that include: EMDR, Brainspotting, Bates eye Exercises
- Emotional release
- Grounding and centering techniques
These techniques support nervous and emotional regulation, stress management, integration of previously unprocessed experiences and trauma, learning to be present, embodied and more.
Somatic based Workshops/Retreats for Personal Growth and Self Discovery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
I also offer self-discovery and personal growth weekend workshops/retreats for anyone interested in self-improvement and transformation. Each workshop typically has a different theme or focus but is always experiential.
I offer workshops for Professionals only. This is an experiential opportunity for practitioners in the helping profession to learn new skills for their practice or actual formal training in somatic therapy.
A Note on My Training and Personal Experience
In order to practice somatic psychotherapy it’s essential that a body psychotherapist has done their own personal somatic work. A somatic therapist especially can only guide clients as far and as deep as they have gone themselves in somatic work.
Personal Somatic Experience
Most of the somatic techniques I use with clients I have personally experienced. I know from the inside what somatic processing, body awareness, emotional release, energy shifts, and deep transformation can feel like. This allows me to accompany a client with empathy, understanding, and respect for the client’s pacing, boundaries and safety.
My Somatic Training
I have been in private practice specializing in somatic psychotherapy for 40 years. I was originally trained and certified in Radix Body Education, a somatic approach. Some of the additional training I have received is a certification in Heart Math, training in Visionary Cranial Sacral by Hugh Milne, EMDR, Brainspotting, and training in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP).
The “Therapist’s Therapist”
I have offered somatic psychotherapy in Ft. Lauderdale to many healthcare professionals such as psychotherapists, psychologists, massage therapists and chiropractors for their own personal work. I also offer training in somatic psychotherapy to psychotherapists.
Additional influences on my work are I have worked with shamans in Peru using plant medicine. I have attended over a dozen retreats by Dr. Joe Dispenza since 2018. I am also the author of several different professional articles and was an editor of a professional journal.
Awaken your Body’s Wisdom for Lasting Change in Ft. Lauderdale
The goal of somatic psychotherapy is not simply symptom reduction, although that often occurs. Somatic therapy is a transformational journey that can lead to many possible results. Learning how to experience being more fully embodied is becoming more present. When there is the feeling of wholeness of embodiment the body’s intelligence is accessible. Your passion for life in all areas: work, play, love, relationships awakens. There is an improvement in relationships with deeper intimacy and better communication. The various systems of the body are more regulated and coherent. There are often shifts in core beliefs, self-perception and in energy. Limitations and blocks to your success and full potential are released. The body is the guide. As you become more attuned to your body’s information, you gain greater choice in how you respond to life rather than reacting from old patterns, beliefs and emotional reactivity.
Reasons to Consider Somatic Psychotherapy
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
If you are drawn to a body-based, trauma-informed, holistic approach to healing and transformation, somatic therapy may be a meaningful path for you. Whether you are dealing with trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, stress, recovery from addictions, relationship issues or have been in traditional talk therapy and looking for something different or to go deeper. Whatever the reasons might be that brings you to somatic therapy you will learn a different way of being, an embodied wholeness that brings a richness of feelings, presence and sense of whole-body intelligence that offers new possibilities for your life!
Ready to Get Started?
It’s easy! Just call or text to start a dynamic personal journey in Fort Lauderdale. Your first experience will leave you amazed at what you discover from your own body, as well as feeling some relief and calmer!
FAQs Somatic Psychotherapy
1. What is somatic psychotherapy in Ft.Lauderdale?
Somatic psychotherapy is an approach to healing and transformation based on the fact that the mind and body are a single integrated system. Instead of relying only on talk therapy, somatic psychotherapy works with the body and the whole person to learn and reconnect through experiential body-based techniques utilizing verbal and nonverbal information. In somatic therapy they are then able to express, resolve and heal their issues.
2. How is somatic psychotherapy different from traditional talk therapy in Ft. Lauderdale?
Many people intellectually understand their issues but may still feel anxious, stuck, or dysregulated—somatic psychotherapy addresses this by engaging body awareness, breathwork, a variety of experiential body-based techniques and present-moment experience to process more deeply than just intellectually. Somatic psychotherapy helps teach the body to feel safe and regulated, which naturally supports changes in emotional, cognitive and behavioral patterns.
3. How do emotions manifest physically in the body?
Emotions often show up as muscle tension, tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, gut discomfort, headaches, back aches, or chronic pain. Sometimes because emotions can be expressed unconsciously through physical symptoms, people may not even be aware of what they are feeling. In somatic psychotherapy, these physical sensations are understood as meaningful signals of information about emotions, body memories, internal conflicts, or unresolved past issues rather than only as symptoms of an illness or physical problems.
4. What issues can somatic psychotherapy help with?
Somatic psychotherapy is highly effective for:
- Trauma and PTSD
- Anxiety and panic
- Depression
- Chronic stress
- Grief and loss
- Recovery from addictions
- Relationship issues
- Personal growth and transformation
This approach is especially helpful when traditional therapy has not created lasting change.
5. How does somatic psychotherapy help heal trauma?
Trauma is stored in the nervous system throughout the body and not just in explicit memory but also in body memories (implicit memory). Somatic psychotherapy helps clients track sensations, regulate arousal, and restore safety in the body. Healing occurs by gently processing traumatic activation rather than reliving or re-telling the story. This reduces overwhelm, flashbacks and supports long-term nervous system regulation.
6. What is body awareness and why is it important in somatic therapy?
Body awareness is a form of mindfulness but specifically tunes into what is going on inside the body. This is the ability to notice all types of sensations such as breath, tension, temperature, movement, emotions and energy. Body awareness allows clients to learn the language of the body, to access information of the body, learning to be present and to recognize early signs of stress, anxiety, or depression, or trauma activation. Also, there may be an improvement in responding by choice and different actions rather than automatic reactions.
7. How are breathwork and mindfulness used in somatic psychotherapy?
Breathwork and mindfulness are used to provide information about what is happening within the body to address issues, make appropriate changes, shift emotions and energy. Breathwork helps calm the body and create safety, while mindfulness allows clients to observe sensations and emotions without judgment. Together, they build resilience, emotional regulation, embodiment and being in the present moment.
8. What does “bottom-up, inside out” as opposed to “top down, outside in” therapy mean?
“Bottom up” refers to the body is the entry point to work with accessing and utilizing the body’s wisdom and information. The focus on the body allows information from “inside” the body to emerge. Emotions, energy and issues can then be available for healing. “Top down” is primarily working with the intellect and cognition through conversation with suggestions and analysis from the “outside in” or therapist to change thoughts, behaviors and resolve issues.
9. Do I need to talk about my trauma in somatic psychotherapy?
Not necessarily. Somatic psychotherapy does not require detailed storytelling or reliving traumatic experiences. Many clients heal by focusing on present-moment body sensations, emotional and behavioral patterns. This helps the process be more gentle and less overwhelming than traditional talk trauma therapy.
10. What happens in a somatic psychotherapy session in Ft. Lauderdale?
A session may include conversation, tracking body sensations, breathwork, exploring emotions directly in present moment, energy work, movement, emotional release, experiential body-based techniques and mindfulness practices. The therapist guides the process with collaboration and attunement while honoring each client’s pace and unique experience. The focus is on safety, regulation, and integration, not forcing insight, analysis or emotional release.
11. What does collaboration and attunement by the therapist mean?
Attunement is the ability of the therapist to deeply connect with and understand the client’s inner state moving beyond words, sensing feelings, energy, experiences, respecting and trusting the body’s intelligence of the client. Responsiveness to the client’s body signals, energy and emotions by the therapist is enhanced through attunement. There is then a collaboration between therapist and client to work together towards the healing and transformation of the client. Each session is likely to be unique and surprising as to what emerges.
12. Why is somatic psychotherapy helpful for chronic stress and anxiety?
Chronic stress and anxiety keep the nervous system in a constant state of activation. Somatic psychotherapy helps the body complete stress responses, discharge stored tension, and return to balance. Over time, clients experience greater calm, emotional resilience, improved physical well-being and learn how to manage stress better.
13. How do I know if somatic psychotherapy in Fort Lauderdale is right for me?
If you live in Fort Lauderdale and struggle with trauma, anxiety, PTSD, depression, chronic stress, relationship issues, recovery from addictions, feel stuck or disconnected from your body. Perhaps you have had insight-oriented, cognitive behavioral traditional talk therapy that was helpful, but significant changes didn’t happen. Or perhaps there’s a desire to go deeper, something is still missing or not working for you, somatic psychotherapy may be an excellent fit. This approach is ideal for people seeking deep, embodied healing rather than symptom management alone.
