You can feel better in your body
Somatic Therapy for Chronic Pain
An Experiential Approach Integrating Mindfulness, Movement, and Touch
Chronic pain is no joke.
The pain affects almost every aspect of your life. From your mental health to comfortably sleeping, from your ability to focus at work to getting the same enjoyment out of time spent with loved ones. It’s one never-ending nightmare.
In some ways, you might not even remember who you were before the pain.
Many of the clients I work with express feeling betrayed by their bodies. They worry that they’ll never find relief, that they’ll be trapped in this existence forever.
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Living with chronic pain involves a lot of grief and loss. Loss of freedom, loss of control, loss of predictability. You might have big dreams for your life, but you aren’t sure how you’ll feel day-to-day and this makes you worried that you won’t see them come to life.
It’s enough to send anybody into survival mode. For some, that might look like anxiety or feeling frozen or stuck, for others, like depression, apathy, or hopelessness.
You’ve tried all the medications, all the topical gels, all the bodywork, and braces, but have you considered how the increasingly antagonistic relationship between your mind and body might be blocking the possibility of relief?
When it comes to the pain you feel, there may be aspects of it that are structural or physiological, but there are likely also aspects of it that are mental and emotional.
As a fellow chronic pain sufferer, I understand that reading this might make you feel more hopeless or frustrated. If it’s just a mind-over-matter thing, why do I still feel like this?
Well, it’s not that simple. But with the right support, skills, and practice we can repair your relationship with your body and the way you think about, talk about, and feel about your body and pain.
Somatic psychotherapy focuses on the mind-body connection to help you:
Stop the pain-anxiety cycle in its tracks
Recognize signs of anxiety & learn how avoiding pain might be increasing your anxiety.
Identify triggers
Start to identify patterns in your pain levels and implement pacing strategies so you don’t overdo it.
Regulate your nervous system
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Recogize nervous system dysregulation and identify practices that feel effective and sustainable.
Process the grief
Come to terms with what is different now. I know that sounds really scary, but I promise you it will loosen up the grip your pain has on you - physically and emotionally.
Restore a life you love
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Get creative with ways to feel satisfied with your life, still participate in the activities you love most, and and explore what brings you pleasure.
Together, we’ll bear witness to how your mind and body work to keep you going. We won’t JUST explore what you’re thinking, but also what you’re feeling, down to the sensory experience of your internal world and the external world.
Traditional talk therapy separates the mind and body, and devalues the wisdom of the body. Somatic therapy helps the body and mind reconnect and partner in healing.
Sessions are experiential. In addition to talking, we may use mindfulness, movement, and touch to experiment and shift things. Sessions are slow, spacious, and emphasize keeping you present. This ensures that the integration of the brain and nervous system happens in a way that is not disruptive to your life.
Since somatic therapies work with the body & nervous system, you won’t have to talk about painful stuff the whole time if you don’t want to. You would be a good candidate to work with me if you are open to exploring experientially. Mindfulness, movement, and touch are inherently healing, but they work differently in everyone.
Who I Work With
I work with clients who have chronic pain and chronic illness. Some of my past clients have struggled with injuries, fibromyalgia, arthritis, TMJ, migraines, endometriosis, vaginismus and vulvodynia, and more. If you don’t see yourself on that list you are still welcome to reach out if what I’m sharing resonates with you.
Fee & FAQ
Sessions are 60-minutes long and are $220.
I do not accept insurance. If your insurance plan offers out-of-network benefits I can provide you with what's called a 'superbill' which you can submit to your insurance company for partial to full reimbursement.
I offer limited reduced fee spots for one-on-one services, and the availability for these varies. These are also reserved for those who are not able to use out-of-network insurance benefits.
For answers to other questions you might have about my fees, scheduling, or using insurance benefits check out my very thorough FAQ page.
Getting Started
Here's what beginning together will look like:
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We’ll meet for a free 20-minute zoom consultation
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We’ll schedule your first 3 sessions
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We’ll each consent to moving forward with certain goals or intentions in mind
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We’ll meet at the same time weekly or every-other week (depending on your goals and needs) until you feel complete.
What are sessions like?
My clients describe me as warm, approachable, and having a sense of humor. ​I view our work as a collaboration and myself as a guide who walks alongside you. As much as I will support you in feeling the things that have been difficult to feel, there may also be times when I invite you to play or be silly in our sessions.
Liberation and decolonization are deep values of mine that I work to live out through my role as a therapist everyday. I am very intentional not to project any "shoulds" or shame on you. One thing being a somatic practitioner has taught me is how damn wise our bodies really are. My training in trauma treatment helps me help you see that too. I've had many clients express that they have learned more about themselves in one session with me than months/years of working with other therapists.
Every session has it's own vibe. There may be times when we are talking more; there may be times when we are not talking at all and using more somatic methods. At the beginning of each session I offer the option for a brief mindfulness practice to help you ground and center, though sometimes folks are ready to just dive in and that's fine too. I find sessions are usually most fruitful when we can focus on one, maybe two things, and go deep with them. Sessions are not you telling me about your week, but us exploring your body and emotions in an experiential way.
I consider it a true honor to support my clients and I'd be delighted to do the same for you.
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