Somatic Therapy for Neurodivergent Adults in Denver, Colorado

Somatic therapy invites us to tune into our bodies and be present with the sensations and experiences that live within us to deepen self-connection, heal and strengthen our nervous system, and rewire our brains toward secure attachment.

Our bodies are incredible sources of innate wisdom. They act as portals to our intuition, our feelings and inner experiences, our needs and desires. As we practice being in connection with our bodies, we learn to provide ourselves with the attunement and care we need in order to thrive. We also increase our capacity to connect with others.

But for many of us, it’s not so easy. In a culture that encourages us to stay in our head—constantly thinking, analyzing, and processing information—it’s no wonder we often find ourselves disconnected from our soma (Greek for “body.”) This can look like not noticing or ignoring internal cues to eat or move our bodies, scrolling apps aimlessly, or not making time for important self-care tasks (whatever those look like for us). It can also look like feelings of dissociation (a state of disconnection from your body, thoughts, feelings, memories, and sense of self/identity.)

Trauma also contributes to disconnection by making us feel unsafe in our bodies, which can lead us to numb out as a survival strategy. Due to social and power structures in modern society, we’re often unable to complete a full nervous system response (“fight or flight”) during a traumatic event, which is what allows our system to settle back into rest and equilibrium once the threat has passed. Instead, we go into “freeze” mode, where we feel stuck, immobilized, and struggle to complete the discharge of traumatic energy from our bodies even after the danger has passed. Finding ways to move, transform, and discharge this energy is integral to the healing process.

So, what might somatic therapy look like during a session together? We’ll work with your specific needs, strengths, experiences, and comfort level to co-create a nurturing container for healing. Somatic attunement will be blended into the flow of our sessions. This could look like me inviting you to tune into what’s happening in your body as you discuss a particular topic, or we might track sensations as they show up in your body sequentially during the session. We may draw from a variety of resourcing tools and techniques during sessions, including grounding and breathing exercises, guided meditations, body scans, movement, rituals, and self-soothing practices.

I often draw from somatic therapy and Internal Family Systems synchronistically in sessions, as I find these two approaches blend well together in helping clients to deepen and strengthen relationships with their parts.