Somatic Therapy
Actually Join Your Mind & Body
Integrating your whole self is challenging.
I often feel like my head is floating above me or my body.
I have a hard time knowing when I’m hungry or sick.
I am often disappointed in my body, and it usually has reactions to things I don’t understand. My body often feels numb, and I forget that it’s there.
I want to be a more fully integrated person. All these different parts of me get me from one place to another, including my feelings, thinking, and body. These parts feel so separate – like they’re strangers – and I think it’s time to be introduced.
Have a conversation with all the parts of you.
Somatic Therapy is the practice of focusing and listening to your body to find your felt sense and discover new personal insights. Focusing is like guided meditation, but it’s more of a conversation with the body.
We will do a general body scan, where you slow down your mind and breathing and connect with each part of your body. This connection helps you become grounded and in conscious conversation with your body.
We will look for parts of your body that stand out to you, letting the body talk and providing it with a way to talk to us. If your shoulder is standing out to you, we will go further and look for shapes and colors and images and find metaphors and real feelings that connect to pain, joy, memories, or relationships.
We also show you how to respect what your body wants and doesn’t want. If the body kicks us out and says, “This is too much, I’m not ready for this, and I don’t feel safe,” we will respect that. Often our bodies feel abused, taken for granted, and manipulated, and all these things leave their mark.
In this approach, there needs to be a sense of safety for the body. Therefore, we will measure that sense of security in a safe space if that’s what your body is telling us it needs.
Who can benefit?
Somatic Focusing is great for people who feel disconnected and want to find pathways for exploring feelings and experiences in their body’s experience.
If you experienced physical or sexual abuse, Somatic Focusing could help you reconnect to the body where it has shut you off.
Focusing is very helpful for people who work with their body – trainers, yoga instructors, dancers, performance artists, or people who work very physical jobs.
Learn to listen to your body and integrate the parts. Let’s discuss if Somatic Focusing can help you make a connection with all your parts.
In-person somatic therapy for people in Los Angeles who want to understand themselves more fully.
If you are located in Los Angeles, our office are conveniently in the Silver Lake neighborhood.
If you are outside of the Los Angeles area, or just don’t want to drive. We offer telehealth sessions through out California.
OSTC is a LGBTQ+ therapy collective, where you never need to educate your therapist on who you are.