Somatic-Based Therapy in Calgary & New Brunswick
In person in Calgary and virtual across Alberta and New Brunswick
Sometimes understanding why you feel the way you do isn’t enough to change how you feel.
You may know that you’re safe, but your body still feels on edge. You may understand where your anxiety comes from, but still experience tension, racing thoughts, overwhelm, or a sense of shutting down. Or you may notice that your reactions feel stronger than the situation in front of you.
A somatic approach brings attention to these mind-body patterns. I integrate somatic and nervous-system-focused approaches with traditional talk therapy to help you better understand your responses, build greater capacity for regulation, and create new ways of responding to stress and difficult emotions.
I provide somatic-based therapy in person in Calgary and virtually throughout Alberta and New Brunswick.
What is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is a broad term that encompasses a range of therapeutic approaches that incorporate the body and physical experience into psychotherapy. Rather than being one specific therapeutic modality, a somatic approach recognizes the connection between our thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and responses to stress.
Rather than focusing only on what you think or the story of what happened, somatic work also pays attention to what is happening in the present moment—such as changes in breathing, muscle tension, sensations, impulses, emotions, or patterns of activation and shutdown.
The goal isn't to eliminate uncomfortable sensations or force your body to relax. Instead, therapy can help you develop greater awareness of your internal experience and more flexibility in how you respond to it.
When Your Nervous System Feels Stuck
Our nervous systems are constantly responding to what is happening around us. At times, particularly following prolonged stress or difficult experiences, these responses can become highly sensitive or difficult to shift.
This can look different for everyone. You might notice:
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Feeling constantly on edge or unable to fully relax
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Becoming overwhelmed or irritated easily
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Anxiety or panic that feels very physical
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Muscle tension, restlessness, or difficulty settling
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Feeling disconnected, numb, or “checked out”
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Shutting down during conflict or stressful situations
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Difficulty identifying what you're feeling
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Feeling exhausted after periods of stress
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Understanding something logically while your body seems to react differently
Somatic-based therapy provides space to become curious about these patterns rather than treating them as something that needs to be immediately pushed away.
What Somatic-based Therapy Can Look Like
Somatic-based therapy doesn't mean spending an entire session focused on your body, and it doesn't replace talking.
We may move between conversation and noticing what is happening internally as different experiences, emotions, or topics arise. This might include slowing things down, noticing sensations or impulses, identifying shifts in activation, exploring what helps you feel more grounded, or practicing moving between states of activation and greater ease.
The work is collaborative and paced according to what feels manageable for you. You are always able to choose how much or how little you want to engage with a particular exercise or experience.
Somatic-based Therapy for Trauma, Anxiety & Chronic Stress
Somatic approaches can be useful when stress or emotional reactions feel automatic or difficult to shift through insight alone. I often incorporate somatic work when supporting people experiencing trauma and PTSD, anxiety and panic, chronic stress, emotional overwhelm, dissociation or disconnection, and difficulties with emotional regulation.
My Approach to Somatic-based Therapy
I don't use somatic therapy as a separate set of exercises or a rigid protocol. Instead, I integrate body and nervous-system awareness into psychotherapy based on your needs, comfort, and goals.
My work draws from Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Polyvagal-informed approaches, EMDR, ACT, and other trauma-informed approaches alongside traditional talk therapy.
Depending on what we're working on, therapy may involve developing awareness of nervous-system patterns, noticing physical responses to emotions or memories, working with activation and shutdown, building capacity to stay present with difficult experiences, and exploring ways of responding that feel more flexible and supportive.
The goal isn't to be calm all the time. It's to develop a greater ability to notice what's happening within you, understand what your system may be responding to, and have more choice in what happens next.
If you've spent a lot of time understanding your experiences intellectually but still find that anxiety, stress, trauma, or emotional reactions show up automatically, incorporating somatic and nervous-system-focused work may offer another way of approaching therapy. We can briefly talk about what you're experiencing, what you're hoping to work on, and whether my approach to somatic therapy feels like a good fit.