Somatic Therapy

Reconnecting Mind, Body, and Spirit

The body remembers what the mind forgets.

Our bodies carry the imprints of our experiences — the tension, the patterns of breath, the instinctive reactions that once kept us safe. Over time, these embodied memories can become stored as chronic stress, anxiety, or a sense of disconnection.

Somatic Therapy offers a gentle, evidence-informed way to reconnect with your body’s wisdom, helping you release old patterns and restore balance between body and mind. This work is not just about talking about your experiences — it’s about learning to feel them safely, and to listen to the body as a guide for healing.

What Is Somatic Therapy?

Somatic Therapy (from the Greek soma, meaning “body”) is an approach that recognizes the deep connection between mind and body.

Unlike traditional talk therapy alone, somatic therapy invites awareness of physical sensations, breath, posture, and movement as vital sources of information and healing.

By tracking the body’s cues in the present moment, clients can learn to:

Recognize and release stored tension or trauma responses
Cultivate safety and grounding in the nervous system
Develop emotional regulation and resilience
Reconnect with the body’s natural rhythms and vitality

Somatic therapy is supported by modern neuroscience, which shows that trauma and stress are stored not only in memory but also in the body. Healing requires the body’s participation — not just cognitive insight, but embodied experience.

The Science of Somatic Healing

When the nervous system becomes overwhelmed by stress or trauma, it can shift into states of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Over time, these automatic survival responses can linger, even when the original threat is long gone.

Somatic Therapy helps restore balance through bottom-up processing — beginning with the body and sensations, rather than solely with thoughts.

This work gently supports the nervous system in finding safety and flexibility again.

Common somatic practices include:

Grounding and centering exercises to restore present-moment awareness
Breathwork to regulate energy and emotions
Body scanning to notice where sensations live and shift
Movement or gesture to complete old patterns of defense or tension
Mindful attention to how emotion shows up physically — and how release feels

These tools invite the body to complete cycles of stress response, leading to a deeper sense of calm and integration.

How I Use Somatic Therapy in Practice

In my practice, somatic awareness is woven throughout every session, whether we’re working through trauma, anxiety, grief, or relationship patterns.

You don’t have to “know what to do” — I’ll guide you through gentle exercises designed to increase awareness without overwhelm.

A typical session might include:

Checking in with your body before and after exploring an emotion or memory
Learning to name sensations (tightness, warmth, spaciousness) as signals from the body
Noticing patterns of holding or tension that emerge as you talk
Using breath or small movements to bring regulation and release
Integrating these experiences into your daily life for ongoing resilience

Sometimes Sophie, my therapy dog, also joins in this work. Her calm presence naturally supports clients in grounding and nervous system regulation — a living reminder of what safety and connection feel like.

Somatic Therapy and Trauma Recovery

Because trauma is stored in the body, many clients find that traditional talk therapy alone doesn’t fully resolve symptoms. Somatic Therapy offers a trauma-informed approach that prioritizes pacing, choice, and safety.

Through this work, you can learn to:

Recognize when your body is signaling overwhelm
Develop tools to regulate distress and restore equilibrium
Build tolerance for feeling emotions safely, without being flooded
Reclaim a sense of agency and embodied presence

Trauma-informed somatic work is not about re-experiencing pain — it’s about creating enough safety to move through it, little by little, and reclaim the energy once bound in survival.

Integrating Somatic Therapy with Other Approaches

Somatic Therapy is highly compatible with other modalities I offer:

Evidence-Based Therapy – Integrating CBT and mindfulness with somatic awareness helps align thoughts, emotions, and bodily responses.
Humanistic, Person-Centered Therapy – Somatic work enhances empathy and authenticity by connecting with lived experience in the body.
Animal-Assisted Therapy – The sensory, relational connection with Sophie deepens embodiment and present-moment awareness.
Trauma-Informed Therapy – Somatic practices create the safety needed to explore trauma gently and at your own pace.

This holistic integration supports healing on every level — cognitive, emotional, relational, and physical.

The Benefits of Somatic Therapy

Clients often notice:

Reduced anxiety, stress, and panic
Fewer physical symptoms of trauma or emotional tension
Greater ability to stay present in relationships
Increased body awareness and self-trust
A deeper sense of peace, vitality, and aliveness

Somatic therapy helps you move from feeling stuck in your story to feeling alive in your body. Healing becomes something you inhabit, not just something you think about.

Who Can Benefit from Somatic Therapy

Somatic Therapy may be especially helpful if you:

Feel disconnected from your body or emotions
Experience chronic stress, fatigue, or pain
Have a history of trauma or relational wounding
Struggle with anxiety, overwhelm, or numbness
Want to integrate mind-body awareness into your healing
Are drawn to experiential, holistic forms of therapy

This work is gentle and adaptive — suitable for clients at any stage of healing, and always tailored to your comfort and readiness.

The Role of Safety and Consent

Somatic Therapy depends on safety, respect, and collaboration. You will always have choice in what you explore and how deeply you go.

The goal is never to push into discomfort, but to expand your window of tolerance over time — to create more space for calm, curiosity, and self-connection.

Every exercise or inquiry is an invitation, not a demand. Healing unfolds best when the body feels it has permission to lead.

Living in Your Body Again

So many people come to therapy feeling disconnected — from themselves, from others, from life. Somatic Therapy helps you find your way back home to your body — to the place where presence, intuition, and vitality live.

Through this gentle process, you learn not only how to manage symptoms, but how to listen deeply to what your body has been trying to say all along.

This awareness can transform how you move through the world — with more calm, confidence, and compassion for yourself.

Next Step

If you’re seeking Somatic Therapy in Santa Barbara, I would be honored to support you on your journey.

Together, we can help you reconnect with your body, regulate your nervous system, and rediscover the natural wisdom that lives within you.

Healing doesn’t have to be only in your head — your body is ready to help.

JAMIE FORTINSeptember 29, 2025

Somatic Therapy

Reconnecting Mind, Body, and Spirit

The body remembers what the mind forgets.

Our bodies carry the imprints of our experiences — the tension, the patterns of breath, the instinctive reactions that once kept us safe. Over time, these embodied memories can become stored as chronic stress, anxiety, or a sense of disconnection.

What Is Somatic Therapy?

Somatic Therapy (from the Greek soma, meaning “body”) is an approach that recognizes the deep connection between mind and body.

Unlike traditional talk therapy alone, somatic therapy invites awareness of physical sensations, breath, posture, and movement as vital sources of information and healing.

By tracking the body’s cues in the present moment, clients can learn to:

Recognize and release stored tension or trauma responses

Cultivate safety and grounding in the nervous system

Develop emotional regulation and resilience

Reconnect with the body’s natural rhythms and vitality

Somatic therapy is supported by modern neuroscience, which shows that trauma and stress are stored not only in memory but also in the body. Healing requires the body’s participation — not just cognitive insight, but embodied experience.

The Science of Somatic Healing

When the nervous system becomes overwhelmed by stress or trauma, it can shift into states of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Over time, these automatic survival responses can linger, even when the original threat is long gone.

Somatic Therapy helps restore balance through bottom-up processing — beginning with the body and sensations, rather than solely with thoughts.

This work gently supports the nervous system in finding safety and flexibility again.

Common somatic practices include:

Grounding and centering exercises to restore present-moment awareness

Breathwork to regulate energy and emotions

Body scanning to notice where sensations live and shift

Movement or gesture to complete old patterns of defense or tension

Mindful attention to how emotion shows up physically — and how release feels

These tools invite the body to complete cycles of stress response, leading to a deeper sense of calm and integration.

How I Use Somatic Therapy in Practice

In my practice, somatic awareness is woven throughout every session, whether we’re working through trauma, anxiety, grief, or relationship patterns.

You don’t have to “know what to do” — I’ll guide you through gentle exercises designed to increase awareness without overwhelm.

A typical session might include:

Checking in with your body before and after exploring an emotion or memory

Learning to name sensations (tightness, warmth, spaciousness) as signals from the body

Noticing patterns of holding or tension that emerge as you talk

Using breath or small movements to bring regulation and release

Integrating these experiences into your daily life for ongoing resilience

Sometimes Sophie, my therapy dog, also joins in this work. Her calm presence naturally supports clients in grounding and nervous system regulation — a living reminder of what safety and connection feel like.

Somatic Therapy and Trauma Recovery

Because trauma is stored in the body, many clients find that traditional talk therapy alone doesn’t fully resolve symptoms. Somatic Therapy offers a trauma-informed approach that prioritizes pacing, choice, and safety.

Through this work, you can learn to:

Recognize when your body is signaling overwhelm

Develop tools to regulate distress and restore equilibrium

Build tolerance for feeling emotions safely, without being flooded

Reclaim a sense of agency and embodied presence

Trauma-informed somatic work is not about re-experiencing pain — it’s about creating enough safety to move through it, little by little, and reclaim the energy once bound in survival.

Integrating Somatic Therapy with Other Approaches

Somatic Therapy is highly compatible with other modalities I offer:

Evidence-Based Therapy – Integrating CBT and mindfulness with somatic awareness helps align thoughts, emotions, and bodily responses.

Humanistic, Person-Centered Therapy – Somatic work enhances empathy and authenticity by connecting with lived experience in the body.

Animal-Assisted Therapy – The sensory, relational connection with Sophie deepens embodiment and present-moment awareness.

Trauma-Informed Therapy – Somatic practices create the safety needed to explore trauma gently and at your own pace.

This holistic integration supports healing on every level — cognitive, emotional, relational, and physical.

The Benefits of Somatic Therapy

Clients often notice:

Reduced anxiety, stress, and panic

Fewer physical symptoms of trauma or emotional tension

Greater ability to stay present in relationships

Increased body awareness and self-trust

A deeper sense of peace, vitality, and aliveness

Somatic therapy helps you move from feeling stuck in your story to feeling alive in your body. Healing becomes something you inhabit, not just something you think about.

Who Can Benefit from Somatic Therapy

Somatic Therapy may be especially helpful if you:

Feel disconnected from your body or emotions

Experience chronic stress, fatigue, or pain

Have a history of trauma or relational wounding

Struggle with anxiety, overwhelm, or numbness

Want to integrate mind-body awareness into your healing

Are drawn to experiential, holistic forms of therapy

This work is gentle and adaptive — suitable for clients at any stage of healing, and always tailored to your comfort and readiness.

The Role of Safety and Consent

Somatic Therapy depends on safety, respect, and collaboration. You will always have choice in what you explore and how deeply you go.

The goal is never to push into discomfort, but to expand your window of tolerance over time — to create more space for calm, curiosity, and self-connection.

Every exercise or inquiry is an invitation, not a demand. Healing unfolds best when the body feels it has permission to lead.

Living in Your Body Again

So many people come to therapy feeling disconnected — from themselves, from others, from life. Somatic Therapy helps you find your way back home to your body — to the place where presence, intuition, and vitality live.

Through this gentle process, you learn not only how to manage symptoms, but how to listen deeply to what your body has been trying to say all along.

This awareness can transform how you move through the world — with more calm, confidence, and compassion for yourself.

Next Step

If you’re seeking Somatic Therapy in Santa Barbara, I would be honored to support you on your journey.

Together, we can help you reconnect with your body, regulate your nervous system, and rediscover the natural wisdom that lives within you.

Healing doesn’t have to be only in your head — your body is ready to help.