“Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.” – Audre Lorde

The heart Of The Work

I want to dive deeper into what makes somatic therapy different from traditional talk therapy. Many of my clients—especially those with a history of trauma—come to samtic work because they have tried things like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and express it just wasn’t enough and they are looking for something more. For some, it can feel minimizing to try to “rethink” their thoughts while working through painful experiences. These therapies absolutely have value, and I draw on them when helpful. However, even somatic therapy isn’t everything. I could have the best training in the world and it wouldn’t matter. What I find to be at the heart of therapy is real human-to-human connection.

When you hear this, it probably resonates with something inside you. If you can bring forward parts of yourself that are scared, angry, sad, or uncertain—and have space to share those parts with me—then those feelings begin to lose some of their charge. Over time, this makes it easier to access more of yourself in relationships beyond therapy. Beyond my professional training in somatic therapy for trauma healing, the greatest thing I offer is my willingness to go deep with you.

Going “deep” doesn’t always mean going straight into the center of pain but think more relational. Sometimes it sounds like:

“I’m noticing I feel pressure to say the right thing with you, and I hear how hard you are on yourself, and I wonder if you are with others too. Let’s pause and notice how this shows up between us—it seems to keep closeness away, and I wonder if we can explore this.”

Other times, it looks like:

“I know you know I’m serious when I say what happened to you is not okay. I believe you. I feel you’re ready to face the anxiety around this, and we can go there together. You’re not alone—and I’ll stay with you as you notice what shows up in your body. I am not going anywhere.”

Or:

“You’ve told me you want to follow through on something important, but haven’t yet. What is that about? I’m not here to punish you—but I do want to show you what care feels like by holding you accountable to your own needs. Even when parts of you don’t believe in yourself, I do. Because you matter.”

These moments look different depending on the person and the situation. I share them so you can imagine how relational therapy creates space for deeper healing within safe, caring connection.

Human connection comes first. From there, I bring years of study and training. I earned my Master’s in Somatic Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

In Nova Scotia, many people first encounter somatic therapy through Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing (SE), as local training programs often focus on this approach. But SE is just one of many somatic modalities. Others include Hakomi (my personal favorite), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Relational Somatic Healing (one of my favorite teachers), Body-Mind Centering (another favourite), Authentic Movement, Somatica, and focusing-oriented or polyvagal-informed approaches. Each offers a slightly different way to work with the body, release tension, and reconnect with your own wisdom.

What I find fascinating—and a little ironic—is that somatic therapy is finally gaining recognition because of evidence-based research like Polyvagal theory and trauma studies. It’s as if we needed scientific proof before people would say, “Oh, yes—listening to your body actually matters.” At its core though, this work simply reconnects us with what’s always been natural: connection, safety, and aliveness. Indigenous cultures have held this wisdom all along, long before colonization disconnected many of us from our own bodies.

How I work

Somatic therapy is a body-based approach that focuses on how trauma lives in your body—not just in your thoughts or emotions. Unlike traditional talk therapy, it helps you notice sensations, tensions, and patterns in your body that carry your story. I work virtually as a somatic therapist in Nova scotia and accross Canada.

Here’s what somatic therapy can do for you:

• Release stuck energy that your body has been holding onto.
• Regulate your nervous system and create a sense of calm. We want your default mode to be rest not survival. Think of when your computer is over heating and the fan comes on to cool it down, it works harder to cool it down. Then it can rest. When stuck in survival mode your fan is always on. We want your system to work when its needed but all the time.
• Reconnect with parts of yourself that may feel inaccessible.
• *Accept dysregulation* and build alignment with your nervous system. this is not common practice among somatic therapist, but it is central to my work.

* Even somatic therapy isn’t neutral—it’s been shaped by white cultural norms, just like other approaches. For some clients especially those affected by systemic oppression like my BIPOC clients, this can show up as pressure to “regulate” emotions that are completely valid—like anger—which can feel silencing or retraumatizing. Therapy works best when it honors what you feel, gives you agency over your body and emotions, and doesn’t ask you to conform to harmful expectations. Somatic work is about supporting authentic expression, not suppressing justified feelings or fitting anyone into a mold.

I’m always fascinated by what happens when I ask clients a simple question: “As you tell that story, can we pause and notice what’s happening inside? Any sensations, feelings, or emotions behind the words?” Often, this uncovers a deeper truth—the place where healing is most needed. From there, we create safety so the body can express what’s been held, whether it’s tightness in the chest or a knot in the stomach. These places hold memory and wisdom, trying to express exactly what is needed to move through it.

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