What is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy?

I am trained in Level 1 of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, which is a somatic, or body focused approach to the treatment of trauma and attachment injuries.

Our bodies hold memories that our minds cannot always understand. Is not always helpful to retell a story in the same way we always have. In Sensorimotor Psychotherapy we aim to bring together different parts of experience including cognition, bodily sensations, emotions, and sensory processing. When we bring mindfulness to all aspects of experience in the present, we can increase our capacity to be with layers of pain that have previously felt like too much to handle. We can begin to understand how our past is held by patterns in our body including sensation and posture.

Why is a somatic approach important?

For many people, traditional cognitive-only based therapies have not been enough. It might not be totally clear why yet, but when we are disconnected from our body and stuck in patterns fueled by patterns from the past, we can find it difficult to manage overwhelming emotions, feel taken over by thoughts or behavior that we know we want to change, and find it difficult to improve our relationships. I integrate both bottom-up (body) and top-down (mind) approaches to support people to decrease overwhelm, increase self-awareness, and improve relationships, both with self and others.