Gail Marina Giunta
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Somatic
(body-centered)
A Holistic, Body-centered approach
Somatic therapy is a psychotherapy that bridges the gap between the mind and the physical body. While traditional talk therapy focuses primarily on thoughts and insights, somatic therapy recognizes that stress, anxiety, and trauma are physically stored within our nervous systems.
When we experience overwhelming life events, our bodies often hold onto that tension, leaving us feeling chronically tense, hyper-alert, or emotionally numb. By tuning into physical sensations, we can gently release this trapped energy, rewire your body's stress responses, and bring your nervous system back into balance.
How is This Different from Talk Therapy?
Many clients come to therapy knowing exactly why they feel the way they do, yet their bodies still react with panic, fatigue, or a racing heart. This is because the emotional brain and the nervous system respond faster than our logical minds.
Somatic therapy works from the bottom-up. Instead of just talking about an emotion, we look at how that emotion physically manifests—such as a tight chest, shallow breathing, or a clenched jaw. By addressing the physical root of your distress, we can achieve deep, lasting emotional relief that talking alone sometimes cannot reach.
What to Expect in a Somatic Session
Somatic therapy is highly collaborative and always moves at a pace that feels completely safe for you. Sessions do not involve touch; instead, we utilize mindful physical awareness practices:
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Somatic Tracking: Noticing physical sensations (warmth, tightness, tingling) without judgment to help your brain learn that these sensations are safe to feel.
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Resourcing: Identifying physical sensations, memories, or movements that bring you a sense of safety, grounding, and calm to help anchor your nervous system.
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Grounding Exercises: Using your physical senses and connection to the floor or your chair to bring you back to the present moment when emotions feel overwhelming.
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Boundary Work: Exploring physical gestures or shifts in posture to help you recognize, establish, and protect your personal boundaries in daily life.
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Titration and Pendulation: Gently moving attention between a difficult physical sensation and a resource or safe space, allowing your body to release stress in small, manageable doses.
The Therapeutic Benefits
Integrating body-centered awareness into your healing journey can help you:
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Soothe Chronic Stress: Calm a hyperactive "fight-or-flight" response and lower baseline anxiety.
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Release Trapped Trauma: Discharge old, survival-based energy stored in the body from past painful events.
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Improve Emotional Regulation: Learn to ride the waves of intense feelings without becoming flooded or completely shutting down.
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Deepen Self-Connection: Reconnect with your body's innate wisdom, intuition, and signals of comfort or discomfort.
Who is this Modality For?
Somatic therapy is an excellent path for individuals seeking relief from:
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Chronic Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Stress
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Trauma, PTSD, and Complex Trauma (C-PTSD)
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Chronic Pain, Tension, or Somatic Ailments worsened by stress
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Disconnection, Dissociation, or feeling "out of touch" with your body
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Burnout and emotional exhaustion
