BODY BASED therapy | IFS + EMDR | Murrieta & Virtually Across CA
SOMATIC THERAPY: Healing What Words Can’t Reach
Somatic therapy for complex trauma, chronic pain, dissociation, and nervous system healing
I Do This Work Because:
Your Body Remembers What Your Mind Tries To Forget
You might be here because:
You "know" the trauma wasn't your fault, but your body still reacts like it's happening
Anxiety lives in your chest, your throat, your stomach — no amount of thinking changes it
You dissociate, shut down, or leave your body when things get hard
You have chronic pain, tension, or health issues your doctors can't fully explain
You're exhausted from living in your head and disconnected from everything below your neck
Traditional talk therapy helps you understand, but nothing shifts
Your body isn't trying to hold you back. It's just storing what you haven't been able to process yet.
So What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy works with the body — not just the mind.
Trauma, stress, and overwhelming emotions don't just live in your thoughts. They live in your nervous system, your muscles, your breathing, the places you hold tension or go numb.
We can't think our way out of what's stored in the body. We have to work with it directly — through sensation, movement, breath, and awareness.
This isn't about forcing you to "feel your feelings" or pushing past what's safe. It's about helping your body learn that the threat is over, so it can finally let go.
Somatic work is for you if:
You're highly intellectual or analytical and spend most of your time in your head
You dissociate, numb out, or disconnect from your body under stress
You have chronic pain, tension, or autoimmune issues tied to unprocessed trauma
Anxiety or panic lives in your body more than your thoughts
You've done talk therapy but still feel stuck or disconnected
You're neurodivergent and have complicated relationships with body awareness or interoception
Traditional EMDR feels too intense or activating without grounding support
What to expect
Early Sessions
1
We build your capacity to notice what's happening in your body without getting overwhelmed. Where do you feel tension? Where do you go numb? What sensations show up when certain emotions arise? We don't force anything. Somatic work moves at the pace your body can handle.
Deepening
2
We work with the parts holding things in your body. The tightness in your chest might be an anxious protector. The shutdown might be a part trying to prevent overwhelm. We help those parts feel safe enough to release what they're carrying.
Over Time
3
Your body starts to feel like a safer place to be. You catch activation earlier. You can stay present in difficult moments instead of leaving. The chronic tension, pain, or disconnection starts to shift.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. Somatic work can involve movement, but it doesn't have to.
Most of what we do is simply noticing — what you feel, where you feel it, how it changes. Sometimes I'll invite you to try something (a deep breath, shifting your posture, placing a hand somewhere) — but only if it feels right.
You're never performing. You're exploring.
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That's normal — especially if you've spent years dissociating or in survival mode.
We start where you are. If you can't feel much, we work with what's available — even if it's just "I notice I feel nothing" or "My hands are cold." Over time, sensation comes back. But we don't force it.
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Then we work with the parts that are making it feel unsafe.
Somatic work isn't about pushing you to "get back in your body" when it doesn't feel like a safe place to be. It's about helping your system understand that the danger has passed — so your body can become habitable again.
We move slowly. We respect your protectors. And we only go as far as feels okay.
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Yes. Most somatic work translates well to video sessions.
I can guide you through body awareness, grounding, and noticing sensations from a screen. Obviously I can't offer hands-on work virtually, but the core of what we do — tracking sensations, working with nervous system states, helping parts release what they're holding — all works online.
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I'm trained in somatic approaches and integrate them with IFS and EMDR. I don't follow a rigid SE or sensorimotor protocol.
If you're looking for certification-level adherence to a specific somatic modality, I'm probably not the right fit. If you're looking for body-aware, trauma-informed therapy that integrates somatic work when it's useful — that's what I do.
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The timeline depends on whether you're processing single-incident trauma, complex relational wounds, chronic disconnection from your body, or something else.
Your nervous system can't be rushed. Building body awareness, safety, and capacity to stay present takes time — especially if you've spent years dissociating or living in survival mode.
Some people notice shifts quickly — breathing easier, less chronic tension, catching activation sooner. Deeper patterns (chronic pain, long-term disconnection, trauma held in the body) take longer to unwind.
I work best with people who can commit to at least 3-6 months. That's usually the minimum to build trust with your system, work through protectors, and help your body feel safe enough to let go of what it's holding.
We'll check in regularly about whether the work is moving, whether it still feels right, and whether we need to adjust. If you're stuck and I can't help, I'll tell you.
The goal is helping your body become a safer place to be — and that doesn't happen on a fixed timeline.
A Note From Tana
I didn't start out as a "somatic therapist." I came to body-based work because I kept hitting the same wall with clients: they understood everything about their trauma, could name every pattern, had done years of insight-oriented therapy — and still felt stuck.
Their bodies were holding what their minds couldn't process.
I used to live in my head a lot. For years, I didn't realize how disconnected I was from my body — until I started doing my own somatic work and realized how much I'd been missing.
Your body isn’t just the vehicle that carries your brain around. It's part of your system. It holds memory, stores trauma, and communicates what your parts can't always put into words.
I integrate somatic work because I can't do deep trauma therapy without it. When clients learn to track what's happening in their bodies, they catch activation earlier, stay present longer, and access material that talk therapy alone couldn't reach.
This isn't about making you "more embodied" as a lifestyle goal. It's about helping your body become a place you can actually live in — instead of a place you have to escape.
If you want to know more about how I work and who I am, [learn more about me here →]
Ready to get started?