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Release blocked stress
Somatic therapy involves releasing the build-up of stress in the body and mind.
Somatic Therapy
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Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy recognizes the profound connection between mind and body, offering a holistic approach to wellness that integrates physical sensations with emotional and psychological health. Our experienced somatic therapists are dedicated to guiding you through a journey of self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. We help individuals release stored tensions, overcome trauma, and achieve a greater sense of balance and well-being. Whether you're navigating life's challenges or seeking to deepen your understanding of yourself, our therapeutic approach provides a supportive space for transformation and growth. Join us on a path to holistic health, where your body's movements and sensations lead the way to a more resilient and vibrant you.
Somatic Therapy Works to:
Somatic therapy is a foundational tool we use during Brainspotting, EMDR or as a stand-alone approach.
Somatic therapy helps heal
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trauma and PTSD
- OCD
- Performance Anxiety
- Addictions
- Chronic Pain
- ADD/ADHD
Somatic therapy sessions are generally 50minutes or 80 minutes in length. In our practice somatic therapy sessions are held online via zoom or facetime.
Why is somatic therapy important for healing trauma?
When we experience high stress and trauma, we feel disconnected and overwhelmed. Our nervous system takes over and if we are unable to fight or flee to escape the situation, we shut down to survive. Once here, our nervous system makes it difficult to get out and that energy gets stuck in the body. As our senses take priority in order to survive, we lose track of specific details making it challenging to recall what happened after the fact. The traumatic experiences get stored at a sensory, visceral, and often nonverbal level in our implicit (unconscious) memory. Our soma or body ends up storing a lot of trauma memory. This puts stress on the mind-body system, is exhausting and inevitably not sustainable.
A feature of healing and recovery from trauma is completing the cycle of stress that was left incomplete at the time of the trauma and stress. The nervous system is constantly seeking to feel safe and attempting to bring us into homeostasis. Unresolved stress and trauma do not allow us to feel balanced.Most of this happens at subconscious levels unless we consciously notice. When we tune into our body and notice what we are feeling, we have an opportunity to release this stuck pent up stress energy. Somatic therapy focuses on the soma or body and on accessing, experiencing and releasing stress and trauma residue.
Success Stories
Laura Reeves
Dr. Hilary is an amazing therapist and working with her has been transformative. She's empathetic, intuitive, a great listener and really smart. This combination, along with her skilled use of brainspotting, has helped me become clearer, move through challenging circumstances from my past and open up my future. I'd highly recommend her to anyone seeking a compassionate and supportive therapist.
Ali Gould
I have worked with Dr. Hilary for a few years and could not have had a better experience. Dr. Hilary is one of the most kind, compassionate, understanding, and insightful individuals I have had the pleasure of getting to know. She is incredibly knowledgeable about a plethora of therapeutic techniques and exercises. Over the years, I have grown immensely with the help of Dr. Hilary.
Linda Mantel
I began working with Dr. Kim Ward while I was in deep grief after my husband's passing. She walked me through the darkness with her kindness, compassion and professional skills and I've continued to work with her for several years. In addition to talk therapy, brainspotting has been amazingly helpful in unlocking emotions and beliefs I wasn't aware of. Working with Dr. Ward has been life-changing! She continues to be a wonderful gift in my life.
What to expect in Somatic Therapy Sessions
An important objective of moving and expressing your emotion is to meet your body with compassion. Do your best not to analyze or evaluate the sensations you’re noticing, but simply tune in, notice, and observe them.
The difference between somatic therapy and traditional talk therapy
Cognitive based approaches, such as talk therapy, activate the part of the brain associated with higher order thinking.This is not the part of the brain and body that stores trauma. Under trauma, the analytical part of the brain takes a backseat to the nervous system and emotional responses. Many traditional therapies work from a top-down model where thoughts are used to change feelings, behaviors and experiences.
This model relies on the upper part of the brain (neocortex) to manage and alter the inner and more primitive parts of the brain. As a result, the success of atop-down approach is based on a person’s ability to analyze, narrate and verbally process their thoughts and feelings. This is not the part of the brain that processes high stress and trauma. Somatic therapy follows the bottom-up model where the body and inner brain send information and experiences up through the emotional brain for release and into the thinking brain for processing.
What are emotions and how does somatic therapy help emotional release?
What you think of as emotion is actually the experience of energy moving through your body. This is generally felt as sensations of contraction or expansion. ResearcherBarbara Fredericks on furthered this understanding by describing the upward and downward spiral effect of emotion. An upward spiral correlates with expansion and feelings such as joy and happiness. A downward spiral correlates with contraction and feelings such as resentment and fear.
How Somatic Therapy Works
Emotions offer powerful guidance on your path to wellbeing and happiness. They are often more palpable than the thoughts you are thinking, which makes them a very helpful resource. As you become aware of the energy of emotion in your body, you feel sensations that range from contraction to expansion. This awareness serves as an indicator of your degree of balance or imbalance. It also lets you know what you’re focusing your attention on. This is your body’s way of alerting you that the state you are in is either supporting your wellbeing or potentially detracting from it. As you practice listening to and decoding your emotional indicators during somatic therapy, you strengthen this skill. Taken further, when you shift states of contraction to expansion, you release the stress response and increase your happiness potential for mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
Somatic Release Exercise
Turn your attention inside and connect with your body. Move your e-motional energy by focusing on the area of your body currently holding your emotions. Sink your awareness into this area. You may notice sensations such as warmth, pressure, tingling, heaviness, tension in one or more areas. Do your best to stay out of your head, thoughts or narrative of why you feel these sensations and just focus on your body sensations. Breathe consciously and deeply in and out of this area. On your exhale, consciously focus on softening, moving or releasing the sensation. Take five to ten deep breaths or until you feel a sense of relief. It may take some patience, but with practice, you will be available to experience greater body-mind connection.
Somatic Therapy FAQ’s
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is a body centered therapy that focuses on bringing awareness to body sensations. In the process of being conscious of body sensations individuals learn how to deal with uncomfortable and unresolved feelings, thoughts and issues while discovering a sense of safety and security in their own being.
How does somatic therapy work?
Somatic therapy is the process of being aware of body sensations, called a ‘felt sense’. Body sensations are a key component of where we store stress, trauma memories and feel stuck in unhealthy patterns. Through mindful awareness of a felt sense, the body engages its own healing resources to unravel stress and return to homeostasis.
Who would benefit from somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy benefits anyone who would like to connect with their body, feel safe inside of themselves, heal from trauma, release stress and emotional wounds, balance their nervous system, unblock limiting patterns and much more.
Can I do somatic therapy on myself?
Once you learn some of the foundational practices for grounding and connecting with your body’s felt sense, many components of somatic therapy can be done on your own. Deeper trauma and emotional healing work is best done with a trained somatic practitioner.
Do you have to have training to be a somatic therapist?
There are several pathways to becoming trained as a somatic practitioner including somatic experiencing and hakomi methods. However, there are less formal trainings that allow therapists, counselors and coaches to effectively practice somatic therapy.
About the Authors
Hilary Stokes Phd
HIlary Stokes, Ph.D., LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist in California with more than 25 years of clinical experience, specializing in trauma therapy, PTSD treatment, anxiety, depression, and nervous system healing. She holds Master's degrees in Clinical Social Work and Kinesiology and Sports Psychology and a Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology with a specialization in Tibetan Buddhist Psychology. Dr. Stokes is extensively trained and certified in brainspotting, EMDR, somatic therapy and other mind body approaches. Her integrative work bridges neuroscience, mindfulness, and holistic psychology to help clients process unresolved trauma, rewire stress patterns, and build emotional resilience.
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Dr. Stokes’ clinical approach is informed by advanced professional training and her own healing journey from complex trauma, which shaped her commitment to therapies that go beyond traditional talk therapy. She has worked in psychiatric hospitals, addiction and PTSD treatment centers, universities, integrative medical facilities, and private practice. As co-developer of the psychology and wellness programming at Sanoviv Medical Institute, she witnessed firsthand the power of integrating mind and body for lasting transformation. Today she helps individuals heal trauma, strengthen emotional regulation and reclaim purpose through brainspotting, EMDR, somatic therapy and mindfulness interventions.
Kim Ward Phd
Kim Ward, Ph.D. holds both a masters and a doctorate in Transpersonal Psychology with a specialization in Tibetan Buddhist Psychology. She brings more than 25 years of experience in trauma recovery, Brainspotting and mind-body transformation. She is extensively trained and certified in Brainspotting, somatic therapy, and trauma-informed approaches. Dr. Ward integrates neuroscience, nervous system regulation and consciousness-based psychology to help individuals process unresolved trauma, shift limiting beliefs, and access greater emotional resilience. Her work focuses on healing at the root, beyond symptom management, through brain-body therapies that create lasting change.
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As co-developer of the psychology and wellness programs at Sanoviv Medical Institute, Dr. Ward brings a uniquely holistic perspective to trauma therapy and personal growth. Her path from corporate leadership into psychology shaped her commitment to helping clients move beyond external success toward embodied fulfillment and emotional freedom. Dr. Ward's expertise combines Brainspotting, emotional intelligence, contemplative psychology and purpose-driven coaching. Drawing from both advanced academic training and lived experience navigating complex family mental health dynamics, she supports clients in transforming stress patterns, reclaiming vitality, and aligning with authentic purpose.
Contact us
Teletherapy sessions available nationwide via Zoom and FaceTime.
Phone/Fax: (619) 819-6841
Our office is located in Carlsbad, CA 92009. We also do nationwide online therapy sessions.