Somatic Therapy in Toronto

Healing that begins in the body: when words are not enough.

You may understand your story and have done deep inner work, through talk therapy, reflection, or spiritual practice. But somehow, the past still prevents you from fully enjoying your life and relationships. Old patterns, pain, or grief may continue to hold you back, even if you can’t explain why. These unresolved experiences often live in the body.

Somatic therapy helps you reconnect with your body as a wise, protective guide. It can uncover the root cause of what’s stuck and gently support its release. Together, we create a space of safety and attunement so you can begin to let go of stored trauma, emotions, and core negative beliefs. My approach is simple, gentle, and neuroscience-based. I’m here to support you as you reclaim your wholeness, layer by layer.

What Is Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapy is a body-based approach to healing that supports nervous system regulation, trauma resolution, and emotional integration. Unlike traditional talk therapy, somatic therapy invites the body to lead; because trauma is not just stored in memory, but in muscle tone, breath patterns, posture, and internal sensations. Often times, the brain represses painful memories as a form of protective mechanism. Even if we wanted to discuss painful events, some clients might have trouble recalling them, and others become retraumatized from retelling the painful details. When we approach trauma processing gently through the body, clients are not retriggered because they are not even asked to talk about the painful events. The whole experience is gentle, and the nervous system is not triggered during trauma or emotional processing.

In my Toronto-based practice, I offer somatic therapy for individuals, couples, and families navigating trauma, chronic stress, neurodivergence, and relational wounds. Sessions are gentle, attuned, and paced to your nervous system’s capacity.

Why Somatic Therapy Works

Modern neuroscience confirms that up to 80% of the communication between the body and brain flows from the body up. This means that healing must include the body—not just the mind. Somatic therapy helps you:

Regulate your nervous system
Release stored trauma without reliving it
Rebuild a felt sense of safety and self-trust
Reconnect with your body’s wisdom

Somatic Techniques Tailored to your Needs

For Clients with Chronic Stress or Hyperarousal

When the nervous system has been living in a prolonged state of fight, flight, or freeze, the body begins to normalize tension, vigilance, and exhaustion. This chronic stress response can show up as tight muscles, shallow breathing, digestive issues, sleep disruption, or emotional overwhelm—even in moments that seem objectively safe.

In somatic therapy, we don’t force the body to relax. Instead, we gently guide it toward nervous system regulation by helping it recognize cues of safety and shift out of survival mode. This process is paced, attuned, and rooted in trauma-informed care.

Somatic techniques include:

Vagal toning: Using breathwork, humming, gentle vocalization, and orienting exercises to activate the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) system and support vagus nerve regulation
Grounding through movement: Inviting rhythmic motions like rocking, swaying, or pressing feet into the floor to restore a sense of physical presence and stability
Mapping activation: Tracking where stress lives in the body; tight jaw, clenched fists, racing heart—and noticing how those sensations shift with support, breath, or movement
Co-regulation: Using the therapeutic relationship as a safe, attuned presence that helps the client’s nervous system entrain to calm and connection
Interoceptive awareness: Building the client’s ability to notice internal cues;like breath, heartbeat, warmth, or tension and use them as guides for regulation and self-trust.

These techniques help the body learn that it doesn’t have to stay braced or on guard. Over time, the nervous system begins to trust that it can soften, rest, and respond rather than react.

Ready to begin?
Reach out to begin your journey or book a free consultation to explore how somatic therapy in Toronto can support your healing.

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For Clients That Have Experienced Trauma

In my Toronto-based somatic therapy practice, trauma is approached with care, precision, and respect for the nervous system’s pace. We never force retelling or reliving. Instead, we use body-based and neuroscience-informed techniques to support resolution and regulation.

Somatic techniques include:

Titration: Approaching trauma in small, manageable doses to avoid overwhelm
Pendulation: Moving between sensations of distress and safety to build resilience
Somatic resourcing: Identifying internal or external anchors that evoke calm and support regulation
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): A structured, evidence-based approach that uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories
Flash Technique: A gentle, nonverbal method that allows the nervous system to release trauma without needing to speak about it or relive it

These modalities support trauma healing by working directly with the body and brain—helping you shift from survival mode into safety, clarity, and self-trust.

For Clients with Attachement & Childhood based Core Wounds

What are core wounds?

Core wounds are deeply embedded emotional beliefs formed in early life, often before language, when our nervous system is still learning what it means to be safe, loved, and worthy. These wounds are not flaws; they are adaptations. In trauma therapy and somatic therapy, we recognize core wounds as subconscious imprints like:

“I don’t deserve happiness.”
“I am worthless.”
“I’m too much.”
“I’m not enough.”
“I don’t belong.”
“I’m unsafe.”

These beliefs often arise when a child’s emotional needs are unmet; through neglect, criticism, abandonment, or relational rupture. Over time, they become embedded in the nervous system, showing up as chronic tension, dissociation, people-pleasing, or self-sabotage.

In my Toronto-based practice, I use somatic therapy, nervous system regulation, and trauma-informed modalities like EMDR and the Flash Technique to help clients gently access and heal these wounds. We don’t force insight or revisit trauma; we invite the body to remember safety, worthiness, and connection. Healing core wounds is not about fixing what’s broken; it’s about reclaiming what was always true.

Somatic techniques for clients with Attachement and Childhood Wounds

Inner child work: Reconnecting with younger parts through gesture, posture, breath, and compassionate presence
Co-regulation: Using the therapeutic relationship to model safe, attuned connection—helping the nervous system entrain to warmth and trust
Boundary repair: Practicing embodied “no” and “yes” responses to rebuild agency and self-protection
Love Maps (Gottman Method): Exploring the client’s internal landscape of needs, preferences, and emotional triggers—then gently integrating somatic awareness to deepen self-understanding and relational clarity
Attachment mapping: Tracking how early relational imprints show up in the body—tight chest, collapsed posture, bracing—and using movement, breath, and imagery to shift those patterns

These techniques help clients move from survival-based relating into authentic connection. In my Toronto-based practice, I offer trauma-informed counselling and somatic therapy that honors each client’s unique attachment story while supporting nervous system healing and relational transformation.

🔹 For Clients Healing from Sexual Abuse

Client-led somatic boundaries
Body boundary visualization: Reclaiming space through movement and imagery
Nonverbal processing: Releasing trauma through breath, sound, or movement, without needing to speak

🔹 For Clients Who Dissociate

Orienting to the present: Using sight, sound, and touch to re-anchor in the here and now
Containment practices: Creating internal “containers” for overwhelming sensations
Micro-movements: Rebuilding connection to the body through small, safe gestures

🔹 For Clients with Low Self-Esteem

Postural exploration: Noticing how shame or collapse shows up in the body
Self-compassion touch: Placing a hand on the heart or cheek to evoke warmth
Embodied affirmations: Practicing phrases while standing, walking, or breathing

🔹 For Clients Who Are Grieving
Grief tremoring: Allowing the body to shake or weep without judgment
Heart-centered breathwork: Supporting emotional release and integration
Ritual movement: Honoring loss through symbolic gestures or nature-based practices

Why Your Body Might Not Feel Safe

Nervous System Dysregulation

When the nervous system is stuck in fight, flight, or freeze, the body may feel unsafe even in calm environments. Breath, heart rate, and muscle tone may reflect past threat rather than present safety. Regulation begins with co-regulation, rhythm, and compassionate pacing.

Grief

Grief can overwhelm the body’s capacity to feel safe. It may bring waves of collapse, numbness, or disorientation. The body may fear being overtaken or abandoned by emotion. Somatic safety allows grief to move gently, without flooding or suppression.

Relational Trauma

Relational trauma, such as lack of parenting attunement, narcissism or boundary violations, can make closeness feel dangerous. Even neutral touch or attention may trigger bracing or shutdown. Healing requires slow, consent-based somatic work and spiritual anchoring.

Shame

Shame disrupts psychological and relational safety. It carries the message: “I am not safe to be seen.” This can lead to collapse, withdrawal, or dissociation. Healing begins with attuned witnessing and affirming worth beyond change.