Trauma & Somatic Therapy
In-person in Vancouver, or online.
Some things don’t live in the story you tell about them — they live in the body. A tight chest that shows up around certain people. A jaw that clenches without you noticing. A flinch you can’t quite explain.
Somatic, trauma-informed therapy works with what the body is holding, not just what the mind can put into words. This isn’t about reliving what happened in detail — it’s about helping your nervous system finally feel safe again.
A first language, not a translated one
For clients navigating trauma tied to migration, displacement, or experiences from before life in Canada, sessions are available in Portuguese and Spanish — because some of what the body is holding was never named in English to begin with.
What this work can help with
- Trauma from a specific event — an accident, an assault, a loss
- Complex or relational trauma from a longer period of harm
- Chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, or feeling “on edge” without a clear cause
- Dissociation, numbness, or feeling disconnected from your own body
- Nervous system dysregulation — difficulty calming down, or difficulty feeling anything at all
How this is different from talk therapy alone
Traditional talk therapy is often part of this work, but body-based approaches — tracking sensation, breath, movement, and nervous system responses — address what insight alone sometimes can’t reach. The goal isn’t to relive the story on repeat, but to help your body complete what it never got to finish, so it can finally let go of carrying it.
Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ
Do I need to talk about the details of what happened?
No — this work doesn’t require recounting trauma in detail to be effective. Much of it focuses on what’s happening in your body right now, not a play-by-play of the past.
Is this the same as EMDR?
Somatic therapy and EMDR overlap in some ways but aren’t identical — both are trauma-informed, body-and-nervous-system-aware approaches, and which fits best depends on you specifically. We can talk through what makes sense in a consult.
How is this different from Individual Therapy?
Individual Therapy covers a broad range of concerns; this page is specifically for trauma and nervous system work using body-based approaches — many clients start here already knowing that’s what they need.
Is this available online, or only in person?
Both —in-person in Vancouver, or online.
Ready to talk?
A free 20-minute discovery call is a low-pressure way to see if this is the right fit.