Your body knows...
this therapy listens
Somatic EMDR Therapy
When talking isn’t enough, this therapy helps your body release what it’s been holding. Rooted in nervous system care and trauma healing. Kink‑affirming, poly‑affirming, queer‑affirming and neurodivergent-affirming. Available via telehealth in Washington, Idaho, and Florida.
Somatic therapy works gently with the body’s stored responses to stress and threat. Things like tension, breath patterns, or posture.
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a research-backed method that helps the brain reprocess trauma in a way that reduces its emotional intensity.​
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Together, Somatic EMDR creates a holistic path that supports both emotional insight and physical release, especially when talking alone isn’t enough.
Trauma lives in the body as much as in memory, and healing does too.
EMDR for the mind, and somatic therapy for the body.
This integration uses gentle bilateral stimulation (like eye movements, tapping, or sound) alongside body-based practices such as breathwork, micro-movements, and nervous system awareness.
Together, they create space for trauma to shift on both emotional and physical levels, offering relief where talk therapy alone may not.
With Somatic EMDR Therapy, you may find it easier to...
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Release traumatic memories from patterns of tension and shutdown
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Feel less overwhelmed by big emotions
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Regulate your nervous system with more ease
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Experience relief from symptoms like panic, pain, hypervigilance, or dissociation
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This approach is especially supportive for complex trauma, developmental trauma, medical trauma, and for anyone who’s felt ‘stuck’ in talk therapy alone.
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This approach can be especially supportive when other therapies or medications have not provided enough relief, when insight alone has not created the shifts you are seeking, and for those drawn to a path of healing that engages the nervous system, body, and lived experience more directly.
What Makes Somatic EMDR Therapy Unique
Many people turn to this integrated approach after trying other treatments that haven’t brought enough relief or lasting change. What makes this program unique is how it combines two powerful modalities working together—EMDR’s trauma reprocessing and somatic therapy’s body-centered healing—to address trauma at every level: neurological, emotional, and physical.
Works in a New Way
Unlike traditional talk therapy alone, this integrated approach uses EMDR to help the brain reprocess stored memories while somatic practices support your nervous system and body. Together, they open space for healing where other approaches may have plateaued.
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Fast Relief + Lasting Change
While some therapies can take months or years to show a difference, Somatic EMDR often begins easing symptoms within a shorter period of time. The structured process, combined with ongoing support for your body and nervous system, helps those shifts become more lasting nervous system rewiring.​
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Specifically Designed for Trauma
Somatic EMDR is tailored for people living with complex, developmental, or medical trauma, as well as those who feel “stuck” after other approaches. By pairing EMDR’s trauma reprocessing with somatic awareness, this work helps metabolize trauma at the nervous system level, offering real relief where other treatments fell short.​
Supporting the parts of you that feel tangled, protective, or unseen
I value the layered, nonlinear nature of healing and the uniqueness of every nervous system. Somatic EMDR offers a body centered approach for those navigating lives, identities, and relationships that fall outside dominant norms. Together, we focus on restoring flexibility and easing patterns of tension or overwhelm so your system can feel more settled, coherent, and supported.
What Happens in Session? Your Somatic EMDR Map
Processing sessions are usually 75–90 minutes, giving plenty of time to activate, process, and return to calm. Shorter 50-minute sessions are also available for preparation, integration, and check-ins.
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Our program follows a gentle eight-phase flow, designed to support both safety and depth of healing:
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History & Safety – We start by exploring your story, including medical, relational, and body-based history, at a pace that feels right for you.
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Preparation – Together we practice grounding, boundaries, and simple nervous system tools to build a foundation of safety.
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Assessment – We identify what to focus on and notice the body’s signals that will guide the work.
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Desensitization – Using bilateral stimulation (like tapping or sound) alongside body awareness, we begin gently releasing the charge of trauma.
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Installation – We strengthen new, adaptive beliefs while anchoring positive sensations in the body.
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Body Scan – We check for and release any leftover tension through breath, movement, or mindful awareness.
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Closure – Each session ends with a return to calm, integration, and grounding so you leave feeling settled.
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Re-evaluation – At the start of each new session, we reflect on what’s shifted and what feels ready to come next.
Ways We Work Together
I provide superbills (receipts) for clients with out-of-network insurance coverage, and many people receive significant reimbursement this way. You don’t have to navigate it alone; my staff will walk you through each step and offer support along the way. I also keep a limited number of sliding scale spots for those who can’t pay the full session rate. If working together feels right but cost is a barrier, please reach out to info@courageousyou.us to ask about current availability. We’ll do our best to make care accessible.