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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Somatic EMDR therapy?
Somatic EMDR is an approach that combines traditional EMDR with body-based, nervous system-focused work.
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EMDR helps reprocess distressing memories so they no longer carry the same emotional charge. Somatic work brings attention to how those experiences are held in the body, including tension, activation, numbness, or shutdown. Together, this allows us to work with trauma as both a psychological and physiological experience, not just something you think about.
How is Somatic EMDR different from traditional talk therapy?
Talk therapy primarily works through insight and understanding. Somatic EMDR works through experience.
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Instead of only talking about what happened, we also track what is happening in your body in real time. This might include noticing breath, muscle tension, impulses, or shifts in activation. Trauma is not only stored as memory, but also in the nervous system, which is why insight alone does not always create change.
How is Somatic EMDR different from traditional EMDR?
Traditional EMDR focuses on reprocessing memories using bilateral stimulation like eye movements or tapping.
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Somatic EMDR expands this by actively including the body in the process. We track sensations, nervous system responses, and incomplete survival responses, allowing the work to move through both mind and body. This can lead to more integrated and lasting shifts, especially for complex or developmental trauma.
What kinds of issues can Somatic EMDR help with?
Somatic EMDR is often used for trauma, but it can also support a wide range of experiences.
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This includes PTSD, anxiety, chronic stress, attachment wounds, and patterns that show up in relationships. It can also be helpful when you feel stuck in cycles of shutdown, overactivation, or disconnection, even if you don’t have a single identifiable traumatic event.
What does a session actually look like?
Sessions are collaborative, paced, and responsive to your nervous system.
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We might begin by orienting to the present moment and building a sense of safety. From there, we gently approach material at a pace your system can tolerate, using bilateral stimulation while also tracking what happens in your body. You are not expected to relive anything all at once, and we adjust continuously based on your capacity and consent.
Do I have to talk in detail about my trauma for this to work?
No. You do not have to share every detail for this work to be effective.
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Somatic EMDR allows us to process experiences without needing to fully verbalize them. We can work with sensations, emotions, and fragments of memory, which can feel safer and more accessible for many people.
What if I feel nervous about starting trauma-focused therapy?
That makes sense. Your nervous system is doing its job by being cautious.
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We move at a pace that supports regulation, not overwhelm. Preparation focuses on building safety, resourcing, and choice so you feel supported before going deeper. You are always in control of how far we go, and we adjust based on what your system is ready for.
What kinds of changes do people notice over time?
Most people notice shifts in how they feel and respond, not just what they understand.
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This can include feeling more grounded, less reactive, and more able to stay present during difficult emotions. Many people also notice changes in their relationships, including clearer communication, stronger boundaries, and more flexibility in how they respond to conflict or connection.