EMDR and Somatic Therapy

For when insight alone hasn't been enough.

Most of the people I work with are good at understanding things. They can name the pattern, trace where it came from, explain why they do what they do. And still, they can’t break free of what holds them back or gets in their way.

That’s because insight on its own is not enough for lasting transformation. The patterns that keep us stuck live as much in the nervous system as they do in the mind.

Alongside the psychodynamic therapy and parts work that runs through all of my therapy sessions, EMDR and somatic therapy are two of the ways I help you process old patterns at the deep, physical level where they actually live.

EMDR

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a structured therapy that helps the brain reprocess difficult memories so they lose their charge. You recall a hard experience in short bursts while following a bilateral movement or tapping.

Hard experiences, especially the repeated ones from childhood, can overwhelm the nervous system. Long after the original stressor is gone, those survival states can fire again when something faintly resembles them. They also leave behind beliefs about ourselves that we spend years finding evidence for:

  • "I have to be perfect and please everyone."

  • "I can't show my emotions."

  • "I can't work hard and take care of myself at the same time."

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EMDR helps shift those beliefs by showing you where they came from and how they have played out again and again. As we work, the safety of our relationship keeps you anchored in the present, so you process the memory with self-compassion rather than being pulled back under.

Over time, clients who do this work tend to notice they:

  • Stay calmer in situations that used to distress them.

  • Think about themselves and their possibilities in new ways.

  • Stop putting off the things that move their life forward.

  • Feel more ease in their bodies and more clarity under pressure.

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Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapy is a body-based approach that treats the body, not just the mind, as a place where difficult experiences are held and can be worked through. "Somatic" simply means "of the body." Rather than only talking about what happened, we pay attention to what you notice physically, the tension, the bracing, the shutting down, and work with it directly.

This matters because hard experiences don't only live in our thoughts. They register in the nervous system and show up in the body, often long after the event itself. Somatic therapy helps move that stuck energy so it stops running the show.

In this work you'll come to recognize the survival states your nervous system moves into, and learn small resourcing exercises to return to your window of tolerance, the state where you feel most regulated and most yourself.

It helps most when you feel stuck and can't seem to move toward something you want. That stuckness is often there because the change asks something of you that once felt unsafe, or that's simply unfamiliar and therefore frightening. Together we'll move through small steps that show your nervous system, rather than tell it, that it's safe to move in this direction.

Somatic therapy is a good fit when you:

  • Feel anxious or activated in your body without always knowing why.

  • Know what you want but feel physically blocked from moving toward it.

  • Want to process hard experiences at a gentler pace than EMDR.

  • Tend to live in your head and lose touch with what your body is telling you.

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Schedule a complimentary consultation

Frequently asked questions
& policies

  • I offer complimentary 20-minute consultations by phone to give you an opportunity to get a better sense of me and how I work. You can book yours here.

  • I offer in-person sessions in Larchmont Village in Los Angeles. I also offer remote therapy via video for clients throughout California.

  • My counseling fee for adults, children over 12, and couples is $250 per 50-minute session. Payment is made at the time of service.

    If you are concerned about your ability to afford therapy, I may have room in my practice for clients who need a reduced fee, which I evaluate on a case-by-case basis.

  • I am not in-network with any insurance providers. Your insurer may provide coverage for out-of-network providers, but you need to inquire directly with them about their policies. I can provide you with a list of questions to ask your carrier.

  • On the rare occasion that you need to miss your regularly scheduled session, please provide at least 24 hours advance notice to cancel or reschedule a session. You will be responsible for payment of all sessions not canceled at least 24 hours in advance.

  • I earned my MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles, and interned at Southern California Counseling Center where I gained experience working with a diverse group of clients facing challenges, including depression, anxiety, grief, PTSD, childhood trauma, life transitions, and relationship issues. I also trained at Community West Treatment Center, a partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient program for teens and young adults.

    I have additional training in EMDR and in the Community and Trauma Resource Models (CRM & TRM) for trauma processing. I studied Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS) and am a member of the affiliate society.

    I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (# 155399) and a Registered Associate Professional Clinical Counselor in California (#13658).

Let’s talk about working together.

Schedule a complimentary consult