Trauma Therapist Bay Area
Providing Somatic Psychotherapy and Trauma Focused Therapy in San Rafael, CA and Online in CA
You’re Overwhelmed and in Need of Trauma Focused Therapy
You get overwhelmed easily, sometimes even with the simplest of tasks. You often feel anxious and on edge. You have repetitive, intrusive thoughts that tell you to “watch out”, something could go wrong, or you won’t be able to handle it.
You may often feel bad about yourself like you are to blame for the way things are. You feel you can’t do anything right. Sometimes you have no energy and feel shut down. You may feel dead inside and to heal the emptiness you may drink or eat or scroll on your phone for hours.
You may never quite feel like yourself like something is missing. You may feel disconnected from yourself and like time passed without you even being aware of it.
You may have experienced a recent car accident, medical procedure, or felt betrayed in a relationship. You feel anxious and reactive or numb, worthless, and ashamed. You need support to be a better you.
You don’t feel like yourself
Lately you find yourself feeling irritable with family and friends. You quickly get angry and reactive if you feel someone is criticizing you or not responding to you in some way. You are short-tempered with your kids, yell at them, and then feel badly.
You have always struggled with relationships: to feel safe, to feel heard, to feel cared for. You may grown up in a family system where there was drinking, anger, violence, and a lack of safety. You may have learned to hide or please others to stay safe.
Trauma Healing through Somatic Psychotherapy-Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in the Bay Area
I am Michelle, a licensed therapist providing somatic therapy in-person in San Rafael, CA and online somatic therapy for California residents. I utilize a particular somatic therapy called Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, which is a mindful, body-focused therapy for those who have experienced an acute trauma, like a car accident or medical procedure, or a struggling with the effects of childhood trauma.
Trauma is held in the emotional center of the brain that signals an alarm, and experienced as body sensations or numbness. Thus trauma needs to be treated by quieting the emotional alarm centers of the brain and through noticing what is happening in the body.
First, we develop somatic and other tools and resources to manage symptoms and provide stabilization and emotional regulation. Then we process trauma through the body felt sense without re-traumatization by repeating the whole story. Lastly, we work on healing relationships from the past and in the present, and examining core beliefs about yourself and the world that were generated through these relationships. The goal is to feel like a whole, integrated person and bring forth all your strengths into the world.
Compassionate and Safe Support
You feel less anxious, less negative, and less overwhelmed by daily life. You won’t have to feel that you need to be so hypervigilant in every situation or need to be in control. Intrusive thoughts or nightmares will decrease or be eliminated. As you feel safer, your body and mind can relax more and you feel less tense.
You will be able to notice when a survival or adaptive strategy has hijacked you, and you’ re reacting to family, friends, a boss, or co-workers or just shutting down. Thus you will learn to feel safer in relationships, closer to others, and be able to get your needs met or set boundaries.
You will be able to be more present with yourself and in your body. You will be able to take in your strengths and share them more in the world. You will regain a sense of worthiness, confidence, and hope as you integrate parts of yourself that have been hidden.
Start Your Healing Journey Today
I provide trauma focused therapy utilizing Somatic Psychotherapy-Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. I can help you to feel more able to manage your emotions and have the type of relationships and meaningful life that you deserve. Schedule your FREE 15 minute phone consultation here. I look forward to supporting you on your healing journey.
My other specialties include coping with grief and loss, supporting cancer survivors and coping with chronic illness, and women’s health and wellness
FAQs for Somatic Therapy
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There are a number of different therapies to treat trauma. I can’t speak to the specific details of the treatments as I am not trained in them. There is Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Cognitive Processing Therapy. They all work differently to address both acute and complex trauma
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Somatic psychotherapy brings mindful awareness to body sensations and body movements. Our emotions, thoughts, images often generate a felt sense in the body. Trauma is not stored in the mind but in the emotional centers of the brain and in the body. By working in the body, we avoid re-traumatization experienced by telling the “story” of the trauma.
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Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) developed by Pat Ogden, PhD is a “body-oriented, mindfully-based talking therapy that is used in the treatment of trauma, attachment, and developmental issues.” If you are experiencing anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, irritability, depression, numbness, low energy, worthlessness, shame, insomnia, or body pain, this type of therapy can be very helpful. I first help you to identify a number of body-mind tools to help you feel resourced, calmer, and emotionally more stable. Then, when you are ready, we safely explore trauma-related material through tracking and working with the sensations in your body. We will slowly explore core beliefs from childhood, and the survival and adaptive strategies you used to cope.
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This work is highly experiential. We are developing your ability to mindfully observe your experience with curiousity and compassion. Instead of just talking about an issue, I help you to notice the thoughts, emotions, body-felt sensations or movements, or any images you are experiencing in the present moment.
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The therapist does not make contact with your physical body. Occasionally for in-person sessions, contact might be made, for example with your hands, shoulders, back but with a pillow between the therapist’s hands and your body. This is only done with permission.
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Yes it is! Even though I can not see and track all your body sensations or movements, you will get really good at tracking them yourself. I have been able to adapt some of the experiential movements you may try for either trauma symptom regulation or trauma processing effectively.