Somatic Therapy in Boone, NC

Do You Want To Dive Deeper Than Standard Talk Therapy?

Have you done a lot of work on yourself and your mental health, yet you still feel like something is missing? Are you:

1. Tired of cognitive approaches to therapy that only scratch the surface of your challenges? 

2. Looking to partner with a therapist who can help you get to the root of your distress?

Maybe you simply feel stuck in your therapeutic journey and want to try something more challenging and thought-provoking. Perhaps you want to better understand the unconscious processes controlling your life and the beliefs and habits getting in the way of your growth. There may be unresolved trauma you’ve been carrying for as long as you can remember, and you sense it’s time to finally heal your mind, body, and spirit together as one.

If any of this sounds familiar, then I invite you to learn more about Hakomi-informed somatic therapy with me. This unique, body-centered, “bottom-up” approach is all about creating the safety and connection necessary to understand what your body is telling you about your beliefs, behaviors, and emotions. It’s about empowering you to dig deep into your unconscious with trust that all your parts are working together and for your best interest.

How Effective Is Hakomi-Informed Somatic Therapy?

Hakomi is an experiential approach to psychotherapy that seeks to expand awareness of your emotions. It can help you become more in tune with your body, and since your body is the storehouse of your deepest emotions, it can ultimately help you live with a greater mind-body connection. You can become aware of how your body reflects your emotional state—in a rigid posture, a tightness in the chest, a sinking feeling in the gut.

Richard Schwartz, who famously founded Internal Family Systems (IFS), was influenced by Hakomi therapists to integrate a somatic component of his approach to parts work. One of the key concepts of IFS is figuring out where a “part” is located in or around the body, be it an angry part, a defensive part, a depressed part, etc. By asking: “Where in or around your body do you feel this part?”, This somatic approach helps IFS clients zero in on their physical body and understand how old traumas and emotional wounds still affect their lives years later. 

In this way, Hakomi as a somatic practice adds an element of mindfulness to other therapeutic interventions. Instead of living in service to old automatic patterns and stress responses, it can help you live more intentionally and less reactively—more in line with your mindful, authentic, and beautiful self.

How Does Hakomi-Informed Somatic Therapy Work?

You can think of it as a doorway to the unconscious. Hakomi is often referred to as an assisted form of self-study or self-exploration, one where you lead the way and your therapist is there to follow your imagination and help you unlock new insights. The sessions are very open-ended—what we’re essentially doing is listening to the body and using it to map out your emotions.

For example, during a Hakomi session, we might focus on a positive self-belief such as It’s okay to have needs or My feelings are important. I’ll then give you time and space to figure out how this self-belief lands—how it feels in your body, where you feel it most intensely, and what thoughts come up for you when I say it. What’s your immediate reaction? Do you feel awkward or uncomfortable? Does anything feel untrue to you?

In this way, we can uncover deep-rooted hurt that may be connected to trauma from long ago. Perhaps you grew up in a home where feelings weren’t shared and your needs weren’t valued. Somatic therapy can help you hone in on the negative beliefs that arose from these experiences, allowing you to make the unconscious conscious and ultimately understand why you do what you do. 

Think of the way you might get sick to your stomach while waiting for an upcoming surgery or root canal. Hakomi-informed psychotherapy empowers you to understand why you feel sick when these thoughts come up, tying present stressors to long-buried past experiences. Hakomi-informed therapy is also a nonjudgmental approach—I’m not there to judge your beliefs or tell you what to think, but to help you slow things down, become more mindful, and remain open to whatever your body is telling you.

How Can Hakomi-Informed Somatic Therapy Benefit Your Life?

There are many “Aha!” moments that happen in somatic therapy sessions. Clients often realize, for the first time, how connected their present struggles are to childhood traumas and long-buried wounds. 

Yet this knowledge isn’t just mind-expanding—it's also freeing. After all, once you have a better understanding of where beliefs and behavior patterns come from, you can make better choices. You can recognize when decisions are in line—or not in line—with your conscious goals and values. This work can ultimately help you develop:

1. A stronger sense of mindfulness 

2. Greater curiosity about yourself and your parts

3. Deeper compassion and nonjudgment for your complexities

4. A more meaningful connection with your body 

5. Better self-regulation skills when stress arises

Hakomi-informed somatic therapy is a “bottom-up” approach to therapy that gives you tools to live by, initiating real, practical change through the deeper work of increasing awareness and deepening self-compassion.