What does somatic therapy involve?

Attention to what is going on in your body as you talk: tension, breath, the impulse to withdraw. Somatic therapy follows those signals in small, tolerable steps rather than pushing through them.

Is there physical touch?

No. This is talk therapy that pays closer attention to what the body is experiencing. Nothing about it requires touch from another person.

Why work with the body at all?

Because a great deal of what keeps people stuck is held beyond language, in patterns of activation and shutdown. Insight alone rarely reaches that level, which is why understanding a pattern and being free of it are so different.

Who at the practice does this work?

Somatic and experiential therapy at the Collective is led by Dr. Laura Faiwiszewski.

Does it combine with EMDR or hypnosis?

Yes, and it often does. Somatic work builds the capacity to stay present with difficult material, which helps clients feel steady and safe enough to reprocess.

What if I do not notice anything in my body?

That is common early on, especially for people who have spent years overriding those signals. Noticing is a skill built through this work, slowly and without pressure.

Modality

Somatic and Experiential Therapy

Therapy beyond insight alone

You may already understand the pattern. You know why you shut down. Why certain relationships affect you so strongly. Why your body becomes anxious even when your mind knows you are safe. And yet knowing hasn’t necessarily changed how it feels.

When Insight Hasn’t Been Enough

You may understand the pattern and still feel caught in it. Experiential therapy helps work with what has not shifted through understanding alone.

What Happens in the Room

We slow down and notice what is happening in real time — emotion, sensation, tension, breath, or the impulse to withdraw — and work with it as it arises.

Change You Can Feel

We work with feelings as they arise, helping them move and complete rather than be analysed from a distance.

Supporting Trauma-Reprocessing

Somatic and experiential work pairs naturally with EMDR by helping you stay connected to what is happening in your body as difficult experiences are reprocessed. This can make deeper trauma work feel more grounded, tolerable, and integrated.

Learn how we incorporate Somatic and Experiential Therapy with other modalities

Somatic and experiential therapy at the Collective

Dr. Laura FaiwiszewskiEMDR · Hypnosis · Trauma Reprocessing

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What does somatic therapy involve?: Attention to what is going on in your body as you talk: tension, breath, the impulse to withdraw. Somatic therapy follows those signals in small, tolerable steps rather than pushing through them.
Is there physical touch?: No. This is talk therapy that pays closer attention to what the body is experiencing. Nothing about it requires touch from another person.
Why work with the body at all?: Because a great deal of what keeps people stuck is held beyond language, in patterns of activation and shutdown. Insight alone rarely reaches that level, which is why understanding a pattern and being free of it are so different.
Who at the practice does this work?: Somatic and experiential therapy at the Collective is led by Dr. Laura Faiwiszewski.
Does it combine with EMDR or hypnosis?: Yes, and it often does. Somatic work builds the capacity to stay present with difficult material, which helps clients feel steady and safe enough to reprocess.
What if I do not notice anything in my body?: That is common early on, especially for people who have spent years overriding those signals. Noticing is a skill built through this work, slowly and without pressure.

Selected Research

Explore

EMDR Therapy Clinical Hypnosis Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Relationships & Self-Worth Mind-Body Health Why Insight Alone Isn’t Always Enough What Is Experiential Therapy?Schedule a Consultation

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