Somatic Therapy in Vancouver

Working with the body, not just the story

Somatic therapy recognizes that stress and trauma live in the body as well as the mind. Drawing on Somatic Experiencing and his advanced training in somatic therapy, Antonio helps you notice sensations, build a sense of safety and gently release stuck survival responses, so your nervous system can return to balance.

What is Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing (SE) was developed by Dr. Peter Levine. It is based on the idea that trauma is held less in the event itself and more in the nervous system's response to it. When fight, flight or freeze responses don't get to complete, the body can stay on high alert, or shut down, long after the danger has passed. SE works gently with those responses so the body can settle.

Somatic therapy may help if you

• Feel stuck in fight, flight or freeze: always on edge, easily startled, or numb and shut down
• Experience anxiety you can feel physically, like a tight chest, shallow breathing or a knot in your stomach
• Have trauma that's hard to put into words, or that happened before you had words for it
• Carry chronic tension, or stress symptoms your doctor has found no other cause for
• Understand your history well, but still don't feel different
• Want an approach that goes beyond talk therapy

What a session looks like

Sessions are gentle and paced by you. Antonio may invite you to notice your breath, posture or sensations, to orient to the room around you, and to move slowly between something difficult and something that feels steady. Working in small steps like this helps your nervous system process stress without becoming overwhelmed.

Somatic counselling is a talk-and-awareness approach. It doesn't involve hands-on bodywork, and it works well both in person and online.

Somatic therapy, EMDR and other care

Somatic work pairs naturally with EMDR. It can help you build stability before memory work, and help settle the body during and after it. Some clients also find hands-on care at the clinic, such as craniosacral therapy or acupuncture, a helpful complement for sleep and nervous system support.

Learn more about trauma and PTSD support or support for stress and anxiety.

If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline) or go to your nearest emergency department.