Somatic Therapy and Healing from Trauma

Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., author of The Body Keeps the Score, describes trauma as “not the story of something that happened back then, but the current imprint of that pain, horror, and fear living inside the individual.” The event itself does not define trauma, but rather how the body and mind were changed to survive it. When the nervous system becomes overwhelmed, it stores that survival energy as patterns of tension, vigilance, or disconnection that can persist long after the danger has passed.

Trauma therapy, whether for acute trauma, PTSD, or complex PTSD, blends somatic and psychodynamic approaches to help individuals heal by addressing both body and mind. Psychodynamic therapy helps us understand how early experiences and relationships shape our emotional world and influence our current behavior and beliefs. Somatic therapy brings attention to how those experiences live in the body through breath, posture, movement, and sensation. Together, these approaches help loosen the grip of trauma responses, calm hyperarousal, and support a renewed sense of safety and connection.

In practice, this work might involve noticing how your body reacts to specific memories, understanding what triggers stress responses, and learning to regulate them through awareness and self-compassion. The process moves gradually, guided by curiosity, collaboration, and respect for the body’s pace. The goal is not to relive what happened but to renegotiate it, giving the body a new experience of choice and containment that restores agency.

I work with clients across New York and Connecticut through secure virtual sessions. Healing from trauma is possible. Through consistent attention to the body’s language and the mind’s meaning-making, therapy helps you reclaim trust in yourself and reconnect with your natural capacity for aliveness.