How I Use Somatic Therapy
Anxiety doesn't only happen in your thoughts. You may understand logically that you're safe, while your body still feels like something is wrong.
Your heart may race. Your chest may tighten. Your stomach may clench. Your shoulders may tense. You may feel restless, frozen, overwhelmed, disconnected, or constantly "on alert."
This is one reason I incorporate somatic therapy into my work with anxiety in NYC.
Rather than focusing only on changing anxious thoughts, I help you become more aware of what is happening in your body, understand the patterns underneath your anxiety, and gradually develop a different relationship with physical sensations.
My approach is attachment-based and somatically informed. I come from the understanding that psychological experiences are not separate from the body. What we think, feel, remember, and experience in relationships can all be reflected in how we move through the world and respond physically.
What Does Somatic Therapy Have to Do With Anxiety?
Anxiety is often described as a problem of the mind: I'm overthinking. I can't stop worrying. I keep imagining everything that could go wrong.
But anxiety is also a physical experience.
You might notice:
A racing or pounding heart
Tightness in your chest or throat
A clenched jaw
Shallow or rapid breathing
Tension in your shoulders
A tight or unsettled stomach
Restlessness or an urge to move
Feeling suddenly hot or cold
Difficulty sitting still
Feeling numb, detached, or disconnected
Sometimes the physical sensation comes before you consciously recognize the anxious thought.
This is where somatic therapy can be particularly helpful. We work with these experiences gradually, instead of becoming overwhelmed by them.
You might already know: "My partner isn't angry with me." "I don't actually need to be perfect." "Nothing terrible is happening right now."
And yet your body may still respond with tension, racing thoughts, a pit in your stomach… this may mean that your body has learned to respond to certain situations as threatening.
And we can work not only with what you think about the situation, but also with what happens inside you when you encounter it.
How I Use Somatic Therapy for Anxiety
I integrate attention to the body into the broader therapeutic process.
1. Tracking Physical Sensations
One of the first things I may ask is:
"What are you noticing in your body right now?"
Rather than simply saying "I'm anxious," we slow down enough to identify the actual physical experience.
We might explore:
Where the sensation is located
Its size or shape
Whether it feels tight, heavy, warm, cold, shaky, numb, or pressured
Whether it changes when you talk about something difficult
Whether it moves or stays in one place
What happens when you bring your attention toward it and then away from it
This develops body awareness without requiring you to become overwhelmed by what you're feeling.
2. Learning to Notice Without Immediately Reacting
Anxiety often creates an immediate action tendency. The problem is that these strategies can sometimes teach the nervous system that the sensation itself is dangerous. But in therapy, we can practice something different.
We might notice an anxious sensation and spend a few moments observing it without immediately trying to eliminate it.
3. Moving Between Activation and Calm
When anxiety becomes intense, focusing exclusively on the anxiety can actually make you feel more overwhelmed. So instead, I may help you move your attention between something that feels activated and something that feels neutral, comfortable, or grounding.
For example, you might notice the tightness in your chest for a few seconds and then notice your feet against the floor. Or notice the anxious sensation and then look around the room and identify something visually pleasant or familiar. Or notice tension in your body and then notice an area that feels relatively relaxed.
This kind of back-and-forth attention can help you discover that you can experience activation without being completely consumed by it.
It also allows us to work gradually rather than asking you to dive directly into the most intense part of an experience.
4. Orienting to the Present Moment
When we're anxious, our attention can become narrowly focused on threat.
So I may invite you to slow down and deliberately take in your current environment.
This can help your attention reconnect with the present environment, rather than remaining completely absorbed in an anticipated threat.
5. Working With the Impulse Behind Anxiety
Sometimes anxiety comes with a strong physical urge.
You may want to run, hide, freeze, fight, make yourself smaller, reach for reassurance…
Sometimes simply identifying the impulse creates more choice.
We can explore what happens when you imagine taking that action, make a very small movement, or experiment with a different physical posture.
6. Using Grounding Through the Senses
When anxiety becomes overwhelming, I may use simple sensory grounding.
This could include noticing:
Your feet against the floor
The support of the chair beneath you
The temperature of the room
Sounds around you
Objects you can see
The sensation of your hands
The feeling of your clothing against your skin
These are ways of reconnecting with the present moment when your attention has become consumed by anxiety.
7. Connecting Anxiety to Attachment and Relationships
I want to understand why your nervous system may be responding the way it does.
For example, perhaps you become intensely anxious when someone you love becomes distant. Perhaps conflict makes your body shut down. Maybe setting a boundary produces guilt or fear.
These reactions can make more sense when we explore your attachment history.
Where did I learn that this situation is dangerous?
What do I expect will happen next?
What do I do when I feel that threat?
One of the things I value most about somatic therapy is that we don't have to approach anxiety as something you need to defeat.
Somatic Therapy in NYC
If you're looking for somatic therapy for anxiety in NYC, I offer an attachment-based, somatically informed approach that considers both your inner emotional world and your physical experience.
My work is particularly focused on helping people understand patterns around anxiety, relationships, attachment, boundaries, emotional regulation, and self-worth.
If you're interested in exploring somatic therapy in NYC, I invite you to reach out to schedule a consultation.
