Modalities
Somatic Trauma Therapy
“SOMA” means "body" in Greek, and somatic therapy is used to help you find your way back home to your body, instead of feeling disconnected. Somatics helps us understand how energy and emotions get trapped within the body and how we can use specific tools and resources to release these trapped emotions, gradually come into safety and regulation, and reconnect with our bodies. The body communicates to us what it needs, but if we have been disconnected for so long due to traumatic experiences, it can be hard to understand what it is trying to tell us. Here, we will dive deep to explore your body’s relationship to traumatic events from social, environmental, developmental, spiritual, relational, and cultural perspectives. We will also discover gentle ways to recover and heal without overwhelming your body.
Somatic Attachment Therapy
This approach is used to help you understand your specific attachment style based on your upbringing, how your body is protecting you, and how to repair relational attachment wounds and trauma. When our caregivers are unable to show up for us the way we need as children, we develop an insecure attachment style (disorganized/fearful avoidant, avoidant, anxious) that can affect how we show up for ourselves and the relationships we attract. It can also make it difficult for us to create healthy relationships with our partners and loved ones. Our work together will focus on helping you repair your relationship with yourself and others, become more secure and confident, and set strong boundaries to support yourself without feeling guilty.
Somatic Parts Work
This approach helps create space for the younger parts of you that are stuck in survival mode and teaches you how to use them to cultivate more self-compassion, love, and a deeper understanding of who you are, as well as how to meet your own needs. Our younger parts, also known as our inner child, have been shaped by life experiences and subconsciously carry beliefs about who we are, who we should be, our limitations and abilities, and what the world thinks of us—some beliefs support us, while others keep us stuck. We will also explore how to release the stuck emotions stored in your body, validate your own experiences, and reparent your inner child. Additionally, we will explore practices to help you connect to your true adult self, increasing your sense of wholeness, acceptance, and internal harmony.
NeuroAffective Relational Model
The NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) is a modality used for clients with complex trauma and PTSD. It addresses attachment, relational, and developmental trauma. NARM employs four primary organizing principles: supporting connection and organization, exploring identity, working in present time, and regulating the nervous system. The goal is to bring awareness to the unconscious patterns and behaviors that keep us stuck and to work with them at a pace that is best for the client, fostering greater connection, attunement, trust, and autonomy.
Polyvagal Theory
This modality is used to understand the nervous system: how it has been shaped by traumatic events, how it comes to our aid to protect us from anything it labels as unsafe, dangerous, or life-threatening, and how it manifests in the form of states and behaviors (fight, flight, freeze, shutdown, fawn). We will explore how to create more safety within the body and gradually come out of survival through nervous system regulation. Additionally, we will examine how your state affects your thoughts, how to create space for more positive and supportive thoughts, how to become more emotionally regulated, and how to manage triggers.
Nervous System Regulation
This modality is used to help regulate your nervous system and restore a sense of safety. Alongside Polyvagal Theory, nervous system regulation also helps us understand how our bodies have been affected by traumatic events and chronic stress. We will explore the vital role your vagus nerve plays in your body’s overall balance and wellness, as well as how to engage and strengthen your vagus nerve to release stored trauma and emotions, bringing your body back to homeostasis.
A regulated nervous system improves overall balance within the body, enhances focus and memory, decreases inflammation, reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, and promotes a greater sense of calmness and presence.
“It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey and the steps you take to get there’’
— Khadija Osman
