Somatic Therapy offers a body-based approach to healing from trauma, chronic tension, and nervous system dysregulation. This evidence-based therapy helps you process what your body has been holding, release stored survival energy, and build capacity to feel safe in your own skin. You learn to regulate your nervous system and reconnect with your body while addressing trauma at its physiological roots.
My body feels like it’s carrying weight I can’t name. Tension lives in my shoulders, my jaw, my chest, even when nothing feels threatening in the moment. I feel disconnected from myself, watching my life from the outside instead of living it. Sometimes I’m completely numb. Other times, sensations I don’t understand flood my system.
I know something happened, but talking about it doesn’t seem to help. The anxiety, the tightness, the constant bracing stay in my body no matter how much I try to think my way through. I want to feel at home in my own skin again.
When tension doesn’t mean brokenness, and when the disconnect starts to bridge. In my practice, I help you build skills to regulate your nervous system, release stored survival energy, and trust that your body can become a place of refuge.
Together, we notice what your body is telling you, understand protective patterns that developed to keep you safe, and gently release what you’ve been holding.
The goal isn’t to eliminate all sensation or control every response. It’s to help you move through life feeling present, grounded, and connected to yourself.
I recognize that trauma affects your nervous system, muscles, breathing, and physical sensations, not just your thoughts. I help you understand how your body developed protective responses, why they made sense at the time, and how to shift patterns that no longer serve you. Rather than forcing you to relive painful experiences, we build body awareness first, creating a foundation of safety before releasing what’s been stored.
How we work together:
The first session focuses on understanding what brings you to therapy and beginning to notice how trauma shows up in your body. I move at the pace your nervous system can handle, never rushing you into processing before you’re ready.
What happens:
Together, we will address the ways trauma has shaped your relationship with your body and help you rebuild safety from the inside out.
The body holds stress and trauma in muscles, fascia, and tissues long after events have passed, creating chronic shoulder tension, jaw clenching, back pain, or unexplained physical symptoms that doctors can’t explain. These patterns often stem from a nervous system that hasn’t completed its protective responses, keeping the body braced against threats that no longer exist.
Dissociation and numbness are the nervous system’s way of protecting someone from overwhelming pain by shutting down sensation entirely, creating the feeling of watching life from outside, struggling to feel emotions, or experiencing gaps in presence. These responses are signs the body needed to leave to survive something too intense to process in the moment.
Anxiety after trauma often manifests as physical sensations before thoughts, showing up as a racing heart, shallow breathing, chest tightness, or the feeling that settling is impossible, no matter how safe the environment actually is. The nervous system gets stuck in a state of activation, constantly preparing for threats that may not exist anymore but feel just as real as when they first happened.
Trauma doesn’t just live in memories or thoughts. It lives in the gut, breathing patterns, muscle tension, and the nervous system’s constant reactivity. Physical symptoms like digestive issues, chronic pain, fatigue, or immune dysfunction persist long after traumatic events have ended because the body is still holding what it couldn’t fully release.
When relaxation feels dangerous or letting guard down seems impossible even in safe environments, it’s because the nervous system learned that vigilance equals survival. The body is doing exactly what it needed to do for protection, but now it doesn’t know how to turn off the alarm even when the danger has passed.
Hypervigilance keeps someone constantly scanning for danger, monitoring every sound, movement, or shift in energy as if threats could appear at any moment. The nervous system operates as if danger is always present, making genuine rest impossible.
Emotional responses may swing between a complete shutdown, where nothing can be felt, and intense surges that feel impossible to manage. This dysregulation happens when the nervous system doesn’t have the capacity to process emotions in manageable doses.
Trauma often creates disconnection from your body or teaches you that your body isn’t safe, isn’t yours, or isn’t acceptable. Struggles with body image, shame about physical presence, or feeling betrayed by your body often stem from traumatic experiences.
Healing through somatic therapy happens in phases. We begin by building your capacity to notice and tolerate body sensations, then gradually work with the trauma your body has been holding, and finally strengthen your ability to stay present and regulated in daily life.
Learning to notice what your body is telling you without judgment or fear is the foundation of somatic healing. You develop the capacity to tune into sensations, recognize where tension lives, and understand what different physical signals mean.
How this helps:
Using breath to calm your nervous system, shift from survival mode to safety, and create space between trigger and reaction. Breathing is one of the most accessible tools for regulating your autonomic nervous system.
How this helps:
Processing trauma stored in your body by working with small, manageable amounts of activation, allowing your nervous system to complete survival responses that got stuck during traumatic events.
How this helps:
Using gentle movement, spontaneous gestures, or physical expression to release what words can’t reach. Your body communicates through movement, and healing happens through allowing that expression.
How this helps:
Learning to anchor yourself in the present moment when dissociation, flashbacks, or intense sensations pull you away. Building internal resources to feel safe and present in your body.
How this helps:
Learning to move between distress and safety, building nervous system flexibility. You practice touching difficult sensations briefly, then returning to calm, gradually increasing your capacity.
How this helps:
Many people wonder if somatic therapy can work through a screen. The truth is, your nervous system responds to connection, presence, and guidance, not proximity. Online somatic therapy gives you access to the same body-based healing while allowing you to work from a space where you already feel safe.
Online somatic therapy begins in an environment where you already feel comfortable. Being in your own home allows your nervous system to relax more easily than an unfamiliar office might. I guide you to notice your body, your breath, and the physical sensations that arise, all while you remain in control of your space and your experience.
Through secure video sessions, I guide you to tune into what’s happening in your body in real time. You report sensations, track where tension lives, and notice patterns while I witness and support the process. The screen doesn’t create distance; it creates a safe container for deep body-based work.
Techniques like bilateral stimulation, tapping, breathwork, and grounding all work effectively online because you’re the one doing them. I guide the process, track your responses, and adjust the pace, but you maintain full control. Self-applied techniques often feel more empowering than relying on a therapist’s touch.
Because you’re practicing somatic tools in the space where you actually live, these skills transfer immediately to daily life. The grounding techniques you learn during sessions become resources you can access in the same chair, the same room, the same familiar environment where stress actually happens.
Trauma affects your mind, body, emotions, and relationships. In my practice, I integrate somatic therapy with other evidence-based approaches to address every part of your experience.
EMDR therapy helps your brain reprocess traumatic memories while somatic work ensures your body can handle the activation. When combined, I build nervous system regulation while EMDR releases stored trauma responses.
How this helps:
Internal Family Systems therapy helps you understand protective parts, while somatic work helps you feel what those parts are holding in your body. When paired, you gain both insight into your internal system and tools to release what parts have been carrying physically.
How this helps:
Trauma-Focused CBT teaches cognitive skills while somatic therapy addresses what your body is holding beneath those thoughts. Together, you understand trauma-related beliefs and release the physiological patterns reinforcing them.
How this helps:
Relational psychodynamic therapy explores how early attachment wounds show up in relationships, while somatic work helps you feel where those wounds live in your body. Combined, you understand relational patterns and release their physical manifestations.
How this helps:
Clinical hypnosis accesses deeper layers of healing that conscious awareness can’t always reach. When integrated with somatic therapy, it helps calm the nervous system and process trauma held beneath verbal memory.
How this helps:
Healing doesn’t mean forgetting what happened. It means you don’t have to live in reaction to it anymore.
Your body knows how to heal when it finally feels safe.
For years, I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. My emotions felt intense, and I didn’t know how to let people care for me. I questioned my worth and tried to hold everything together, but nothing ever felt good enough.
Healing began when I stopped fighting my feelings and started listening to them. I learned that even the parts of me I wanted to ignore were trying to help, and they needed my help too. As I built trust with myself, I was able to let others in fully, safely, and without shame.
Now I help others do the same. You’re carrying pain that deserves care. Healing is possible, and you don’t have to do it alone.
Hello. I’m Micah Fleitman, LPC.
I offer Somatic Therapy online throughout Virginia. Serving across Arlington, Richmond, Virginia Beach, and throughout the state. My secure teletherapy makes somatic therapy accessible from wherever you feel comfortable. Online sessions provide the same depth and effectiveness as in-person therapy while offering flexibility that works with your life.
Locations served throughout Virginia:
Somatic therapy may be helpful if you notice that trauma, stress, or emotional pain shows up more in your body than in your thoughts. Many people find their way to somatic work after realizing that talking about their experiences hasn’t shifted what they’re physically carrying.
Signs that somatic therapy might help.
Your body may be signaling the need for somatic work if you experience:
Common somatic symptoms of trauma
Trauma doesn’t always show up as memories or flashbacks. Often it lives in your body as:
When talk therapy hasn’t been enough
Somatic therapy becomes especially relevant when:
Somatic work helps bridge the gap between understanding and embodied healing.
Somatic therapists guide you in noticing, understanding, and releasing what your body has been holding. Rather than focusing primarily on thoughts and stories, somatic work attends to physical sensations, nervous system states, and body-based trauma responses.
How somatic therapy differs from talk therapy
Traditional therapy works through conversation, insight, and cognitive understanding. Somatic therapy works directly with your nervous system and body’s stored experiences.
In somatic sessions, you might:
What happens during sessions
A somatic session typically involves:
Check-in and body awareness
Guided somatic exploration
Skill building and regulation
Integration and reflection
Techniques somatic therapists use
Somatic work draws from multiple body-based approaches:
The therapist’s role
As a somatic therapist, I:
The goal isn’t to control your body or eliminate all sensation. It’s to help you reconnect, regulate, and release what you’ve been carrying.
Somatic release happens when your nervous system completes survival responses that got stuck during trauma. The experience varies widely from person to person and can range from subtle to intense.
Physical sensations during release
When trauma energy releases from your body, you might notice:
Emotional experiences during release
Release often brings emotions to the surface:
Why do people cry during somatic exercises
Crying during somatic work isn’t a sign of breaking down. It’s often a sign your nervous system is finally safe enough to release what it’s been holding. Tears can indicate:
Crying is one of the many ways the body releases. Some people shake, some sigh deeply, some feel warmth or tingling. All are valid expressions of your system processing.
Physical signs your body is releasing trauma
After a somatic release, you might notice:
What release doesn’t feel like
Release isn’t always dramatic or cathartic. Sometimes it’s:
After a release
Following somatic release, many people experience:
Your body knows how to release at the pace it can handle. The therapist’s role is to guide and support, not force or rush the process.
Somatic therapy focuses on body awareness and nervous system regulation, not physical touch or bodywork. This is especially important to understand for online therapy, where no physical contact occurs.
Somatic therapy vs massage therapy
Somatic therapy:
Massage therapy:
How somatic therapy works without touch
In online somatic therapy, all techniques are self-guided:
Why self-applied techniques are effective
Self-guided somatic work offers unique benefits:
When touch-based work might be mentioned
While I don’t provide hands-on bodywork, I might suggest supportive practices:
These are separate from somatic psychotherapy but can support your overall healing.
The focus stays on internal awareness.
Somatic therapy’s power comes from helping you reconnect with your own body’s signals, not from external manipulation. You learn to:
All of this happens through guided awareness, not physical touch.
EMDR and somatic therapy are distinct modalities that work beautifully together but serve different primary functions in trauma healing.
Key differences between EMDR and somatic therapy
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing):
Somatic therapy:
How they complement each other
EMDR and somatic therapy often work together in trauma treatment:
When to use somatic therapy vs EMDR
Somatic therapy may be primary when:
EMDR may be primary when:
Both work together when:
How I integrate both approaches
In my practice, I often combine somatic therapy and EMDR:
Which one do you need?
Most people benefit from both at different points in healing. Somatic therapy lays the foundation by helping your nervous system feel safe enough to process. EMDR then helps reprocess specific traumatic memories that your system is ready to address.
You don’t have to choose one or the other. Integrated trauma treatment uses the strengths of multiple modalities to create healing that addresses every layer.
Somatic therapy is distinct from Reiki, energy healing, and other spiritual or energetic practices. While both attend to the body, they operate from fundamentally different frameworks.
Key differences
Somatic therapy:
Reiki and energy work:
What somatic therapy actually does
Somatic therapy works with your nervous system’s biological responses:
These are measurable, observable phenomena grounded in neuroscience and physiology.
Why does the confusion exists
Both somatic therapy and energy work:
However, the mechanisms and frameworks are entirely different.
Evidence base for somatic therapy
Somatic approaches are supported by:
This scientific foundation distinguishes somatic therapy from practices based on energetic or spiritual belief systems.
Can they complement each other?
Some people find value in both:
They serve different purposes and come from different paradigms. You don’t need to believe in energy healing for somatic therapy to work, as it operates on biological principles regardless of spiritual beliefs.
What to expect in somatic therapy
When you work with me, expect:
Somatic therapy respects your body’s wisdom while staying grounded in trauma science and clinical practice.
Somatic exercises can effectively release trauma when guided properly and paired with nervous system education. The key is understanding how trauma gets stored in the body and what’s actually happening during release.
How trauma gets stored in the body
When trauma occurs, your nervous system activates survival responses: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. If these responses can’t be completed (you couldn’t fight back, couldn’t escape, had to freeze), the activation gets stuck in your body.
This creates:
Trauma isn’t just a memory. It’s a physiological state your body hasn’t fully processed.
What somatic release actually means
Release happens when your nervous system completes the survival responses it couldn’t finish during trauma:
This isn’t metaphorical. It’s your autonomic nervous system completing interrupted biological processes.
Research supporting somatic trauma work.
Evidence for body-based trauma processing includes:
How legitimate is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is recognized as an evidence-based approach by:
It’s not fringe or experimental. It’s grounded in decades of trauma research and clinical practice.
Why somatic work succeeds where talk therapy hasn’t
Talk therapy works primarily with the cortex (thinking brain). Trauma often lives in subcortical regions (emotional brain, brainstem) that don’t respond to logic or understanding.
Somatic work accesses trauma where it’s actually stored:
You can understand your trauma perfectly and still feel stuck because the body hasn’t released what it’s holding.
Limitations and realistic expectations
Somatic therapy is powerful but not magic:
What makes somatic exercises effective
For somatic work to truly release trauma, you need:
Random somatic exercises without proper context and guidance may feel good temporarily, but won’t create lasting trauma resolution.
The bottom line
Yes, somatic exercises can release trauma when:
Your body holds the trauma, and your body can release it. Somatic work provides the framework and safety to let that happen.
Like any therapeutic approach, somatic therapy has valid limitations and criticisms worth understanding. Being informed helps you make the best decision for your healing.
Common criticisms
Lack of standardization:
Evidence-based concerns:
Risk of retraumatization:
Not sufficient as a standalone treatment:
When somatic therapy may not be the right fit
Somatic work may be less effective for:
Somatic therapy alone may not address:
Valid concerns to consider
Body-focused work can be challenging when:
Practical limitations:
My response to these criticisms
I address these concerns by:
Training and competence:
Pacing and safety:
Treatment approach:
When somatic therapy IS appropriate
Despite limitations, somatic therapy excels for:
The balanced view
Somatic therapy isn’t perfect, but for body-based trauma responses, it fills a critical gap that purely cognitive approaches miss. The key is:
No single approach heals all trauma. Treatment uses the best tools from multiple modalities, and for many people, somatic work is an essential piece.
Each somatic therapy session is 53 minutes, following standard clinical practice. Treatment duration varies based on your specific needs, goals, and how your nervous system responds to the work.
Session length and structure
Standard session: 53 minutes
A typical somatic session includes:
This timing allows enough space for meaningful somatic work while preventing nervous system reactions.
How long does somatic therapy take to work?
Treatment duration depends on several factors:
For symptom relief:
For deeper trauma processing:
For lasting nervous system change:
What affects the treatment timeline
Factors that influence duration:
Frequency of sessions
Recommended frequency:
Consistent weekly sessions create the best momentum for nervous system change.
How you’ll know it’s working
Signs of progress include:
When treatment might extend
Some situations require longer treatment:
This isn’t failure. It’s honoring the depth of healing needed.
When you might be ready to complete
Therapy completion often feels like:
How do I find a somatic therapy therapist near me in Arlington, VA?
Finding the right somatic therapist involves understanding what training and approach will serve your specific needs.
Look for therapists with:
Starting with me
If you’re in Arlington or Northern Virginia and looking for online somatic therapy:
I offer:
How to begin:
Treatment duration is individualized. We’ll work together to determine what timeline makes sense for your specific healing journey.
Finding a somatic therapist who truly understands body-based trauma work requires knowing what training and credentials to look for.
What to look for in a somatic therapist
Essential qualifications:
Training to seek:
Questions to ask potential therapists
When considering a somatic therapist, ask:
Online vs in-person somatic therapy
Online somatic therapy offers:
In-person therapy offers:
Both formats are effective for somatic work. The best choice depends on your preferences and needs.
How do I find a somatic therapy therapist near me in Arlington, VA?
Finding local somatic therapists:
Search directories:
Look for Arlington-area therapists offering:
Red flags to avoid
Be cautious of therapists who:
Trust your nervous system’s response when meeting therapists.
Working with me
If you’re looking for somatic therapy in Arlington:
I offer:
My approach:
How to start:
Insurance and payment
I’m an out-of-network provider, but I can help you:
Taking the first step
Finding the right somatic therapist is about more than credentials. It’s about finding someone who:
You deserve a therapist who sees your body’s wisdom and guides you in releasing what you’ve been carrying.
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