Some stress lives in the body, the tight chest, the clenched jaw, the feeling of being frozen or wired. Somatic therapy includes your body in the healing, gently and at your pace, so calm can start to feel possible again.
No referral needed · in-person or online · with somatic, trauma-informed Registered Psychotherapists.
Clinically reviewed by Svetlana Antonyshyn, Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO #001652). Last reviewed June 2026.
Somatic therapy is an umbrella term for body-based approaches that bring the body into the work, not instead of talking, but alongside it. Rather than working only with thoughts and words, a somatic-informed therapist also pays attention to what is happening in your body: breath, tension, posture, the urge to move or to freeze.
It includes well-known methods such as Somatic Experiencing, developed by Dr. Peter Levine, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, developed by Pat Ogden. The shared idea is simple and humane: stress and trauma can show up in the body, so it often helps to include the body in the healing.
We will be honest with you: somatic therapy is a younger field, and its research is still developing. For trauma, the most established treatments remain EMDR and trauma-focused talk therapy. We often blend somatic work with those, as a gentle, grounding way in.
Somatic therapy is talking therapy that also listens to your body. By noticing sensation and working gently with your nervous system, it helps you feel safer and more grounded, so the deeper work has somewhere steady to stand.
Most of us have a zone where we feel steady and able to cope. Stress and trauma can shrink that window, tipping us into too much or too little. Somatic therapy gently widens it. Tap each state.
“Wired and on edge, racing heart, tight chest, can’t sit still or switch my mind off.”
Your therapist helps you slow down and find a small sense of steadiness in your body, then work in tiny, tolerable steps, so your system can settle rather than flood.
None of these states is wrong, they are your body protecting you. Talk it through with a therapist, free for 20 minutes.
A body-aware approach can be especially helpful when distress is physical and ordinary talk therapy has not, on its own, been enough.
Somatic work is one of several therapy approaches we draw on, and it is almost always blended with talk therapy. In your free consult we will help you find the right combination.
A trustworthy page tells you where the evidence actually stands, including its limits.
A randomized controlled trial of Somatic Experiencing for PTSD found meaningful symptom improvement compared with a waitlist.
A 2021 review found promising early results for Somatic Experiencing, while rating overall study quality as mixed and calling for more rigorous trials.
For PTSD, leading guidelines still recommend trauma-focused CBT and EMDR as first-line, so we use somatic work as a supportive complement, not a replacement.
The popular phrase “the body keeps the score” is best read as a metaphor: stress can show up in the body, but the literal-storage version is debated.
van der Kolk, 2014; critique per Scheeringa, 2025
We share this because you deserve honesty, not hype. What somatic therapy offers is real and gentle: a calm, body-aware space, a therapist who helps you feel safe, and skills to settle a nervous system that has been working overtime.
Gentle, collaborative, and never rushed. You are always in control of the pace, and you never have to relive or push past what feels safe.
Somatic work goes slowly on purpose. We touch difficult material a little at a time and keep returning to steadiness, so it stays manageable.
Before anything else, your therapist helps you find a felt sense of calm or steadiness to come back to, an inner resource you can return to anytime.
You gently notice sensations in the present, tension, breath, warmth, with curiosity rather than pressure, learning the body’s language.
You touch a little of the hard material, then return to calm, widening what your system can hold over time. Slow, on purpose, and always within reach of safety.
Our somatic therapists blend body awareness with evidence-based talk therapy, tailored to what your body and your story need.
InnerSight was founded by Svetlana Antonyshyn, RP, on the belief that healing should treat the person, not a label. Every therapist here is a Registered Psychotherapist regulated by the CRPO and supported by monthly clinical supervision. More about our approach.
All Registered Psychotherapists with somatic, trauma-informed training. Watch a short intro, read their full profile, or let us match you in your free consultation.
Not sure who fits? Browse all 25+ therapists or let us match you in a free consultation. You can switch anytime, and your file moves with you.
No hidden fees. Most clients pay little or nothing out of pocket after insurance.
Meet a therapist, ask anything, and see if a body-aware approach feels right. No obligation.
Most private insurance plans cover a portion of services from a Registered Psychotherapist. We provide receipts for direct claims.
Sessions with supervised therapists in training, at a lower rate. Same structure, same care, more accessible.
Psychotherapy is also tax-deductible as a medical expense in Canada. Worried about cost? See our reduced-fee program.
Somatic therapy is an umbrella term for body-based approaches that work with physical sensation, breath, and the nervous system alongside talk, rather than working with thoughts alone. Well-known forms include Somatic Experiencing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. The idea is that stress and trauma can show up in the body, so it can help to include the body in the healing.
Honestly, the research is still developing. A randomized controlled trial of Somatic Experiencing for PTSD showed meaningful improvement, and a review found promising early results, but the overall evidence base is smaller and younger than for therapies like trauma-focused CBT and EMDR. We offer it as a supportive, body-aware approach, often alongside those better-established methods, rather than a quick fix.
That popular phrase is best understood as a metaphor. What is true is that stress and trauma can show up physically, as tension, a racing heart, exhaustion, or feeling frozen. Somatic therapy works with those bodily experiences in the present. We do not claim trauma is literally locked in your tissues, because that stronger version of the idea is debated among researchers.
Sessions are gentle and safety-first. Your therapist helps you find a felt sense of calm, then invites you to notice body sensations with curiosity. The work moves slowly and in small steps, touching difficult material a little at a time and returning to steadiness, so you stay within a comfortable range and never have to relive or flood.
It can help people working through trauma and PTSD, chronic stress, and anxiety, especially anyone who feels stress lives in their body, who goes numb or frozen, or who has found talking alone has not been enough. It is often blended with other approaches and tailored to you.
Yes. Body-aware work translates well to secure video sessions anywhere in Ontario, your therapist simply guides you to notice sensation and use grounding in your own space. We also offer it in person in Woodbridge, Vaughan and Barrie.
No. Somatic psychotherapy is a talking therapy that includes awareness of the body. It is delivered by Registered Psychotherapists and does not involve hands-on massage or physical manipulation.
No referral is needed. You can book a free 20-minute consultation online at psychotherapyclinic.janeapp.com or call (905) 553-9507. Sessions are delivered by Registered Psychotherapists, and most private insurance plans cover a portion.
In-person sessions at three locations, plus secure video sessions anywhere in Ontario. Evenings and weekends available.
Online in 2 minutes or by phone. No referral, no credit card.
Talk it through and get matched with a somatic therapist who fits.
Build calm and capacity, gently, at the pace of your body.
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