SOMATIC HEALING SESSIONS
Engage in deep, authentic healing work with Somatic Healing Sessions. Completely tailored to your specific challenges, these sessions, which are held with Allie, are never driven by protocols or formulas, but involve a fluid blend of all of the areas in which she holds training and expertise. Guided by the intentions and goals we establish together, we tune in to the body to gain awareness of places within your life where there is tension, as well as places where ease is available. With active client participation, we collaborate to provide the nervous system, myofascial structures, and emotions new possibilities that provide a more aligned and sustainable way of life.
Sometimes this involves hands-on bodywork, either on the massage table or on the heated floor mats, bringing direct input into an area to affect change, while at other times we may opt for a somatic intervention that does not involve touch, such as a seated nervous system exercise, an exploration of intuitive movement patterns that want to emerge, or a drawing of boundaries utilizing various props and tools, as examples. Everything within the spacious studio is available for our use, including various sensory objects, cushions and mats, art supplies, self-treatment tools, whiteboard, etc. to allow for abundant options to somatically explore whatever shows up.
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As a body-oriented practitioner, we place special attention on helping the client gain awareness of all the sensations they're experiencing as we work together, whether they be dramatic or subtle, as sensations are one of the major languages of the nervous system and provide significant clues as to how and why a particular trauma is still affecting the client's life.
THE BODYWORK COMPONENT
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Bodywork can be a powerful and efficient way to access the deep, subconscious patterns we’ve developed in response to overwhelming or traumatic life experiences, including in our preverbal ages or other times for which we have no specific memory. Touch is our first and most primitive language as humans, and in these sessions we harness that to communicate messages of safety to the nervous system so that our deeply-held patterns can come out of hiding and begin to soften.
We pay close attention to the memories, images, sensations, movement impulses, and emotions that arise as we engage in hands-on bodywork, because those all serve as clues to the underlying reasons for the tension or pain that one experiences. As the unresolved events and emotions of life that are fragmented and painful are allowed to express, they naturally begin to integrate into one's fuller sense of being, which delivers greater access to ease and flow in life, including in the myofascial structures where the tension often takes on physical form.
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It is many people's experience that the combination of deep nervous system attunement and relevant hands-on techniques provides a unique therapeutic experience that accelerates their emotional and physical healing.
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Hands-on bodywork is always optional, and of course only happens with full consent of the client. The type of bodywork utilized at Studio A is extremely gentle and is never harsh, aggressive, or painful. It can be incredibly profound to receive bodywork that honors the body's natural threshold and happens within the context of attuned care and compassion.
COMMON THEMES IN SOMATIC WORK
While every session is customized to each particular client, there are common themes that often emerge in somatic work. Those themes are:
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gaining awareness of how our body is holding and expressing our lived experiences
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finding safety–physically, emotionally, and relationally
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putting language to our intentions and longings
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accessing and allowing deeply-held self-protective responses
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fostering curiosity around our triggers and patterns
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rewriting shame narratives we’re holding
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discovering and drawing boundaries
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finding greater ease in the body
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syncing up the conscious mind with the body/unconscious
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allowing our held grief, anger, and other strong emotions to emerge and complete
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building our capacity to be with difficult experiences
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increasing our ability to be present in the moment
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holding compassion for the survival strategies we’ve developed
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receiving and co-regulating off of others
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self-regulating the nervous system
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solidifying our sense of self
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relating to our self in a new way
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Trauma is often complex and multi-dimensional, so finding full healing and relief from its effects usually requires more than just one practitioner and one type of therapy. We typically recommend that clients engaging in Somatic Healing Sessions at Studio A are also simultaneously working with a mental health therapist. We can provide referrals to local therapists whose work is compatible with somatic work if needed.
MASSAGE ADD-ON
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After the hard work of a one-on-one session, whether that is 60, 75, or 90 minutes long, there is the offer to end your session with a 15 or 30-minute deeply relaxing massage, if you choose to book that add-on. With the part of the session over that requires such active engagement, you are invited to use the massage time to simply receive. Swedish massage on the table and Thai massage on the floor mats are both available options.
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Massage, when done by an attuned provider in a trauma-informed way, with just the right level of pressure for your body, can stimulate the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system. This then becomes a period of rest and nourishment in which the body-mind complex can integrate any shifts that occurred deep in the nervous system during the session, before heading back out into the busyness of life.
RATES FOR SOMATIC HEALING SESSIONS
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New Client Appointment: $175 (lasts 90 minutes)
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Subsequent sessions: $110 per hour, $138 for 75 minutes, $165 for 90 minutes
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Add-on massage rates: $28 for 15-minute, $55 for 30-minute add-on
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Discover our open-ended pricing structure and learn about the Sliding Scale program available to clients of Somatic Healing Sessions, on the What to Expect page.
HSA/FSA cards accepted
HOURS & SCHEDULING
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Currently, Allie sees clients for Somatic Healing Sessions during these times:
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Tuesday 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Thursday 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Saturday (1 per month) 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
TESTIMONIALS
READY TO GIVE IT A TRY?
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For those who feel ready to become a one-on-one client of Allie's, let's start a conversation! Enter your info below to get started.Â