What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is a body-centered way of healing that helps you reconnect with yourself, not just your thoughts, but the sensations and emotions stored inside you. It’s built on a simple truth: your body remembers what your mind forgets. Stress, fear, or trauma can live quietly in your muscles, posture, or breath, showing up as tightness, fatigue, or numbness.
This type of therapy blends gentle body awareness, mindful movement, and emotional processing. You learn to listen to what your body is saying, then respond with care.
At Existence Online Therapy Clinic, somatic therapy is offered virtually across Ontario. Our trauma-informed therapist helps you explore what safety and presence feel like inside your own body. It’s never about fixing yourself, but finding a steady rhythm between your body, mind, and emotions.
Why Somatic Therapy Feels Different
Some people describe it as a softer way to heal. Instead of pushing yourself to “talk it out,” somatic therapy helps you slow down and tune in.
You might start a session by noticing where your body feels tense or heavy. You might breathe together with your therapist, track subtle shifts, or move a little to let emotion move through. The goal isn’t performance, it’s safety.
If you’ve ever left therapy feeling like you understood something, but your body still felt on edge, somatic therapy Ontario work might be what bridges that gap. It’s talk therapy, but grounded in the wisdom of your body.
How Somatic Therapy Works in Ontario
The Mind–Body Connection and Nervous System
Our nervous system holds onto experiences, especially stressful or traumatic ones. When something reminds your body of that old event, it can react: fast heartbeat, tense shoulders, shallow breath, even if your mind knows you’re safe.
Somatic therapy works by helping you notice these patterns with compassion. Over time, the body learns it’s safe to relax again. By focusing on physical awareness, your therapist supports regulation and balance, helping you feel grounded day to day.
Common Techniques Used
Somatic therapy uses small, body-based tools designed for safety and ease:
– Grounding: Feeling your feet, your seat, the floor, remembering where you are.
– Breath Work: Using slow breathing to calm the body’s alarm system.
– Body Scans: Gently noticing areas of tightness or warmth without judgment.
– Micro-Movements: Letting the body stretch, shift, or sway in ways that feel natural.
– Interoception: Learning to sense what’s happening inside: heartbeat, breath, temperature, and building trust with those signals.
These methods are simple, adaptable, and always taken at your pace.
Safety and Consent in Somatic Therapy
Everything begins with safety. Before anything else, your therapist helps you find a sense of steadiness, a reminder that you’re the one in charge of what happens in each session. Somatic therapy at Existence moves at your pace. You can pause, change direction, or simply talk if that feels better.
No one asks you to re-live pain or to push your limits. Small steps matter more than breakthroughs. Your therapist will check in often, notice your cues, and work with you to make each session feel grounded and manageable.
That’s what trauma-informed care looks like in real life: being met with respect, patience, and choice; the basic ingredients of feeling safe in your own body again.
Who Can Benefit from Somatic Therapy
Trauma, Shock, and PTSD
When something overwhelming happens, the body can hold on to the story long after the mind wants to move on. Muscles stay tight, breathing feels shallow, or you might freeze when you don’t mean to. Somatic therapy helps the body slowly finish what it started during those moments of survival: shaking or softening what’s been held for too long.
With gentle attention and guided awareness, people often find that flashbacks lessen and everyday life feels more spacious.
Anxiety, Depression, and Overwhelm
An anxious mind often sits inside an anxious body. Your chest might buzz, your stomach might knot, your thoughts spin faster than you can keep up. Somatic therapy teaches you to meet those sensations before they spiral, through grounding, breath, and small movements that remind the body it’s safe to slow down.
Over time, you start recognizing early signs of overwhelm and responding with care rather than panic. Many clients describe it as finding “a little more room to breathe,” not a sudden cure, but a quieter, steadier way to exist inside yourself.
Identity, Self-Worth, and Emotional Blocks
Somatic therapy isn’t only for trauma survivors, it’s also for anyone exploring identity, boundaries, or self-worth. By connecting with your body, you learn to feel what’s true for you instead of what you’ve been told to be. Existence’s therapist specializes in helping clients who feel “never enough,” guiding them toward deeper self-trust and embodiment.
Existence’s Somatic Approach and Philosophy
Integrative and Compassionate Approach
Existence’s therapist blends somatic, relational, and narrative approaches. You’ll work with a licensed, trauma-informed therapist who brings both skill and presence, someone who meets you with real care, not just credentials.
Our philosophy is simple: you don’t need to be fixed; you need to feel safe being you.
How Sessions Are Conducted
Sessions are offered virtually across Ontario through secure video calls. You can join from home: no commute, no waiting room. A session may start with conversation, move into gentle grounding, or use short body-awareness practices if you’re comfortable.
Every step is guided by your therapist and your consent. You decide what pace feels safe.
How to Get Started with Existence
Reaching Out
The first step is simply reaching out. You can schedule a time directly through the Existence Therapy website. Before deciding, you’re welcome to a short, no-cost 15-minute chat with a therapist. It’s a low-key space to talk about what’s been hard lately and to sense whether this feels like a good fit. No pressure, no sales talk — just two people seeing if they can work together.
The First Session
After you’ve been matched, you’ll fill out a short form to share what’s been going on and what kind of support you’re looking for. The first full session isn’t about diving into heavy memories. It’s more about getting to know each other, naming what’s been weighing on you, and finding a rhythm that feels steady. Your therapist will check in about what helps you feel grounded and what pace feels manageable.
Moving Through the Work
Over time, therapy becomes less about “fixing” things and more about learning your own signals; when your body starts to tighten, when you need rest, when you can open a little more. Some weeks might feel quiet, others more emotional. That’s part of the process. Slowly, you start noticing small differences: fewer spikes of anxiety, easier breathing, a sense that you can stay present even when life gets loud.
FAQs — Somatic Therapy in Ontario
- Is Somatic Therapy Regulated in Ontario?
Yes. The practice of psychotherapy in Ontario is regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). Existence’s therapist is a licensed professional under that framework. - Do I Need to Live in Ontario to Work With Existence?
Yes. Existence provides virtual therapy services only to clients located in Ontario. - How Many Sessions Will I Need?
It depends on your goals and comfort. Your therapist will help you decide on a pace that fits your life. - Can Somatic Therapy Be Combined With Talk Therapy?
Absolutely. Somatic work at Existence naturally blends with trauma-informed talk therapy and mindfulness-based care.
A Gentle Step Forward
You don’t need to have it all figured out to begin. Most people start therapy with a small sense of curiosity: a wondering about how life might feel with a bit more space to breathe.
Somatic therapy invites you to notice what your body’s been saying all along: the tightness, the pauses, the moments that ask for care. With support, those signals start to soften, and safety begins to take root from within.
If somatic therapy in Ontario feels like a doorway you’re ready to open, take the first step with a free 15-minute consultation.
→ Visit Existence Therapy to begin.
You don’t have to hold it all together here.
Hi, I’m Laura—a trauma-informed psychotherapist supporting individuals and couples across Ontario. I help those who grew up without emotional safety reconnect with themselves, their bodies, and their relationships.
Many of my clients are the people-pleasers and overthinkers who seem capable on the outside but feel exhausted and “not enough” inside. If that sounds familiar, you don’t have to carry it alone.
Let’s Begin.
If you’re ready to explore what healing could look like – not through fixing, but through feeling, remembering, and reconnecting – I’d be grateful to be part of that process.
Still unsure? We're here to help.
Totally fair to have questions. That’s why we created a full FAQ Centre with real, straightforward answers to things you’re probably already searching—like how online therapy actually works, what your first session might look like, how we match you with a therapist, and how to get started if you’re new to all of this.
Here are a few quick answers to get you going:
A meaningful and supportive therapy journey is ready when you are.
Meet Laura, the founder and therapist at Existence and connect in for free 15-minute intro session. Simple, supportive, and no pressure to commit.
- Professional
- Inclusive
- Curated
Join us @existencetherapy
