Somatic Therapy for Trauma, Connection, and Liberation

As my teacher Carey E. Smith says, _"Change is muscular."_ While insight is important, it's not always enough to generate positive shifts in our lives and relationships; somatic therapy can help by attending to and expanding on our experience. When we can feel something different, new possibilities and choices emerge.

Somatic refers to our full-body, whole person experience—senses, emotion, imagination, actions, meaning-making and more subtle forms of being. Pre-colonization, all cultures held practices rooted in the body, nature, and community. Somatic work is about uncovering the wholeness and wisdom that is our birthright, that connects us to all things.

Somatic Therapy may be supportive if you:

  • Struggle to relax or feel safe; you are exhausted and/or constantly on guard

  • Feel disconnected, numb, or unsure of your needs

  • Have plateaued in talk therapy or find that self-awareness isn't translating to feeling better

  • Have outsized responses to events, interactions, memories, or your own sensitivities

  • Struggle with relationships, feeling inflexible or abandoning your needs in favor of others

  • Don’t resonate with the term trauma, and shame and anxiety feel overwhelming

  • Have a sense that things could be better and are unsure of what's not working or why

To request a 15-30 minute consult where we can explore your hopes and needs, please use the form at the bottom of this page.

Working with Me

My approach weaves nervous system support and somatic skills to integrate the way I believe change happens: organically, when much needed support allows long held tension to unwind, and practically, through repetition and practice. I listen to the story your body is telling, centering your nervous system, and find that often, there are patterns of overwork or overriding due to socio-cultural and capitalist demands. We’ll look to the wisdom that has brought you this far and encourage more space, safety, meaning, and aliveness.

I'm an LCSWA, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, bodyworker, community steward, and teacher. My primary areas of study include Somatic Experiencing and somatic skills work in the lineage of Strozzi and Generative Somatics, parts work (Internal Family Systems), liberation psychology, and ecopsychologies. I make sense of mental health concerns within oppressive systems fed by our distress. The hallmarks of my care are collaboration, consent, steadiness, radical acceptance, and lightheartedness.

My areas of focus include:

  • Integration from sexual, physical, environmental, and systemic traumas

  • Anxiety, depression, grief, and life transitions

  • Relationship patterns and skill-building

  • Gender, sexuality, and cultural identity development

  • Emotional regulation and nervous system flexibility

Rates and Access

I work with most clients weekly as repetition is an important part of re-patterning. My work is offered on a community-supported sliding scale as we all deserve resonant care.

$100—$160 per 60-minute session ($130 suggested)

Covid-cautious and telehealth sessions are always available.

Positionality: As a white, trans non-binary, able-bodied person, I value the vast spectrum of human possibility and take particular joy in supporting queer identity development. If you prefer a therapist who shares your background, I'll gladly share connections. I benefit from the normative ideals of the mental health profession and work to subvert them, affirming all persons as experts of their own experience.

Community Fund & sliding scale: If you need help assessing your place in the scale, here is a reference generously offered by Worts & Cunning. Sessions below my suggested rates are community supported through a portion of all session fees and direct donations, and I prioritize those who experience barriers to receiving consistent care. Regardless of your payment you contribute to the well-being of your neighbors and a living wage for me. YES, I accept donations directly to my community fund! Please use my paypal link here: paypalme/melindahunt

Important note: I work under the supervision of Meagan Powlas LCSW, and engage in regular peer and expert consultation on Somatic Experiencing and other modalities.

Interested?

Reach out for a free 15-30 minute consult here. I'd love to hear your hopes and explore whether we're a good fit.