Amy Hagerstrom Therapy PLLC
Build the capacity to feel, connect, and live more fully.
Online somatic therapy for thoughtful adults in Florida and Illinois who are ready to feel safer in their bodies, build resilience, and create lasting change.
I'm Amy Hagerstrom, a somatic therapist and the founder of Amy Hagerstrom Therapy PLLC in Delray Beach, Florida. I work with adults experiencing trauma, anxiety, and chronic stress using an approach that includes the mind, emotions, and body. Together, we focus on creating greater felt safety, building nervous system capacity, and supporting lasting change over time.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker & Somatic Therapist
Florida (SW 23332) & Illinois (149026921)
What You’re Dealing With Makes Sense
Trauma, anxiety, chronic stress, and old patterns of protection can shape how you respond to yourself, your relationships, and the world around you. Even when you understand these patterns and genuinely want things to be different, they can continue to show up automatically.
You may understand yourself well. You may know where these patterns come from. You may have worked hard to change them. Yet they continue to show up in ways that can feel frustrating or confusing.
When these patterns are held in the nervous system, insight alone often isn't enough to create lasting change.
Welcome. I’m Amy.
I help adults move through trauma, anxiety, chronic stress, and burnout with somatic and integrative therapy that works with both mind and body. In this short video, I share a bit about how I work so you can see whether it feels like a good fit for you.
Meet Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW, SEP
Hi, I'm Amy, a licensed clinical social worker and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner offering online therapy to adults throughout Florida and Illinois.
I do this work because including my body in my own therapy many years ago made a profound difference in my mental health. Talk therapy helped me understand my patterns. Things began to shift when my body became part of the process.
That experience shapes the way I work today. I care about offering a space where your body is part of the conversation and where we move at a pace that respects your nervous system. I also bring a developmental perspective to our work because many of the ways we protect ourselves today were shaped by earlier experiences and relationships.
Today, I'm especially drawn to working with thoughtful adults who often look high-functioning on the outside but feel like they're working incredibly hard underneath. You may have done therapy before and understand yourself well, yet stress still shows up in your body as tension, fatigue, shutdown, or emotional overwhelm.
Over time, our work focuses on building greater felt safety, expanding capacity within the nervous system, and supporting meaningful change that lasts.
What Many People Are Carrying
You may recognize yourself in more than one of these experiences.
Many of the people I work with are thoughtful, capable, and self-aware. They've often spent years in therapy or personal growth and understand themselves well. Yet they still find themselves caught in familiar patterns of anxiety, overwhelm, tension, or shutdown that don't seem to shift through insight alone.
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Trauma is not only about what happened, it is also about how overwhelming it felt in your body at the time and how your nervous system is still carrying it now. You might notice big reactions to small things, feeling on edge, stuck in numbness, or like part of you is still bracing for something bad to happen. Somatic trauma therapy gently works with your nervous system so it can recognize more safety, release some of that stored survival energy, and help you feel more present and connected in your life.
Learn more about trauma therapy -
Anxiety is more than just worry in your mind; it often shows up as a tight chest, trouble settling, or a sense that your body is always on alert, even when you want to rest. You might notice racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping, feeling easily overwhelmed, or a constant bracing for what could go wrong. With somatic therapy, we include your body in the process so your nervous system can begin to recognize when there is enough safety, even in the middle of things that are stressful or hard.
Learn more about anxiety therapy -
Midlife can be a season where old patterns, emotions, or questions about who you are begin to surface, even if life looks “fine” from the outside. You might feel restless, stuck, more reactive than you want to be, or aware that the ways you have gotten through life so far are no longer feeling supportive. Somatic therapy offers a place to slow down, include your body in the conversation, and meet this transition in a way that makes room for both what hurts and what is ready to grow.
Learn more about Midlife crisis therapy.
How I Work With You
My work is rooted in Somatic Experiencing and guided by a developmental understanding of the nervous system. Every treatment plan is individualized, integrating other evidence-informed approaches when they support your goals.
My Core Approaches:
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This is always part of our work together. SE supports your nervous system in completing survival responses from the past that never had a chance to finish, and gently updating the patterns that keep predicting danger so your body and brain can begin to recognize safety in the present.
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I pay attention to how early experiences shaped you, your patterns, and your nervous system today. That awareness helps us work not just with symptoms, but with the roots underneath.
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I always think in a whole-person way, bringing in lifestyle factors like sleep, food, movement, and other wellness practices alongside therapy. We can do more or less of this depending on what fits.
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An optional listening program designed to help your nervous system register safety, which can make it easier to connect, regulate, and do deeper work.
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Another optional sound-based approach, focused on helping your system return to its natural rhythm after chronic stress or overwhelm.
This Work May Be a Good Fit for You If...
You've done therapy before or spent years trying to understand yourself, but the same patterns keep showing up.
You're curious about how your nervous system shapes your thoughts, emotions, relationships, and everyday life.
You want therapy that includes your body, not just your thoughts and emotions.
You're interested in understanding how earlier experiences continue to shape the way you feel, relate, and respond today.
You want to build greater felt safety, nervous system capacity, and resilience over time.
You value a therapist who is compassionate, attuned, and willing to challenge you when it supports your growth.
You're looking for lasting change, even when it unfolds gradually.
Real change often takes more than understanding why you think, feel, or respond the way you do. Many of the patterns that affect your life were shaped by earlier experiences or ongoing stress and continue to be held in the nervous system.
This work focuses on building greater felt safety and nervous system capacity so there's more room to live in ways that reflect who you are and what's most important to you.
Online Somatic Therapy Across Florida and Illinois
I offer online somatic therapy to adults throughout Florida, including West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and nearby areas. Working online means you're in your own space, which for a lot of people actually makes it easier to tune into what's happening in their body and to keep showing up consistently.
I’m also licensed in Illinois and work with clients across the state, including Chicago.
Frequently Asked Questions About Amy Hagerstrom Therapy PLLC
These are some of the questions people often bring when they’re considering mind-body therapy.
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Somatic therapy is a mind-body approach that pays attention to what is happening in your body, not just what you think or feel. Many experiences, especially stress and trauma, are held in the body as automatic responses. Rather than relying only on insight or coping strategies, somatic therapy helps you notice those responses and gives your body more room to move through them, at a pace that feels safe.
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Every session looks a little different because everybody is different, and what your nervous system needs can shift each time. Some days we talk more. Other days we slow down together and notice what's coming up in your body. Sessions are experiential. I may guide you through pushing against a cushion, squeezing your hands together, grounding through your feet, self-supportive touch, or other somatic practices.
The goal is to help your nervous system have space to settle, complete stuck responses, and experience something new. Over time, you build capacity to be with bigger feelings without getting overwhelmed.
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The first session looks a little different for everyone, but the main intention is for us to get to know each other and for me to understand what you are hoping to receive from therapy. I will ask some gentle questions about what is bringing you in now and what feels most important for us to start with.
I usually include a small amount of somatic work so you can get a sense of what it is like. This might be a simple grounding exercise I guide you through, or a brief invitation to slow down and notice what you are feeling.
Although it can be helpful to get some history in the first session, I do not prioritize gathering a detailed history. This is because going into too much detail too quickly can feel overwhelming, and many clients come to somatic therapy specifically because they want a therapist who will be mindful of this. -
Yes. Somatic therapy translates well to online sessions because the work involves awareness, pacing, and attunement rather than hands-on techniques. Through video, I pay attention to your voice, facial expressions, and body language, and help you stay connected to what's happening internally. Many people find that being in their own space actually helps them feel more grounded and stay with the work.
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Somatic therapy is often a good fit for people who have done therapy or personal growth work and still feel like something hasn't fully shifted. You may understand your patterns logically but notice that your body still reacts quickly to stress, relationships, or change. Many people come to this work feeling overwhelmed, anxious, burned out, or disconnected from themselves, even while holding a lot together on the outside. You don't need to be in crisis to benefit. What matters most is a willingness to slow down and explore healing that includes your body, not just your mind.
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It varies from person to person. Some people begin to notice meaningful shifts within a few months, while others stay longer to explore deeper patterns. Because somatic work includes the body, the pace is often steady rather than rushed. Many of the people I work with are looking for depth, not quick fixes, and weekly sessions give the work room to settle and take hold.
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Individual 55-minute sessions are $200.
If you’d like to include the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) or Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP), there’s an additional fee.
I do not accept insurance directly. However, I can provide a detailed receipt (superbill) that you may submit to your insurance provider for potential out-of-network reimbursement. I recommend contacting your insurance company in advance to understand your specific benefits and coverage.
Somatic Therapy That Includes Your Whole Self
You may already understand yourself well and still feel like something hasn’t fully shifted. When patterns live in the nervous system, therapy that includes the body can create space for deeper change.
Our work moves at a steady pace and stays connected to what is happening in real time, not just insight after the fact. Some people come with clear goals. Others begin with a sense that they want to feel more grounded, more connected, or more fully themselves.
If you're wondering whether this approach is the right fit for you, the next step is a 10-minute phone call to see if it feels like a good fit.