Somatic Experiencing
When It Feels Like Your Body Needs to Be Part of Therapy
Online somatic therapy for adults in Florida and Illinois who are ready for therapy that includes both mind and body. Together, we'll work toward greater felt safety, resilience, and capacity for everything life brings.
Why People Choose Somatic Experiencing
If you've done a lot of work in therapy but still feel like something hasn't fully shifted, Somatic Experiencing may offer a different way of working. It's especially helpful for people living with trauma, anxiety, chronic stress, or nervous system overwhelm who understand their history but still find themselves living with tension, fatigue, physical symptoms, numbness, or a sense of disconnection.
Many people come to Somatic Experiencing because they've reached a point where talking alone no longer feels like enough. They don't want to stop exploring their thoughts and emotions. They want a way to include what their body has been carrying, too.
Rather than asking you to choose between talking and body awareness, Somatic Experiencing weaves them together. As we make sense of your experiences, we also pay attention to what your body is doing in the present moment. Those responses often give us valuable information about what you need, helping us move toward greater felt safety, capacity, and flexibility in daily life.
Watch: An Introduction to Somatic Experiencing
In this short video, I explain what Somatic Experiencing is, who it's for, and how it can help when talk therapy hasn't been enough.
Meet Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW, SEP
Hi, I'm Amy Hagerstrom. I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP).
I spent many years in talk therapy. I understood myself well, but my patterns stayed the same and so did how I felt. It wasn't until I brought my body into the work that things began to change. That experience, along with nearly fifteen years in mind-body work as a yoga teacher, massage therapist, and now somatic psychotherapist, shapes how I work today.
Many of the adults I work with are navigating trauma, anxiety, or chronic stress. They often look steady and capable on the outside while carrying something much heavier underneath. I understand how much it takes to let someone see that.
My hope is that our work helps you feel safer in your body and gives you more capacity for whatever life brings.
You Might Recognize Yourself Here
You understand your patterns, but insight alone hasn't changed them.
Stress shows up in your body as tension, digestive issues, headaches, or fatigue.
Anxiety or overwhelm feels out of proportion to what's happening.
You're exhausted from always holding it all together.
You react or shut down in relationships faster than you want to.
You rely on overworking, scrolling, or numbing out to get through the day.
You feel disconnected from your body or like you're moving through life on autopilot.
Many of the people I work with have spent years trying to understand themselves. They're looking for an approach that includes the nervous system and the body as part of the process.
What It’s Like to Work Together
How I work
I'm warm, attuned, and pay close attention to what you're communicating, both through your words and through your nervous system. When it feels helpful, I may ask what you're noticing in your body or draw your attention to something I observe. I'll ask what you notice before sharing what I'm seeing.
I believe people grow best when they feel deeply understood. I'll also be honest, direct, and gently challenge you when I think it will help move the work forward.
What sessions are like
Sessions often begin much like traditional talk therapy. You can bring whatever you're needing support around that day. It might be work stress, a difficult relationship, a painful memory that keeps coming up, or something else entirely.
Sessions often move naturally between conversation and what's happening in your body. We may spend time exploring your thoughts, emotions, or experiences, then pause to notice what your body is communicating in the present moment. Those responses often help us understand your experience in a different way and guide where we go next.
Every session is different. Some days we'll spend more time talking. Other days we'll spend more time with what's happening in your body. We'll find a pace that feels manageable and fits what you need that day.
Sometimes we'll stay present with a sensation for a moment instead of immediately trying to make it go away. That can give your body an opportunity to respond differently. From there, we might explore a small movement, change how you're supporting your body, or simply continue the conversation while noticing your thoughts, emotions, and body together.
Somatic Experiencing is the foundation of my work. Depending on your needs, we may also integrate other nervous system-based approaches, including the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) or the Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP), when they feel supportive and appropriate for your nervous system.
If you would like to explore whether this kind of work is a fit for you, you are welcome to schedule a 10‑minute consultation.
What People Often Notice
While everyone's experience is different, many people begin to notice changes like these:
Pausing before reacting instead of feeling swept away.
Recovering more quickly after difficult conversations or stressful moments.
Feeling less consumed by tension, headaches, digestive discomfort, or fatigue.
Relating to themselves with more curiosity and less self-criticism.
Feeling more connected to themselves, the people they care about, and everyday life.
Along the way, there is usually room for relief, genuine laughter, and moments of lightness, even while we're doing deep work.
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. Somatic Experiencing works well in virtual sessions, allowing you to stay connected to your body and nervous system from the comfort of your own space.
I am also licensed in Illinois and work with clients throughout the state, including Chicago.
Somatic Experiencing FAQs
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Somatic Experiencing is a body‑based trauma therapy that focuses on nervous system regulation. It works with fight, flight, freeze, and shutdown responses that can get stuck after stress or trauma. Rather than only talking about what happened, Somatic Experiencing helps your brain and body experience more safety in the present so stress responses can complete and settle naturally.
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Somatic Experiencing helps with trauma and anxiety by working directly with how stress lives in the body. When your nervous system is stuck in survival mode, insight alone does not always create change. Somatic Experiencing supports regulation in real time so your system can recognize the difference between past threat and present safety. As this happens, emotional reactivity and physical symptoms often decrease.
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Somatic Experiencing includes conversation, but it also pays close attention to what is happening in your nervous system as you speak. Traditional talk therapy often centers on thoughts and insight. Somatic Experiencing pays close attention to body sensations, tension, activation, and shutdown as they happen. That creates opportunities for change at a physiological level, not just a cognitive one.
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If you have found yourself understanding your patterns clearly but still reacting the same way when it counts, that gap is exactly what this work is designed to address.
Insight is still part of this work. The difference is that we don't stop there. In somatic therapy, we also track what insight alone can't reach: where stress lives in the body, how your nervous system braces or shuts down, what happens in you before the thought even forms. Many people I work with have done meaningful talk therapy. This tends to be what comes next.
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Yes. Physical symptoms and stress are often connected in both directions. When the nervous system is stuck in survival mode, physical tension, headaches, fatigue, and pain can increase. As the nervous system begins to find more safety, many people notice shifts in how their body feels, though this varies from person to person. This approach can be especially helpful when medical tests are normal but symptoms persist.
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It depends on your history, nervous system, and goals. Single‑incident traumas with a solid support system can sometimes shift more quickly. When we are working with complex trauma, long‑term chronic stress, or patterns rooted in early life, therapy is usually longer‑term. Many people I work with plan for at least several months of regular sessions, and some stay longer as deeper layers come into focus.
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Somatic Experiencing therapy is offered online throughout Florida, including West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale. Online sessions are effective because we can track nervous system responses in real time from wherever you are. I am also licensed in Illinois and see clients across the state, including in Chicago.
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The fee for a 55‑minute session is $200. Payment is due at the time of service, and a card is kept securely on file.
I am an out‑of‑network provider. If you have out‑of‑network benefits, I can provide a superbill that you may submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement.
Taking the Next Step
It can feel exhausting to keep carrying so much and still feel stuck in old patterns. If stress lives in your body as much as in your thoughts, it makes sense that insight alone has not been enough to shift things.
Therapy doesn't require you to have the right words or know exactly where to begin. We'll start with what's happening in your life right now and work together to understand both your experience and what your body may be communicating.
The goal is to help you have more choice in how you respond to life's challenges and more capacity for the life you want to live.
You don’t have to do this alone.