Somatic Experiencing
When You’re Ready for Healing That Includes Your Body and Your Whole Self
Online Somatic Experiencing for adults in Florida and Illinois with limited in-person availability in Delray Beach.
Somatic Experiencing is for people who sense that healing will take more than just talking or learning. For many, stress shows up not only emotionally but physically, as tension, fatigue, headaches, digestive issues, or reactions in the body that do not ease no matter how much insight you have gained.
Somatic Experiencing helps you work with fight, flight, freeze, and shutdown responses in real time so your brain and body can begin to recognize the difference between past threat and present safety. This work includes your body directly in the process, working with the physiology of stress and trauma as it shows up in real time. It supports you in building the capacity to stay present, engaged, and grounded in your life, even in the moments that used to pull you into shutdown or overwhelm.
This work is about reconnecting with your whole self
Somatic Experiencing includes what is alive in your body as well as your thoughts and emotions. That means all of you, your nervous system’s sensations, your strongest feelings, and even the parts you have been afraid to show. When we pay attention to how stress lives in your physiology, healing becomes deeper, more grounded, and more lasting.
About Me
Hi, I’m Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW.
I’m so glad you’re here. If you’ve been longing for meaningful, lasting change, you’re in the right place.
When you’ve lived with trauma or chronic stress, it starts to show up in your body, in your reactions, and in the way you move through life. You might shut down, lash out, or avoid things that feel too hard, and then feel guilty or ashamed for how you handled it.
Even if everything looks fine on the outside, it doesn’t feel that way inside. You’re carrying more than you should have to, and it’s starting to catch up.
I help adults who are ready to stop pushing through and start listening to what their nervous system needs.
Together, we’ll work to support real, lasting change, so you can feel more like yourself again, without the constant tension, overwhelm, or self-blame.
What Brings People to Somatic Experiencing Therapy
Previous talk therapy helped, but didn’t bring lasting change
Stress that shows up physically, like tension, digestive issues, or headaches
Anxiety or nervous system overwhelm
Feeling worn down by trying to keep it all together
Struggling in relationships due to reactivity or withdrawal
Coping through habits that no longer serve you, such as overworking, substance use, emotional eating, or other patterns that are starting to affect your life
Reacting in ways that don’t feel like you
Extended burnout or chronic stress
Losing presence or joy in daily life
What is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-centered approach to healing trauma and chronic stress. It supports your nervous system in coming out of survival mode so you can feel more present, capable, and connected in your life.
Instead of focusing only on thoughts or memories, SE brings attention to what’s happening in your body. Patterns like tension, bracing, numbness, shutdown, or physical discomfort can show how stress and past experiences are still being held in your physiology. By working with these responses gently and at your own pace, your nervous system can begin to experience more flexibility and a stronger sense of safety.
Rooted in nervous system science and polyvagal-informed understanding, Somatic Experiencing helps you recognize your body’s natural stress responses and relate to them differently. The goal is not to force change, but to support healing that builds resilience, steadiness, and more choice in how you move through life.
If you’ve been living with emotional exhaustion, physical symptoms, or reactions that feel bigger than the moment calls for, Somatic Experiencing offers a path toward deeper healing and integration.
What Somatic Experiencing Sessions Are Like
Somatic Experiencing sessions are different for everyone and often shift from week to week. We usually begin with what feels most present, whether that’s something you’re carrying emotionally, a stressful interaction, or simply how your body has been feeling.
As we talk, we stay connected to what’s happening in real time. There is room for your thoughts, emotions, and nervous system. We track fight, flight, freeze, and shutdown responses as they arise, supporting your system in renegotiating old patterns so your brain and body can begin to recognize the difference between past threat and present safety.
You don’t need to retell your entire history for this work to be effective. When the past shows up, we focus on how it’s living in the moment, such as tension, urgency, numbness, or relief in being able to speak about it.
At times, we may include small somatic practices that work directly with these responses, like gently squeezing your fists, pushing against something for support, or slowly moving your feet as if completing a running response. You remain in charge of the pace, and we adjust together.
With consistent support, many people begin to feel more grounded, more present, and better able to stay connected to themselves when life feels challenging.
The body remembers what the mind forgets; it is through Somatic Experiencing that we can access and release stored traumatic memories.
— Peter Levine
Why Somatic Experiencing Works
When stress and trauma live in the body, talking alone often is not enough to create lasting change. Somatic Experiencing brings awareness to real time physiology, including how your nervous system reacts, where tension is held, and how survival responses influence your reactions and capacity. As this work unfolds, people often notice they:
• React less intensely and recover more quickly
• Understand their patterns as protective rather than defective
• Feel safer in their body and more present in life
• Experience reduced physical symptoms of stress, such as tension and fatigue
• Grow the capacity to engage in relationships, work, and daily life with more steadiness
This work supports change that feels integrated. It is not just momentary relief, but deeper shifts in how your body and mind respond. If you are ready for support that includes your body, your mind, and everything you have been carrying, this is a place to begin.
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. This work translates well to virtual sessions, allowing you to stay connected to your body and nervous system from the comfort of your own space.
I also have limited in-person availability in Delray Beach.
I’m also licensed in Illinois and see clients across 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 become stuck after stress or trauma. Rather than only talking about what happened, Somatic Experiencing helps your brain and body experience safety in the present moment. This allows stress responses to 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 focuses on what is happening in your nervous system as you speak. Traditional talk therapy often centers on thoughts and insight. Somatic Experiencing tracks body sensations, tension, activation, and shutdown patterns in real time. This allows change to happen at a physiological level, not just a cognitive one.
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Both Somatic Experiencing and EMDR are trauma therapies. EMDR typically uses bilateral stimulation while revisiting specific memories. Somatic Experiencing does not require detailed retelling of trauma and does not rely on eye movements. Instead, it focuses on regulating the nervous system and completing survival responses in a gradual, body-based way.
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Yes. Because Somatic Experiencing works with the nervous system, it can support symptoms that are stress-related, such as muscle tension, headaches, digestive issues, fatigue, and chronic pain patterns. When the body begins to feel safer, physical symptoms often shift as well. This approach is especially helpful when medical tests are normal but symptoms persist.
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The length of therapy depends on your history, goals, and current stress load. Some people notice changes within the first few months. Others choose longer-term work to build capacity and resilience over time. Somatic Experiencing is not a quick fix, but it supports steady and lasting nervous system change.
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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. Limited in-person sessions are available in Delray Beach. I am also licensed in Illinois and see clients across the state, including 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 for possible reimbursement.
Get help from a Florida Somatic Experiencing Practitioner
It can feel exhausting to keep carrying so much while still feeling stuck in old patterns. If stress lives in your body as much as your thoughts, it makes sense that insight alone hasn’t shifted everything.
Somatic Experiencing focuses on supporting your nervous system and working with what your body has been holding so you can respond with more choice and flexibility when life feels hard.
You don’t have to do this alone.
If this approach resonates with you, you’re welcome to reach out for a free consultation.
I'm Amy Hagerstrom, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner helping adults navigate trauma, anxiety, and chronic burnout through online sessions in Florida and Illinois. My work centers on the connection between mind and body, with Somatic Experiencing at the core. It's an individualized, moment-to-moment attunement process where I track your nervous system and respond to what you need as it unfolds. When appropriate, I also integrate the Safe and Sound Protocol and the Rest and Restore Protocol to support nervous system regulation and create the internal safety that makes deeper emotional processing possible.