Somatic psychotherapy FOR self & social transformation
WHAT CAN PSYCHOTHERAPY DO FOR ME?
You may have had survival needs that were ignored when you were younger which affected how you've experienced life. Such early scripts may continue to shape the way you think and feel today.
Start understanding how relationships shape your life and how you can create stronger and more fulfilling ones. You’ll build the skills you need to deal with the difficulties life throws your way and new, healthier habits that stop the cycle of suffering.
Over a lifetime, inevitably, unforeseen circumstances shake us to the core, and we are suddenly altered, no longer who we were, uncertain as to who we are now. These extraordinary transitions mark a critical junction at the crossroads of our lives.
It may be challenging to find your way after experiencing loss. Together we work to honor & release the past and find a way for you to live life as yourself, freer, more open and accepting of yourself and others. Get clear on what you value and start living by those values as you move forward into your life.
WHAT IS SOMATIC PSYCHOTHERAPY & HOW IS IT DIFFERENT?
While regular psychotherapy favors cognition, mental processes and focuses on our ways of thinking about life, Somatic Psychotherapy additionally encourages us to witness how we experience our reality directly by tuning in to our body's innate wisdom. We listen to the relationship between the stories we tell of our lived experiences and the underlying stories we've stored in our body's subconscious memory, which are often at odds.
We pay attention to the interplay of our thoughts, our feelings and our sensations. We listen to the coherence or dissonance of the three brain centers within our body, namely our thoughts, our heart & our guts. We learn about the impact our thoughts have on our health & on the biochemistry that animates our inner world. We reconnect to the innate physiological language we knew as infants, to address and transform traumas big and small.
HOW DOES TRAUMA AFFECT OUR BODY?
Life threatening events such as auto accidents, early childhood trauma, physical, sexual or emotional violence, the loss of loved ones, chronic illness, natural disasters, surgical interventions, or combat situations evoke biological defensive responses in the body designed to fight or flee the impending danger. But our bodies can also be affected by smaller everyday micro-agressions that we internalize within us which threatens our sense of belonging.
When one successfully fights off the threat or manages to escape it, the nervous system releases the huge sympathetic charge mobilized to respond to it. When there is neither the time nor the possibility of defending, we can remain frozen in shock, with our sense of selfhood and safety profoundly disturbed. The body remains on high alert, activated well beyond the disappearance of the threat, leaving our nervous and glandular systems in a perpetual state of arousal and hypervigilance, until the charge is released.
When the stress becomes chronic, psychological, behavioral, cognitive, medical or emotional symptoms may occur, such as depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, irritability, confusion, social isolation, sleep disturbances, flashbacks, muscle tightness, dizziness, panic, and health syndromes.
These symptoms can lead to an increasingly smaller worldview as we try to control our surroundings and to limit our interactions to avoid anything that would rekindle the unresolved trauma. We may seek to avoid thoughts, feelings and conversation associated with the traumatic event or any activities that may trigger it. We may also experience memory loss regarding important aspects of the trauma, feel socially isolated, detached or estranged from others. We may experience physical constriction, tension or loss of range of motion in our body, and a lack of any positive expectations for the future.
WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR WORK?
Rather than reliving a traumatic event, Somatic Experiencing® helps integrate body, mind and spirit with tools that help us focus on the awareness of minute physical sensations in the body, related images, and corresponding emotions. A combination of talk, touch, gestures and movement can help the nervous system unwind the survival energy bound up in the freeze, allowing us to become engaged & present to our lives, ready to chase our dreams & pursue our creative interests.
Reach out to us
Schedule a 15 minute conversation to see if this work is right for you.
What some of my former clients are saying
I was drawn to the alternative way of dealing with PTSD. The brochure described an approach that was gentle. Rather than re-living trauma, it promised to transform it.
Going over and over the trauma hadn’t worked for me before. Re-living it just didn’t do it.
The Ecology of Being Human means growing back into myself because I’d lost something during that trauma and I’m trying to regain it, successfully so far.
It says that you have to grow into being yourself. It says that it’s a process, but in a natural way. It’s a natural evolvement.
It’s been delivered at a pace that I can undertake and in a way that I can actually see progress because Ariane is helping me to understand the process. It helps tremendously with day to day stress.
I’m learning to understand myself and where I’ve recognized that the past is intertwined with my present situation. Just recognizing that has helped me deal with those problems. That way the healing can start.
I’ve managed to make peace with what’s happened in my early childhood, disentangling it from the current situation so that I am seeing it clearly.
When it’s all jumbled up and it’s not sorted, you can’t really deal with it.
I’ve tried several therapists and I’ve learnt to recognize that if there is a personality clash, it’s going to be a problem. Ariane is very approachable. She has a gift of empathy but is also no nonsense. And she’s patient.
I now know that no matter how hard the situation might be at the time, no matter how difficult it is to care for my mother who is on hospice and to let her go when the time comes, I will survive. I know it for sure now in my heart and in my gut. (SG)
My inner work is learning to be human again after my son was murdered. It was learning to be able to acknowledge the pain, the overwhelm, the devastation, while feeling where I am supported. It is about learning that I am not just my grief.
The role that Ariane plays in the work is one of asking me to notice where I am supported, what it feels like. It is to ask me to slow down and notice how things feel in my body. It is to acknowledge where I register stories in my body and to acknowledge old habits etc. Delivery is gentle, persistent, respectful.
Sometimes support comes in the form of touch or physically holding an arm or shoulders and neck. Sometimes it is a suggestion or encouragement to stay present.
The greatest healing that I have received is knowing that I have joy that exists side by side with grief. It is that I am supported, that I don’t need to carry it all alone, that I can notice where and how I am affected and reacting.
What made me come back to Ariane each week? Her quiet, present way of being. Her joy in small things. Her ability to create a safe haven.
I did not know that I could have joy again. I did not know that I could be a part of a family, a community, anything bigger than myself again. I know now that I can, that I am. (MS)
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"I’ve been wanting to tell you what I've learned from you during the trauma work we did together that continues to help me. It’s your describing, modeling and supporting the actions of getting comfortable physically. It seems simple and at the time I thought: "Oh, that will make me a spoiled princess..."
However in practice, it has made me much friendlier to myself to feel my body is my best friend rather than a burden, and this has deepened my work and my life." (NS)
I thought about working with Ariane for a couple of months and finally came to the conclusion the only thing holding me back was fear.
When I first came to sessions I really had no idea how much they would impact me. But I knew from first blush Ariane was the one to follow and learn from as long as the path holds. I liked her voice, her humor and her insistence on being here now, from the moment I met her.
A little research showed me that somatics is focused on body and mind integration, to minimize or eliminate the continual conflict. So ... a recent small epiphany. I have been longing for silence and assumed that I needed to separate myself from others, but I was wrong. What I need is to integrate my body, mind, emotions and spiritual dimensions.
It's like a vulcan mind meld. The level of integration potential is unlimited. It brings understanding & awareness of the conundrum that every moment is one and every moment is unique. Having my values with regards to spirituality validated means the potential for my healing surpasses my ability to comprehend it, and it is OK.
The greatest healing for me has been to understand "integration" in an entirely new perspective. It's not what the body feels, it is what it distinctly says to the mind. (When you can get the mind to listen).
Another part is much more personal. I am healing. How can I tell? There are many triggers and significant changes in my life, yet I seem much more at peace than I "normally" would be under these circumstances. My acceptance level is creeping higher and higher.
My personal path has taken me in many new directions; I drift further from what is considered a western approach to spirituality but there are exceptions (Christ, Mary, Thomas). Awareness increases, mindfulness increases, wholeness seems supported and natural. All of my inner work of meditation, Taoism, Zen, Rumi, developing compassion forgiveness and tolerance as guides, completely merges.
I have not done much work with a therapist and I was looking for an alternative non-judgmental approach where I could explore different happenings throughout my life, put them in perspective, heal and move forward.
I heard about Ariane and the Ecology of Being Human and working with her felt like a very good fit for me at that time in my life.
To me, the work means accepting myself for being human with my imperfections, memories, and feelings. Then, it incorporates recognizing that my emotions resonate in different parts of my body and that I can identify where I feel them. Through this tracking, I have the ability to either remember and cultivate the good feelings for future reference or let go of the negative ones that I do not need to keep reliving.
The work I have been doing brings me to the present moment and helps me identify in my body where I feel an emotion right then and there. As I talk, Ariane keeps me focused on getting me to listen to my body versus to my head.
I have learned to not continue to relive events that were hurtful many years ago. They are in the past and I have the ability to move on.
Ariane is exceptionally skilled as a practitioner. She is completely present and non-judgmental which allows me to be as open and vulnerable as I need to be to get the most from what I am learning about myself. There really is no one else that I would rather have guide me on this exploration of myself.
Her approach challenges me to discover the interweaving of my emotions throughout my body and that is the key to learning about me. (MT)
I was referred to Ariane through someone whom I strongly trust and who understands the work of somatic therapy.
I liked the idea of working through the sensations of the body instead of continually talking and telling stories. It's a holistic model that takes into account all of the aspects of living in this human body, mind, and spirit.
The inner work has given me the option and understanding of what is occurring within my body when in pain, in body & mind. It has been delivered through simply sitting and tracking the sensations within the body, as well as table and floor work when Ariane places her hands on the those places in the body that are in distress.
I've come to the realization and wisdom that I don’t have to take care or be in control continually through the mind.
I have learned that I can let go of the stories which I have been telling for years – letting the sensations of the distress come through the body, allowing me to track and breathe into those sensations, which results in a positive letting go. (BS)
As a trauma survivor having done years of talk therapy, I was finally ready to try a more holistic and body centered approach. This work slows me down and grounds me in very profound ways.
I relate this work to the ecosystem of our bodies. That there are rhythms, seasons and cycles that must be respected. The word congruence comes to mind... as well as curiosity. To cultivate a state of wondering and wandering.
This work has been a perfect complement to my years of talk therapy, nature based practices, as well as artistic explorations. This nurtures my inquisitive sensibility, keeping me open while keeping me resourced.
The delivery has come in Ariane's presence, accessibility and transparency as well as her extensive skill and knowledge of the various protocols and somatic techniques she teaches.
I feel more connected to my authenticity. My reactivity has lessened and I bounce back quicker from activating situations.
I've learned that it is not essential to tell a detailed story of what is going on with me to feel heard. That telling the story with words affirms the trauma and keeps me in that triggered state.
Whereas to sit with the body, noticing sensations, talking a little, going back to body....I have learned to regulate myself and to take refuge in my resourced self rather than in the suffering. (MH)