What is Somatic Counseling?
Somatic counseling is a holistic therapeutic approach that recognizes the profound connection between mind, body, and spirit. Rooted in the understanding that the body holds memory, emotion, and wisdom, this practice works directly with the nervous system and embodied experience to facilitate healing and transformation.
Unlike traditional talk therapy that primarily engages the mind, somatic bodywork accesses healing through the body’s innate intelligence. This approach acknowledges that trauma, stress, and life experiences are stored not just in our thoughts and memories, but in our tissues, muscles, and nervous system patterns.
Initial Somatic Consultation
An initial somatic consultation is a comprehensive intake session where you and your practitioner explore your health history, current symptoms, stress patterns, and embodiment goals while beginning to assess your nervous system responses and body awareness. Together you discuss what brought you to somatic work, identify areas where you feel disconnected from or challenged by your body, and establish safety and consent protocols for future sessions. This foundational meeting helps create a personalized approach to your somatic healing journey while giving you a gentle introduction to body-based awareness practices.
Somatic Embodiment Session
A somatic embodiment session involves gentle, body-focused awareness practices where you learn to notice internal sensations, track how emotions live in your body, and develop nervous system regulation through conscious breathing and mindful movement. Your practitioner guides you in exploring present-moment bodily experiences at your own pace in a safe, supportive environment. The work helps you reconnect with your body’s wisdom and develop greater capacity for self-regulation and embodied presence.
Myofascial Targeted Bodywork
Myofascial targeted bodywork is a hands-on therapeutic approach that focuses on releasing tension and restrictions in the fascia—the connective tissue web that surrounds and supports every muscle, bone, and organ in your body. Using sustained pressure, gentle stretching, and specific techniques, the practitioner works to identify and address areas where fascial adhesions or tightness may be limiting movement, causing pain, or affecting posture and function. This specialized bodywork helps restore fascial mobility and hydration, improving circulation, reducing chronic tension patterns, and supporting your body’s natural alignment and movement capacity.
Meet the Expert:
Our bodies communicate profoundly through movement and posture. Bodywork when performed by an expert, is a therapeutic dialogue with the body like no other. Our therapist-in-residence, Karina Hoog is a certified CMT specializing in myofascial alignment, Asian therapies, posture and breath-work. Karina’s techniques help drive systematic pain release and to jump start the body’s own healing energies. Her focus includes myofascial-release, a full array of circulatory system work, acupressure, stress release and regular massage.
Clients of Helios have uniques access to a range of programs focused on alignment, pain management, breath and stress-reduction. We hope you’ll experience the incredible knowledge and technique of one of the area’s most experienced practitioners.