Somatic Experiencing in Austin, TX
Let Your Body Finish What It Started
Trauma and chronic stress don’t just live in memories — they live in the nervous system. Somatic Experiencing works with the body’s own responses, gently releasing survival energy that got stuck, so your system can finally stand down.
4.9★
Average rating in our most recent client survey
15 years
Serving Austin since 2011
4,000+
Clients served
30 therapists
With varied licensure and levels of experience
When the Body Keeps the Score
After overwhelming experiences — a single event or years of chronic stress — the nervous system can stay locked in survival mode. It shows up less in memories than in the body:
- Chronic tension, clenching, or pain without a clear cause
- A startle response set to hair-trigger
- Feeling numb, foggy, or oddly disconnected from your body
- Exhaustion that rest doesn’t fix
- Gut, sleep, or immune issues that track with stress
- Knowing you’re safe — and not being able to feel it
Recognize this? Reach out — a short conversation with our team can tell you a lot, with no commitment.
How Somatic Experiencing Works
Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing helps the nervous system complete the survival responses it never got to finish. Instead of leading with the story, your therapist guides your attention to body sensations — in small, tolerable doses — so stuck fight, flight, or freeze energy can discharge naturally.
What happens in a session?
A lot of noticing, at an unhurried pace. Your therapist helps you track sensations — warmth, tightness, trembling, settling — and pendulate between what’s activating and what feels steady, so your system never gets more than it can handle.
You stay clothed, seated, and in control throughout; this is attention-based work, not massage or bodywork. Many people are surprised how quiet and gentle it is — and how much can shift anyway.
Curious? Ask for a call — we’ll walk you through it.
Gentle by Design
Somatic Experiencing was built on a simple observation: animals in the wild shake off life-threatening stress and move on; humans, with our clever cortex, often override that discharge and carry it instead. The method works in small doses — titration — always inside your window of tolerance, so healing never requires overwhelm.
How is this different from EMDR or talk therapy?
Talk therapy leads with meaning and insight; EMDR reprocesses specific stuck memories; Somatic Experiencing leads with the body — no narrative required at all. It especially shines when trauma is preverbal, chronic, or when talking about it keeps re-triggering rather than resolving.
They combine beautifully, and many AMC clients blend approaches. Your therapist will recommend the mix honestly, and Matcha factors it into your match.
Not sure which fits? Ask for a call.
A Body That Feels Like Home Again
As stuck survival energy releases, people describe the same arc: sleep deepens, the startle softens, sensations return where numbness was, and safety becomes something you feel rather than just know. That’s the goal — not managing symptoms forever, but a nervous system that trusts the present.
We work with several insurance plans and offer clear self-pay rates — see Rates & Insurance, or get in touch and we’ll check your coverage before you begin.
The Somatic Experiencing Journey
From first call to a nervous system that trusts the present — here’s the whole arc.
1Reach out
A short, low-pressure conversation about what’s been going on. A few minutes, no commitment, no story required.
2Get matched
Matcha, our custom matching platform, pairs you with a somatically-trained AMC therapist suited to your history and pace.
3Find your ground
Before touching anything hard, you build resources — sensations of steadiness your system can return to at will.
4Release, in small doses
Gentle pendulation lets stuck survival energy discharge — always inside your window of tolerance.
5A body that feels like home
Deeper sleep, softer startle, safety you can feel — and we say so when the work is done.
Find the right Somatic Experiencing therapist
Choose whichever way feels easier. Scroll down to meet the AMC therapists who offer Somatic Experiencing and request someone by name.
Or answer a few questions in Matcha, our custom AI-assisted matching tool, and we’ll suggest therapists whose experience and availability may fit your needs.
Craig Lesley, LPC-A
- Works with
- Age 13+
- Focus
- Anxiety, Caregivers, Codependency, Depression
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Insurance
- Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Curative, Private Pay / Self Pay, Sana
- Languages
- English
Giselle Otamendi, LCSW
- Works with
- Age 4+
- Focus
- ADHD, Anxiety, Asperger / Autism Spectrum, Attachment Issues
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, Integrative Approach
- Insurance
- Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Carelon, Cigna, EHN
- Languages
- English, Spanish
Jennifer Kirsten, LMSW
- Works with
- Age 18+
- Focus
- Alternative Spirituality & Energy Psychology, Anxiety, Depression, Dreamwork & Symbolic Exploration
- Approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Polyvagal-informed Therapy, Reiki / Energy Work
- Insurance
- Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Curative, Private Pay / Self Pay, Sana
- Languages
- English
Margot Goralczyk, LCSW
- Works with
- Age 12+
- Focus
- ADHD, Abandonment, Adoption / Foster Care, Anger
- Approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Insurance
- Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Carelon, Cigna, Curative
Alicia Denney, LPC, SEP
- Works with
- Age 25+
- Focus
- Anxiety, Career Discernment / Work-Life, Caregivers, Chronic Pain
- Approaches
- Integrative Approach, Person-Centered, Somatic Therapy
- Insurance
- Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Carelon, Cigna, Curative
- Languages
- English
Laurie Stevens-Beck, LPC-S
- Works with
- Age 18+
- Focus
- Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Bipolar Disorder, Codependency
- Approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Insurance
- Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Optum, Oscar
- Languages
- English
Tori Anders, LPC-A
- Works with
- Ages 17–45
- Focus
- ADHD, Abandonment, Anxiety, Attachment Issues
- Approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Somatic Therapy
- Insurance
- Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Curative, Private Pay / Self Pay, Sana
