What to Expect During Your First Session
The Check-in
We’ll start with a short conversation. You’ll have already filled out the intake form, so we won’t need to spend a lot of time covering your overall health history.
Instead, we’ll focus on your current situation: the physical, emotional or mental experiences in your daily life, as well as what you’re feeling as we sit across from one another.
It may seem strange that we won’t be focusing on your broader health journey. However, with somatic work, the most important and impactful thing we can focus on is feeling by tuning into the most immediate physical and emotional sensations. A brief conversation about your present experience is usually all we need to get the somatic wheels turning.
The Somatic Work
After our conversation, we’ll begin the somatic work itself—sometimes with a guided meditation to help you connect more deeply with your body and mind. When the connection is well established, we’ll move on to the energy healing.
During the energy healing portion, I’ll spend much of the time with my hands resting on various areas of the body as I draw somatic tension (unprocessed emotions, suppressed movement, memories etc) to the surface. I’ll make sure to prompt you before I put my hands on a new place and I’ll always ask if it’s ok before putting my hands on a sensitive area, such as the throat or face.
I’ll also work off of the body—sometimes a few inches, a few feet or even from across the room. Occasionally I’ll ask if I can gently move an arm or leg through some of its range of motion.
I will also be speaking. Often, during the energy work, I receive insights that are meant to be shared. I may also offer guidance for processing a sensation or feeling that’s rising to the surface.
My Gifts and the Role They Play
In most sessions, there will be times when I help express the somatic material that my clients are holding. That means I might move in certain ways, such as shaking my hands or legs, to discharge the somatic tension from your body. I will likely make sounds that reflect emotions that are trying to release in you.
Interestingly, my body also utilizes burping as a way to let go of tension that’s old and tightly held.
I should note that I can do this work, in part, because I have the ability to feel what’s going on in another person’s energetic system with a great degree of detail. That’s important because it helps me to guide you towards—and through—somatic material that’s previously been fully or partially outside of your consciousness.
Those are some of the basics of how I work in a session. But what will the experience be like for you?
What does somatic energy healing feel like?
This is a difficult question to answer because everyone’s experience is different. Some people feel clear and powerful physical and emotional sensations—they may be moved to cry, yell in anger or shake their body as a way to release somatic energy. Some clients have vivid visual experiences and some experience a profound feeling of calm. Some people don’t notice anything in particular during the energy healing.
The important thing to keep in mind is this: There is no correlation between the intensity of the experience in the moment and the overall impact of the session. Which means it’s just as likely that someone who has a calm or even uneventful experience on the healing table will receive profound, lasting results from the session.
For that reason, I suggest that you simply do your best to be present, receptive and curious about what does (or doesn’t) come up.
Safety is Primary
The final thing to mention about the client experience is this: The number one priority in somatic work is your sense of safety. In fact, healing can’t happen without it. If, at any point, something in the session feels too intense or uncomfortable, please let me know. There’s always a different, slower or gentler way to address any issue.
By its very nature, healing requires us to turn towards the physical and emotional experiences that we turn away from in our daily life. It requires feeling, which takes courage and a willingness to take a risk or two. But being brave doesn’t mean feeling unsafe. If you feel unsafe at any point in the session for any reason, let me know.
Closing the Session
After the somatic energy healing, we’ll return to our chairs for a brief wrap-up conversation. This is a great time for you to share about your experience or ask any questions. I’ll also share some tips for post-session self-care, as well as any potential insights and observations.
Finally, we’ll schedule your free 15 minute follow-up call, ideally for within 5 days of the session. I find this call to be critical for processing an initial somatic healing experience.
That’s it! Thanks for reading and don’t forget to fill out the New Client Intake Form (also linked in your appointment confirmation email) before arriving at your session.