Somatic Therapy · Seattle · Statewide WA Telehealth
Somatic therapy for a nervous system that will not settle.
A body-based way to work with stress and old fear, so a wired or frozen feeling can settle instead of running the show. Same-week appointment availability. Most major insurance plans accepted. In person at three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington.
Somatic therapy at Counseling Services for Wellbeing helps Seattle-area adults work with the body and nervous system, not only the story, so stress and old fear can settle instead of staying stuck on high alert. We accept most major insurance plans, book same-week appointments and see clients at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video statewide.
You understand what happened. Your body did not get the message.
You have talked it through. You can explain where the bracing comes from and why your chest tightens before you have even named the reason. But understanding has not changed the wiring. The body stays on alert anyway, scanning for the next thing, and you are along for the ride.
Maybe it is the wired feeling that will not switch off, the shoulders up by your ears, the breath you keep forgetting to take. Maybe it is the opposite, a flat, frozen, far-away feeling where you go numb and check out. Maybe it is both, swinging between keyed-up and shut down with no settled place in the middle.
Insight on its own has not reached this. You do not need someone to explain your nervous system to you. You need a way to work with the body so a feeling can finish and settle, not just be understood. That is what somatic and nervous-system therapy is built for.
Somatic therapy for adults whose bodies stay on high alert.
Wired and braced with no off switch
Shoulders up by your ears, jaw tight, scanning for the next thing. You know nothing is wrong right now, and your body has not gotten the memo.
Flat, frozen or far away
A numb, checked-out feeling where you go quiet and disappear from your own life. It can look like coping until you notice you are not really here.
Trauma that talk alone has not reached
You have told the story. You understand it. But the body still flinches, and the old fear is held somewhere words have not been able to touch.
Panic and the bracing around it
The fear of the next wave, the held breath, the way your body tenses for it. The body reacts before your thinking mind gets a vote.
Stress that has moved into the body
The clenched stomach, the tension headaches, the sleep that will not come. The weight you carry is physical now, not only in your head.
Swinging between keyed-up and shut down
From wired to numb and back again, with no settled place in the middle. You are looking for a way to reset the nervous system, not just ride it out.
First-time-therapy adults are welcome. If you want to work with the body and not only the story, and you like having something to notice and practice between sessions, this approach was built for you.
How somatic therapy works here.
Somatic work here pairs the body-based piece with the rest of your care, looking at the nervous system, sleep and daily rhythms alongside the thoughts, rather than the body in isolation.
Reach out
A short form or a call. We hear what is going on, where the stress or fear shows up in your body, and what you have already tried. No assessment battery to clear before we talk.
Get matched
We pair you with a therapist trained in somatic and nervous-system work whose approach fits what you are carrying. The first few sessions are about getting a feel for your nervous system and finding small, steadying things to notice, not pushing into the hard material before you are ready.
Start this week
First appointment in person at one of three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington. Same therapist each session. The work goes slow on purpose, building enough safety that the body can let go a little at a time, so you can feel whether the therapy is doing what you came for.
What somatic therapy is, and where it fits with the rest of your care.
Somatic therapy is a body-based approach that works with the nervous system, not only the story you tell about what happened. You and your therapist track sensations like a tight chest, a held breath or a braced jaw, and work to let the body finish responses that got stuck. It is sometimes called bottom-up work, because change starts in the body and the calmer thoughts tend to follow. In practice it is slow and collaborative: you build enough safety that the body can settle a little at a time, rather than being pushed.
A worried mind and a braced body feed each other, so we work with both. When body-based work needs company, we pair it with CBT for the thought patterns that keep a feeling looping, EMDR when a stuck pattern sits on top of trauma, and DBT skills for the moments a feeling is too big to think your way out of. This is not anti-talk-therapy. It is somatic work inside a whole-person practice, matched to how the stress actually lives in your body.
How we compare
Counseling Services for Wellbeing vs. typical Seattle somatic options.
| Talk-only therapists | Online-only therapy platforms | Counseling Services for Wellbeing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First appointment |
Often weeks-long waitlist
|
Days, but with whoever signs on
|
Same-week scheduling
|
| Messaging between sessions |
Rarely offered
|
Built-in app messaging
|
No 24/7 app messaging
|
| Same therapist each session |
Yes, same therapist
|
Therapist rotation common
|
Same therapist, continuous care
|
| Works with the body, not only talk |
Talk-only, refers out otherwise
|
Scripted, talk-based modules
|
Somatic, polyvagal and nervous-system work
|
| Therapy + medication coordinated |
Refers out to a separate prescriber
|
Med-first, little therapy
|
Therapy + psychiatry in one practice
|
| Insurance accepted |
Somatic specialists often cash-pay only
|
Limited carrier coverage
|
Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
|
-
First appointment
-
Talk-only therapistsOften weeks-long waitlist
-
Online-only therapy platformsDays, but with whoever signs on
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingSame-week scheduling
-
-
Messaging between sessions
-
Talk-only therapistsRarely offered
-
Online-only therapy platformsBuilt-in app messaging
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingNo 24/7 app messaging
-
-
Same therapist each session
-
Talk-only therapistsYes, same therapist
-
Online-only therapy platformsTherapist rotation common
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingSame therapist, continuous care
-
-
Works with the body, not only talk
-
Talk-only therapistsTalk-only, refers out otherwise
-
Online-only therapy platformsScripted, talk-based modules
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingSomatic, polyvagal and nervous-system work
-
-
Therapy + medication coordinated
-
Talk-only therapistsRefers out to a separate prescriber
-
Online-only therapy platformsMed-first, little therapy
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingTherapy + psychiatry in one practice
-
-
Insurance accepted
-
Talk-only therapistsSomatic specialists often cash-pay only
-
Online-only therapy platformsLimited carrier coverage
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingKaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
-
A good talk-only therapist offers something real: the same person every session, a deep relationship and a method they know well. What you give up is range. If talk alone does not reach the body, you start over with a new referral to a somatic specialist who is often cash-pay only. We keep the same therapist and the continuity, and we have somatic, polyvagal and nervous-system approaches in the building, covered by most major insurance plans.
Most major insurance plans accepted
We recommend confirming your benefits with your insurer before your first session, so getting body-based help does not have to wait until you can afford cash-pay rates.
Meet some of our somatic and nervous-system therapists.
Body-based work is available across our team, so the clinicians here are a sample, not the whole bench. We match you with a therapist trained in somatic and nervous-system care whose pace fits what you are carrying.
A deeper bench than the five here. Tell us what you are working on and we will match you with the right therapist.
Three offices or secure video anywhere in Washington.
Somatic work translates well to video, since much of it is noticing and steadying what is happening in your own body wherever you are sitting. Meet the same therapist in person or online.
Secure video, statewide
Anywhere in Washington. Same therapist either way.
Online therapy in Washington →What adults ask before starting somatic therapy.
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is a body-based approach that works with the nervous system, not only the story you tell about what happened. You and your therapist track sensations like a tight chest, a held breath or a braced jaw, and work to let the body finish responses that got stuck. It is sometimes called bottom-up work, because change starts in the body and the calmer thoughts tend to follow.
What does somatic therapy help with?
Somatic and nervous-system work may help with stress that lives in the body, trauma that talk alone has not reached, anxiety and panic, and a nervous system that feels stuck on high alert or shut down. People often come when they understand their history but still feel braced, wired or numb. Your therapist tailors the work to what is actually happening in your body, not a script.
How is somatic therapy different from talk therapy?
Talk therapy works mostly on the narrative, the meaning you make of events. Somatic therapy works on what the body is doing right now, the bracing, the held breath, the wired or frozen feeling. The two fit together well, and somatic work pairs naturally with CBT and EMDR. Many people find that adding the body-based piece is what finally lets a feeling settle rather than just being understood.
Do you take my insurance for somatic therapy?
We accept Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna. We recommend confirming your specific benefits with your insurer before your first session, so you know what to expect rather than guessing. If you are unsure about your coverage, reach out with any questions; the member number on your card is the fastest way to confirm your benefits.
How soon can I be seen?
First appointments are available the same week, not weeks out. Much of the Seattle market books four to six weeks ahead or is cash-pay only, so you do not have to wait long to start. Reach out and we will find the first opening that works with your schedule, in person or by secure video.
Do you offer somatic therapy online or only in person?
Both. You can meet in person at our Green Lake, Burien or Smokey Point offices, or by secure video anywhere in Washington with online therapy, with the same therapist either way. Somatic work translates well to video, since much of it is noticing and steadying what is happening in your own body wherever you are sitting.
Where are your offices?
We see clients at three offices, Green Lake in Seattle, Burien and Smokey Point in Arlington, plus secure video sessions anywhere in Washington. The Green Lake office serves North Seattle, the Burien office serves South King County and the Smokey Point office serves north Snohomish County. You can also meet entirely online if that is easier for you.
You do not have to keep living in a body that will not settle.
Somatic and nervous-system therapy gives you a body-based way to work with the stress and old fear, and you can start this week. Counseling Services for Wellbeing accepts most major insurance plans, books first appointments the same week and matches you with a therapist trained in somatic care, in person at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video across Washington.
