Somatic Experiencing Therapy | Orthopedic Bodywork | Personal Training | Somatic Skills Classes | Somatic Support for Animals – NEW
Link to my scheduling page. For Somatic Support for Animals please send your request to hutch@movebetterhealing.com
- 1:1 Somatic Experiencing Therapy: 60 minutes $115, 90 minutes $160, multi- hour nature intensive starts at $100
- Orthopedic Bodywork: 60 minutes $110, 90 minutes $160
- Personal Training Session: 45 minutes $45, discounts available for groups of 2-3
- Skills Classes: weekly 90 minute sessions, $15-$25 per class. Learn what’s currently offered here
Somatic Experiencing Therapy
Somatic Experiencing was developed by Dr. Peter Levine through decades of observing mammals’ (including humans) instinctual response to threat. The wisdom of the practice stretches through multiple scientific disciplines and teaches the body to release stored stress- induced energy and become more resilient to future stress. Due to a variety of biological and cultural constructs we often don’t acknowledge what our body is telling us in a moment of perceived danger, and instead we create layers upon layers of protection. Somatic work recognizes that we are incredibly adaptive beings and without negating the alarm system itself, recognizes we have lost touch with our biological instincts. Somatic Experiencing provides a supportive skill set that fosters safe and tolerable dissipation of stress- inducing and sometimes traumatic energy. To get started you don’t have to put your life on hold or wait til a better time arrives. You don’t even have to know what is wrong, just the feeling of being stuck, overwhelmed, chronically in pain, or not feeling your authentic self is enough to warrant exploration into this gentle practice. Improvements to your ability to self-regulate will start to transform from your first session, but consistent attention will bring healing to aspects you didn’t even know were in need.
The SE approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. It offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states. Trauma may begin as acute stress from a perceived life-threat or as the end product of cumulative stress. Both types of stress can seriously impair a person’s ability to function with resilience and ease. The Somatic Experiencing approach facilitates the completion of self-protective motor responses and the release of thwarted survival energy bound in the body, thus addressing the root cause of trauma symptoms. This is approached by gently guiding clients to develop increasing tolerance for difficult bodily sensations and suppressed emotions. The practitioner does not seek to fix your problems, tell you what you should do, or rehash the details of old wounds. Instead your own nervous system leads the session to what is felt in the body and what stored experiences need attention. To learn more I suggest visiting www.traumahealing.com.
WHAT CAN SOMATIC EXPERIENCING HELP WITH?
- High performer burnout (in work or athletics)
- All forms of abuse and neglect
- Near death/ natural disaster survival
- Panic attacks and anxiety
- C-PTSD
- Chronic stress and fatigue
- Accidents and bodily injury
- Emergency response workers
- Surgery/ Anesthesia
- Pervasive fear or loss
- Birth and early childhood events
WHAT DOES A SOMATIC EXPERIENCING SESSION ENTAIL?
- Witnessing and naming sensations of the body
- Learning how the nervous system functions for survival
- Exploring restorative positions, sounds, images, etc
- Practicing curiosity through art, music, movement, nature, or imagination
- Exploring the crossroads between personality, diagnosis’, and management strategies
- Recognizing triggers and glimmers
- Learning how food influences nervous system states
- Having compassionate space held especially for you
- Gentle guidance and supportive touch that supports feeling safe in the body
- Teasing out habitual patterns from present moment awareness
Orthopedic Bodywork
I have been a Licensed Massage Therapist in Indiana since 2011. Currently I am accepting new massage clients that are competitive athletes or have received a professional referral. I maintain referral relationships with many Evansville Chiropractors, MDs, Surgeons, Physical Therapists, bodyworkers, mental health providers, and the like and would be happy to help you find the right fit of care.
With my master’s degree in sports science and over 25 years of playing and coaching athletics, I find Orthopedic bodywork to be my ideal niche. I have a small caseload of active youths and adults that come to me to help with their movement limitations, chronic pain, complications from surgery, and desire to keep moving beyond the age of retirement. My bodywork sessions begin with a thorough joint range of motion assessment, application of manual therapy, cupping, “scraping”, Myofascial Release, Neuromuscular Retraining, Kinesiotaping, and at- home exercises. I do not perform relaxation or Swedish massage, however I do offer a supportive touch session aimed at reducing physical and emotional stress via compression, stretching, biofeedback, and principles of Somatics.
Personal Training
I am certified through ACE and provide functional and trauma informed weight training at EPIC gym on Vogel Rd. I work with a wide range of movement abilities, specializing in those with health conditions or mental blocks that make movement challenging. I have also trained competitive athletes, people with disabilities, Crossfit athletes, health professionals, and those wanting to maintain functionality with age. I do NOT focus on weight loss or bulking methods of training.
Classes Offerings for Personal Growth
Doing the work to heal can be hard; receiving support with tenderness and expertise should be easier. Each class has been designed to be both financially accessible and approachable—offering practical ways to tune into your body without just taking on more information, more pressure, or another thing to get “right.” Life will always throw new challenges our way. The goal isn’t to become perfectly regulated, immune to pain, or have all the answers. It’s to become more familiar with your own body and have more options for how you respond when life gets difficult.
Click the class title to get on the waitlist! Joining grants you access to bonus content, start dates, and registration. Classes will be held weekly and start at $15. No one will be turned away due to inability to pay.
Everyday Somatic Skills
Build greater awareness of how stress shows up in your body and what helps you feel more grounded.
Practice simple ways to work with tension, urgency, and overwhelm as they arise in your individual reaction patterns.
Experiment with resources that support ease, emotional clarity, safety, and healthy boundaries.
Build your Chronic Pain Toolkit
Offered virtually, allowing pain and fatigue fluctuations to be part of the process rather than a barrier to attending.
Explore the signals and patterns within your pain cycle while discovering resources that support greater ease and connection with your body.
Build a personalized toolkit of practical, evidence-informed skills to help you respond to pain with greater confidence and keep doing the things that matter you.
Functional Movement for Complex Bodies
Become part of a community for those who’s movement has become limited by pain, fear, hypermobility, chronic illness, or a sense that normal exercise no longer feels safe.
Experiment with practical ways to build stability, body awareness, physical longevity, and confidence within your abilities and goals.
Ditch the metrics of weight loss and max strength for movement options that enliven your body without pushing through protective responses.
Past Events
Somatic Forest Frolic
Nervous System Reset and Contrast Training
If you have a group focused on self- improvement I can build an experience or presentation on Somatics for you! Here are some examples of events I have organized.
