Kristy Long (She/Her/ Hers)

Body-centered therapies use touch, movement, and posture to explore and release stored emotional pain. By addressing the physical imprint of stress and trauma, these approaches promote healing and emotional balance. They encourage clients to connect with their bodies as allies in therapy, using somatic awareness to support resilience and holistic growth.

Sensorimotor psychotherapy focuses on the body's role in processing trauma and emotion. It combines mindfulness with movement to help clients notice and shift somatic patterns linked to past experiences. By engaging in present-moment body awareness, clients can reprocess trauma, regulate emotions, and develop new, adaptive ways of relating to themselves and others.

Depth psychotherapy views the body as a gateway to the unconscious. Somatic approaches integrate this by exploring how repressed emotions and symbolic meanings manifest in the body. Techniques like breathwork and guided imagery help clients uncover and process unconscious material, deepening self-awareness and fostering psychological integration.

Somatic psychotherapy treats anxiety by addressing its physical and emotional roots. Techniques like breathwork, grounding, and mindful movement help regulate the nervous system, reducing hyperarousal and fostering calm. By increasing awareness of how anxiety manifests in the body, clients can release tension and reprocess stored stress. This approach not only alleviates symptoms but also empowers clients with tools to self-regulate and respond to triggers more effectively.

Somatic psychotherapy addresses depression by reconnecting clients with their bodies. Depression often involves a sense of disconnection or heaviness, which somatic techniques like movement, breathwork, and body awareness can help alleviate. These practices activate the nervous system, increase energy flow, and promote emotional release. By fostering present-moment awareness and engaging the body, clients can break cycles of stagnation and develop a renewed sense of vitality.

Somatic psychotherapy supports self-esteem by helping clients connect with their body’s inherent strength and wisdom. Through posture, movement, and mindful awareness, clients explore how self-perception is shaped by physical habits and past experiences. Releasing tension and cultivating empowered body language fosters confidence and self-worth. This process nurtures a deeper trust in one’s own body and abilities, creating a foundation for lasting self-acceptance.