Testimonials

I sought out therapy at Somatic Therapy Partners because I knew that the depression and anxiety I was dealing with was too much for me to face on my own. I was so overwhelmed in my life that I felt quite helpless; I had frequent panic attacks, larger scale depressive episodes, and I was stuck in past traumas. I found myself really struggling with substances, negative self-talk, and self-harm.

My experience with Coregulating Touch work began just a year ago. It has given me a way to live in my body that I didn’t know was possible. For so long after I was sexually assaulted, it was painful for me to physically exist in my skin because of the trauma. I found myself dissociating frequently or getting so worked up that my body was going into a physiological survival state. Through this work, I have been able to process trauma and return to my body safely. I’ve learned how to track my nervous system to understand how I’m feeling and then consciously soothe myself using love and care instead of negative coping mechanisms. I have become a more self-aware person through table work, and it has allowed me to show up for myself in a way that makes me feel taken care of and loved.

After several years in traditional talk therapy, I felt like I needed a different approach to help me heal symptoms of trauma and my daily battle with anxiety and an eating disorder. The first time I did table work with my therapist at Somatic Therapy Partners, it felt like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Like the best massage/spa day condensed in a few moments.

It was the most relaxed and grounded I’d ever felt. My therapist pointed out to me that what I was feeling was a regulated nervous system. It felt incredible! In the following days, I had more trust in my body’s signals. It was easier to move through my day with confidence. Over time with Coregulating Touch work sessions, I’ve gotten to practice feeling my feelings (the greatest superpower there ever was!), trusting and acting on my intuition, and how to let my body be without any expectations or pressures to change. That confidence and trust is now part of my daily lived experience. Through hands-on table work, my therapist gave me a safe space to learn new coping skills so I wouldn’t need to rely on anxiety and an eating disorder to navigate life.

I am less concerned with playing the game and trying to be normal and more willing to be who I really am. I’m finding myself willing to take more risks being who I am.

Paradoxically, the fear hasn’t gone away, but now it doesn’t stop me. Instead of being a paralyzing fear, I’m able to move forward life despite the fear. I bring something to the table in our work together; I’m not passive. It feels like a partnership. I experience my life as a flow of energy that is waves and colors. Our work has allowed me to sink into the flow and just trust; there’s now a real sense of trust in my life. Coregulating Touch work has just helped me trust my life.

I initially sought out Somatic Therapy Partners looking for a way to help my teenage son with developmental trauma (drug exposure in utero and post-birth attachment disruption). My son’s therapist developed a rapport with him necessary to do the table work, and the benefits to my son since they have been doing table work together have been remarkable.

He experiences “calm” during the table work, and he is now able to reference that calm state when he is away from her office. I was so impressed with the effect of Coregulating Touch work with my son that when I experienced a significant stressor in my life, I started doing table work too. So far, I see changes in my sleep, dream life, and waking access to previously buried memories, among other benefits.

I’d been diagnosed with PTSD, depression, and anxiety from childhood. I’ve mostly struggled with feeling disconnected from myself and those around me, broken and helpless. I’d get wildly overwhelmed in life and shut most people out because that was the only pattern I’d ever learned. This made intimacy very hard and super triggering as it awakened deep-rooted fears of abandonment.

During Co-regulating Touch work, my therapist invited me to speak or stay silent, and more importantly, to just let things flow. She invited me to listen to my body and share if I wanted. Over time I’d find myself listening to my body more. Since a lot of my recent work has been around intimacy (my therapist recently incorporated co-regulating touch work around my heart area), which on the first session filled me with this expansive, limitless goodness that’s a bit hard to explain.

I could go on about table work, but I can’t say enough good things about it. Honestly, if you’re not listening to your body, you’ll fall short in so many ways. Our bodies are so responsive and vocal. My advice? Listen to your body. Not just here but in all things. Especially the good, linger on the good.

I was given Somatic Therapy Partner’s name by a friend who said she was experiencing rare and permanent shifts in her ability to self-regulate. During the table work I did with my therapist, it felt like I was dropping into depths of relaxation I could not reach on my own. Somehow I was able to let go of the need to monitor and manage. What I noticed shifting after sessions was my reactivity dropped, my ability to catch myself increased, my awareness of what was driving my reactions was not related to the person I interacted with, but some sense of knowing it was from my past. I felt like I “was in life, and life was in me.” I felt less separate from life and other people. The world slowed down, things seemed more rich and full of texture, and I felt more present.

I had done all sorts of therapies and healing ceremonies before meeting my therapist at Somatic Therapy Partners, but this work touched me differently. Very gentle, but deeply moving things from long ago, out of the way. I highly recommend table work for those who have struggled to make changes in their way of being in the world. My therapist is a caring, solid, and compassionate guide in this vulnerable territory, one who appreciates the struggles and humanness of what we have taken on along our path. I found her to be the most grounded, neutral, and non-judgmental therapist I have ever met.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Jenny for 4 years. The first thing I noticed about Jenny is her natural empathy and her moral compass.  She is trustworthy and real with her clients and her co-workers.  She asks provoking and hard questions while providing tools to help clients navigate through every day and complex issues.  She is very knowledgeable in many aspects of mental health including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, OCD, and PTSD.  Jenny helps clients engage in treatment while maintaining a safe space.  She comes highly recommended and anyone would be lucky to work with her.”

“I knew nothing about Somatic Therapy prior to my appointment but after a lifetime of misdiagnosis and treatment from the medical community, I was willing to do something different.  I was nervous but a little desperate to find help with my lifetime of chronic back pain.  I’ve never even had a massage before because I didn’t want “strangers touching my body.”  But Jenny’s approach is so respectful, humble and non-intrusive that I couldn’t believe that it would make such a difference in my pain levels!

As a therapist myself, I knew that the body and mind were intimately connected but I had always used the approach of treating peoples’ mind and trusting that it would then impact their bodies.  This approach works just the opposite.  Jenny’s combination of somatic treatments with a little ‘talk therapy’ works in ways other approaches cannot.

After 6 weeks, I still don’t really understand how it works, but it did…miraculously.”

“I had the opportunity to explore the therapeutic option of Co-Regulating Touch with Jenny. As soon as I walked into her office, I felt welcomed as she offered me a cup of tea. She is sensitive to your concerns and navigates a COVID protocol to assure that her clients feel safe. I felt comfortable being open and authentic because she radiates a sense of calm and compassion. Jenny has the ability to hold a balance between direct communication and empathy which I found incredibly comforting. An attentive listener with a humorous spirit, she creates a space that is open and safe. Also, feel free to ask her questions about the process whenever necessary, as she is generous in sharing her expertise!”

-Client XS

“I started Co-Regulating Touch Work in order to help bring my nervous system back to baseline. I’ve worked some very stressful jobs in the past few years and constantly feel like my brain and body are always ready to go for anything. Being that ready to go has been extremely draining in many different ways. I needed to learn how to relax, not just sit on the couch watching Netflix kind of relax, but actually get my brain to relax and realize nothing has to happen in that moment. I’ve tried many different things to help with this but working with Jenny has made me realize how much I struggle to truly let go. I haven’t been working with Jenny for a long time but each time I went home after a session, I took the most restful naps I can ever remember having. It felt like working with Jenny somehow made my brain and body finally say it okay to relax and rest. It was the permission I needed that I was having a hard time giving myself. That permission, I think, has helped me to gain a better understanding of what relaxation is and what I need to be truly relaxed. I feel like I’m slowly but surely becoming more connected with my body. This experience has been something worthwhile and something I think will continue to impact me in a positive way for the future.”

-Client EM