Somatic & Body-Based Therapy for Anxiety

115 vetted providers offer somatic therapy for anxiety. They are sorted by city below, and every other option is one click away.

Some anxiety shows up mostly in the body: a pounding heart, tight muscles, panic that talking does not touch. Somatic therapy is built for that kind of anxiety, and it draws on what we know about the nervous system.

Somatic therapy works on anxiety through the body and nervous system as well as the mind. You learn to notice physical sensations, use your breath and move with care, so held tension can let go and your system can settle.

Somatic and body-based therapies are Progressive care, given by trained therapists. They can help when talk therapy has not reached the physical side of anxiety. You can compare them here with every other option.

More anxiety treatments to compare: Ketamine Therapy · TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) · EMDR Therapy · Neurofeedback, or the full list for anxiety.

Somatic therapy for anxiety: questions people ask

How can somatic therapy ease anxiety?

It works with the body signs of anxiety, like a racing heart, tight muscles and panic. Talk alone often misses these. The approach rests on research into how the nervous system handles stress.

What happens in a session?

Your therapist guides you to notice sensations in your body, to work with your breath and sometimes to move gently. There is less retelling of events and more attention to what your body is doing right now.

Is there research behind it?

Some, and it is growing. Somatic Experiencing and similar methods have been studied most for trauma, mostly in small studies. Many are offered by licensed clinicians.

Will I have to relive painful memories?

No. A good somatic therapist moves slowly and puts your safety first. The goal is to keep you from feeling overwhelmed.

Want to weigh more choices? See every anxiety option in the US, from traditional to alternative to progressive care, or search the full Whole Wellbeing Atlas directory.