Somatic Awareness Therapy in NYC & Brooklyn
Somatic Awareness isn’t a separate
kind of therapy. It’s a layer of attention
woven into psychodynamic therapy.
Drawing on my training in yoga and body-based practice, I track what the body does alongside what's said: the tension that rises with a hard subject, the shift in breath before a difficult sentence.
In somatic therapy, clients often discover a pattern is rarely a mistake — it's a strategy, brilliant in its moment and obsolete in this one. The work isn't to eliminate it. It's to notice you no longer need it.
When Insight Hasn't
Translated Into Change
You’ve probably felt:
▸ Exhausted by circling the same pattern
▸ Disconnected from your own body
▸ On edge, without a clear reason why
▸ Frustrated that insight alone hasn't been enough
▸ Able to name a feeling without actually feeling it
▸ Wary of therapy that’s all analysis and no felt experience
Insight is necessary but not always sufficient. When understanding hasn't translated into change, it's often because the pattern hasn't been worked with at the level where it actually lives — in the body and in the nervous system.
▸ What You Can Expect
Slowing Down the Process
Somatic awareness in therapy is not rushed. There is space to notice what’s happening in real time, both mentally and physically.
BrinGing Awareness to the Body
At times, attention may gently shift toward physical sensations — what you notice in your body, how it changes, and what it might be communicating.
Integrating with Talk Therapy
This is not separate from psychodynamic work. Somatic awareness is integrated into the conversation, adding another layer of understanding rather than replacing it.
What Shifts In the Work
▸ The gap between a trigger and a reaction gets wider
▸ Insight starts to actually move something, instead of circling it
▸ You catch a pattern while it's happening, not just afterward
▸ Curiosity replaces urgency
▸ You feel less at odds with your own reactions
▸ The body stops being the last one to know what's going on
Ready To Start Somatic Therapy?
If you've been circling the idea of therapy without starting, you don't need to have it all figured out first. A consultation is a low-pressure way to ask questions and see if this feels like the right fit.
In-person in Brooklyn • Remote across New York State
-
Fill out the brief contact form. No need to explain everything up front — a brief overview is perfect.
-
I respond within 1–2 business days to schedule a free consultation call.
-
We'll talk through what's bringing you to therapy now and whether working together makes sense — for both of us.
More questions? Read the full guide to The Therapy Process →
Alissa Friedlander
LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER · MSW, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
I came to this work through two doors at once. Clinical training taught me how the mind organizes experience. A long-standing yoga practice taught me how much of that experience lives in the body, whether or not it's ever spoken.
I hold an MSW from Columbia University and completed postgraduate training at the Training Institute for Mental Health, with additional training from Sky Ting Yoga. My clinical approach is psychodynamic and relational, shaped by close attention to what's happening in the room beyond what's being said.
Working with me on somatic awareness means your body's signals become part of the conversation, not something to work around. Insight and felt experience move together, not one after the other.
