Somatic Experiencing and Trauma Therapy in Sacramento
Somatic Therapy in Sacramento: Taming Trauma and Finding Calm
You wake up overwhelmed by everything waiting for you today, including the effort it takes to pretend you’re “fine.” You tell yourself, “there’s nothing wrong,” you have a decent job, people who love you, and a comfortable home. But it feels like there’s a shadow over you, and everything still feels so hard. No matter how much you do, it never feels like enough.
There’s a constant revving inside your mind and body that won’t quiet down. It feels like you’re standing on the edge of something you can’t name, something you can’t fix. You hate the sensations that ripple through your body and worry that something is terribly wrong. The doctors say you’re healthy, which leaves you more afraid that it’s all in your head.
You’re tired of the power struggles: with your kids, coworkers, or partner. You worry that people are judging you, and no matter how much you give, there’s always more to do. You want to manage your emotions without numbing out. You want relief from the pressure, but don’t know where to start. You’ve tried to fix it alone, and it’s just not working anymore.
A Different Way to Heal
I’m Colleen King, LMFT, SEP, and I help overwhelmed adults foster stillness, clarity, and self-acceptance through trauma-informed, somatic therapy in Sacramento.
Many of my clients feel weighed down by the lasting effects of trauma or attachment wounds, and feel persistent stress, self-doubt, or disconnected from themselves and others. They carry patterns of perfectionism and people-pleasing that once kept them safe but now keep them exhausted. Together, we slow down the internal noise and begin to understand what your body and emotions are really trying to say—whether that’s asking for rest, nourishment, connection, or stronger boundaries.
Somatic therapy helps you tune into your body’s natural signals instead of fighting against them. We work gently with your nervous system so you can recognize when stress starts to build and learn ways to calm and re-center. This work isn’t about forcing change; it’s about creating space for your body to release what it’s been holding for far too long.
Compassion Over Judgment
In our work together, I meet you with compassion, not diagnosis. Feeling anxious, disconnected, or uncertain doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. It means you’ve been navigating a world that hasn’t always made space for your needs.
Through relational, somatic, and trauma-informed therapy, we’ll explore how survival skills like overthinking, avoidance, perfectionism, and people pleasing developed as protective responses. These aren’t flaws. They’re signs of resilience. When you begin to see them that way, the shame starts to soften. You can finally make room for understanding and self-compassion. You’ll begin to set boundaries without guilt and express your needs without fear. As you reconnect with your body’s wisdom, the weight you’ve been carrying starts to lift.
What Healing Feels Like
Clients often describe therapy with me as hard work and good fun—a space where they feel safe enough to finally explore what they’ve avoided for so long. I use trusted trauma-informed techniques sprinkled with humor, directness, and plenty of collaboration to help people stop spiraling and find their voice, befriend their emotions, and feel comfort in their bodies.
As you are gently guided to listen to your physical sensations , you begin to understand what your emotions are asking for. You’ll find that the pressure to be perfect begins to fade. You’ll start showing up differently in your relationships—with more ease, presence, and authenticity.
Healing doesn’t mean doing more or trying harder. It means learning to listen inwardly, to trust your body again, and to feel safe enough to rest, connect, and live as your full self.
Somatic Therapy in Sacramento: Come Home to Yourself
If you’re ready to transition from striving and surviving to feeling grounded in who you are, somatic therapy in Sacramento can help. Together, we’ll transform stress, shame, and self-criticism into understanding, compassion, and choice.
You don’t have to keep pretending you’re fine. There’s space here for your exhaustion, your fear, and your hope. Healing can begin with a single breath, a single step, a single moment of noticing that you don’t have to carry it all alone.
Schedule your free 15 minute consultation to see if I’m a good fit to meet your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions about Somatic Trauma Therapy in Sacramento
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Somatic Experiencing is a gentle and effective body-based approach to healing that works with the nervous system directly rather than focusing only or primarily on thoughts and words. Traditional talk therapy can be incredibly valuable, but trauma and stress don't only live in the mind. It lives in the body as physical tension, restlessness, a chest that won't stop feeling tight, a sense of dread that has no clear source. Somatic Experiencing helps your nervous system learn, at a felt level, that it’s safe to settle. Many clients find it reaches something that years of talk therapy alone couldn't get to. Somatic therapy helps you understand the connection between your mind and body. Instead of only talking about your struggles, we explore how emotions live in your body and learn ways to release the tension they create.
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While talk therapy focuses on thoughts and insights, somatic therapy includes your body’s sensations and nervous system responses. You learn to feel calmer and more grounded, so you have both the cognitive understanding of why trauma or chronic stress impacts you as well as the emotional and physical experience of safety and security.
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Panic attacks
Chronic anxiety
Emotional reactivity
Conflictual/abusive relationships
Burnout
People pleasing
Attachment injuries
Avoidant behavior patterns
Perfectionism
Emotional numbness
PTSD and C-PTSD
Bipolar disorder
Anxiety
Depression
Feeling stuck despite years of therapy
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Yes. Somatic Experiencing therapy was developed as a trauma-informed approach to gently support processing through traumatic experiences and chronic stress. We customize the somatic work depending on your capacity and individual needs. It works at a pace that feels safe enough to you. You stay in control at all times, and we move gently to avoid overwhelm.
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No. Somatic Experiencing therapy focuses on what’s happening in your nervous system right now. We don’t need to revisit every traumatic memory to create healing. You always have the control to share as much or as little as you want for your healing.
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Absolutely. Many clients find that learning to track sensations in the body and the ups and downs of your nervous system builds more capacity to be present with the settling experience of calm. Somatic Experiencing helps reduce the frequency and intensity of anxiety and panic and increase self-trust and stability over time.
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That’s very common. If previous therapy felt like it helped you understand why you have anxiety but it didn’t help you shift how it feels in your body, Somatic Experiencing therapy can offer something different. We're not just talking about the trauma; we're working with the part of your nervous system that's been running the show underneath all that insight. That's often where the missing piece lives.
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Every client’s journey is unique. It depends on what you’ve been carrying and for how long, and the goals that feel right for you. Some clients notice meaningful shifts within a few months. Others find that deeper patterns benefit from longer work. I don't believe in keeping people in therapy longer than they need to be, and I don't believe in rushing either. At the beginning of our work together, we talk about your needs and pacing, and develop goals that we revisit throughout our work together so you always have a sense of where you are and where we're headed.
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I recognize that investing your time, energy, and financial resources into fostering improved mental health and overall well-being is a big commitment, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to join you on this journey. I also recognize and respect that economic privilege is variable, so I am working to be in alignment with my values of economic justice and equity, while also acknowledging the quality of care that I provide to all my clients. I utilize a sliding scale tool based on three tiers of economic privilege.
The standard full fee for weekly therapy appointments is $200 per 50-minute appointment, and $300 per 75-minute appointment.
I am contracted with Medi-Cal HealthNet for people who are unemployed, underemployed, and/or disabled. If your financial resources exceed qualifying requirements for Medi-Cal insurance coverage, and the ability to pay my full fee would create a hardship on your ability to pay for your basic needs, please contact me so we can talk about the sliding scale.
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I offer both in-person therapy in Sacramento and online therapy throughout California. My Sacramento therapy office is located at 949 University Avenue, Sacramento CA 95825, I’m on the second floor in a building right next to the Guy West Bridge that spans the American River.
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The first step is scheduling a free 15-minute phone or video consultation with me. It's low-pressure, no commitment, and designed to give you a real sense of whether we'd be a good fit. You don’t have to have everything figured out before you take the next step.
