Somatic Coaching
What is Somatic Coaching?
“Coaching” is a catch-all term for the embodiment support I offer clients outside the umbrella of mental health counseling. In this framework, I come as a witness, guide, and companion on the journey.
What is Somatics?
Image Description: Hands reaching out among plants & flowers, with stars falling between them. Words that say, “We have been given all the tools.” Art by Olly Costello.
Somatics includes many lineages of healing work that focus on the experience of the body, and view the mind-body-spirit as a wise, interconnected ecosystem. Somatic work helps people learn the language of their nervous systems, build resilience from the inside out, and live into alignment with deeper values.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a specific approach I center in my work. SE supports the recovery of the innate flexibility of the nervous system. It’s a gentle and intuitive path to growth and change. When we untangle fixed patterns of threat response in the mind-body, we open new possibilities for choice and presence in our lives.
I completed my training as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) through Somatic Experiencing International from 2021-2024. This program involves extensive study of stress and trauma physiology, as well as supervised practice in SE methods. My work is also informed by The Embodiment Institute and The Prenatal and Perinatal Somatics Institute.
What are Somatic Experiencing Sessions Like?
It's a difficult question to answer because it's not really a fixed set of “exercises,” but rather an interactive process. We practice observing changes in your internal experience in real time, and I help you understand what your body signals (sensations, emotions, images, movement impulses, thoughts) are communicating about the state of your nervous system. As we get a map of your experience, we identify mind-body resources and practices that help your specific nervous system find its way out of fixed threat responses and into a felt sense of safety in the present moment.
Ways I support folks through somatic work:
Learning the language of the nervous system; listening to the body
Building interoception skills; expanding capacity for difficult emotions and body sensations
Developing a relationship of collaboration instead of control between mind, body, & spirit
Restoring access to intuition and embodied boundaries
Nervous system support for organizers, social change workers, and helping/healthcare professionals
Aligning actions and choices with deeper values
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These are drop-in, stand-alone coaching sessions that focus on the basics of somatics. Sessions may include:
Nervous system education
Building interoception (internal perception) skills
Mapping out 1-2 of your specific nervous system patterns
Identifying new responses and embodiment practices to create change
This type of session could be good for someone who:
Wants to listen to their body’s signals and begin learning how to respond to them
Is experiencing burnout and looking to re-orient, find out what’s next
Is already doing therapeutic or body work elsewhere but wants to explore themes from a somatic lens
These sessions operate under a coaching model and do NOT constitute an ongoing therapeutic relationship. This is not a space to process trauma or receive crisis support.
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Somatic integration sessions offer an ongoing space to work with specific goals for increasing mind-body-spirit connection and nervous system resilience. These sessions are for someone who:
is already familiar with somatic/nervous system work
is not in crisis and has a robust support system
has established skills of somatic awareness, self-regulation, and embodiment practices
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Getting Started
The first step for anyone who is interested in working with together (or if you just have questions!) is to set up an initial conversation to get acquainted. You can reach out through my contact form, phone (206-317-4688) or email (bethany@ bethanyberens.com).
Location
I offer somatic coaching virtually and in-person. My office is in downtown Greensboro, NC.
Fees:
Somatic Skills Sessions: Sliding Scale
Individual Somatic Integration Sessions: $150
Couple/Family Somatic Coaching & Education: $175
Sliding Scale/Pay What You Can Rates: I offer a sliding scale for Somatic Skills Sessions and somatic/embodiment practice groups. I’ll be happy to send you my sliding scale framework - let me know you are interested in this when you get in touch.
I ask that you to thoughtfully consider your social/cultural position and access to wealth (personal and generational) when requesting an adjusted rate. For more on locating yourself in a sliding scale, see Alexis J. Cunningfolk’s work here.
Coaching Disclaimer and Clarification
Somatic coaching and mental health counseling are not the same, and coaching is not the right fit for everyone. Coaching sessions offer support, education, resources, and practices to facilitate change and growth. Coaching requires collaboration and an active effort outside of sessions. Coaching does not assess, diagnose, or treat mental health disorders and does not operate within a medical model. Although I hold counseling licenses, within the coaching relationship I am not offering clinical mental health counseling, psychotherapy, or any other form of health care.