1:1 Somatic Therapy in Pittsburgh & Online

Somatic Therapy in Pittsburgh & Online Session to Support Deep Healing

Alyssa’s areas of expertise offering somatic therapy in Pittsburgh & Online

Unresolved Past Trauma

There is a deep connection between our past traumas and our current behaviors as trauma left unprocessed lives in the body and influences how we respond to stress, emotions, and our relationships. Alyssa offers somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and online to explore how your life’s trauma has impacted your nervous system responses and shaped your life. By reconnecting with your body’s wisdom, we can rewire your nervous system for healthier more balanced responses and move beyond the limits of your mental health diagnosis.

Functional Illness & Chronic Pain

Chronic pain and functional illnesses often manifest as physical symptoms like pain, inflammation, rashes, digestive issues, and fatigue. These conditions are often connected to the body’s stress response, which can become dysregulated over time. In somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and online, we explore how your body’s physical sensations are linked to stress, emotional overload, and past experiences. By reconnecting with your body, we can address the root causes of your chronic pain, reduce inflammation, and restore balance, helping you heal and experience a better quality of life.

Managing Chronic Stress, Anxiety & Depression

Chronic stress, anxiety, and depression can leave you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and disconnected, often manifesting in physical symptoms like headaches, muscle tension, digestive issues, and sleep disturbances. By reconnecting with your body through somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and online, you can better manage these symptoms. Learning to listen to your body’s cues helps reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and ease physical tension. This deeper awareness builds emotional resilience, allowing you to navigate life with more confidence, cultivate healthier relationships, and restore balance in your daily life.

Body Trauma + Pre & Post Operation Counseling

Body trauma, whether from surgery, a sudden diagnosis, or a physical accident, can cause a dramatic increase in stress and anxiety, often leaving you in physical pain. This sudden shift can make it feel like your body has failed you, leading to a loss of trust in your physical self. In these moments, it’s crucial to rebuild that connection and advocate for your own healing.

Alyssa offers somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and online to work together to navigate this time, using techniques like psychokinetic imagery processing, where symbols and visualizations activate healing, regardless of one’s physical mobility. Through this process, you’ll learn how to listen to your body, support its healing, and reclaim your strength and resilience, both during and after your journey.

“Alyssa encourages me to listen to the wisdom of my body. She has lots of concrete body practices and evocative imaginal exercises to nurture this conversation with myself. But for me, the key ingredient that makes the whole process therapeutic is the confidence Alyssa has in this body-mind relationship; this helps me trust that my body is speaking and I'm fully capable of listening. I experience this as deep permission to tap into my own creative healing process.” ~ P.O., somatic therapy in Pittsburgh sessions

somatic therapy in Pittsburgh

1:1 Somatic Therapy in Pittsburgh & Online to Rebuild Faith & Trust in the Body as a Reliable Narrator

Alyssa uses a body-based approach to somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and Online

Trauma and chronic stress often cause a disconnect from the body, shutting off communication as a way to cope with pain. This leaves many feeling numb, desensitized to their physical bodies, unsure of their needs, and disconnected from their inner wisdom.

Through body-based somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and online, we restore this original communication system, the ancient autonomic nervous system where our survival responses lives, and rebuild trust with one’s own body.

Together, we’ll map your unique nervous system to help you understand how it responds to stress and emotions.

This sensorial awareness lays the foundation for healing, helping you manage chronic stress, reduce anxiety, reduce inflammation and have a better overall quality of life that supports a healthier relationship with themselves, their partners, and their communities as a whole. rewire your nervous system for healthier, more balanced responses. Here’s a good read on what is somatic art therapy.

somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and online

Somatic Therapy Pittsburgh & Online Session Available from Anywhere in the World

Whether you choose somatic therapy in Pittsburgh or online, sessions are tailed to each client’s unique needs and strengths, using movement, creative expression, and body-based exercises to explore and understand your nervous system.

To begin, we work together to map out your autonomic nervous system responses, helping you identify how past experiences shape your reactions and patterns in daily life, ultimately getting to the root of why you are seeking therapy.

By incorporating Polyvagal Theory and psychokinetic imagery processing, we use symbols and visualization to gain perspective, build internal resources, and support emotional regulation and deep healing regardless of each client’s physical mobility.

Somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and online sessions may include guided movement, expressive arts such as painting, drawing, writing, breathwork, vocalization, reflective discussion, and physical touch to release tension, regulate your nervous system, and deepen your connection to your body.

This approach is comprehensive and often leads to deep personal insights.

FAQs about Somatic Therapy in Pittsburgh & Online with Alyssa Jurewicz-Johns

“As we tap into the deep sources of bodily wisdom through creative art expression, we dance the renewal, recreation, and healing of ourselves and our world.” Anna Halprin, Founder Tamalpa Institute

  • 1: 1 Sessions are 60 – 90 minutes in length and are offered in-person or online. Any where from 4 to 12 sessions can be helpful. Some individuals continue this work for a year or longer. It depends on the person and the exploration.

  • Sessions vary but might include a combination of body awareness practices, expressive arts (drawing, painting, writing), movement, and reflective discussion. Some session also involve physical touch and tension release from the body. Whether choosing somatic therapy in Pittsburgh or online, each session is tailored to meet your specific needs, focusing on what feels most supportive for you.

  • This approach to healing is suitable for persons of all ages and no previous art or dance experience is necessary. The process is about expression and exploration, not about creating "good" art or moving in a specific way. The therapy space is non-judgmental and centered on your experience, allowing you to connect with yourself more deeply.

  • Unfortunately, not. At the moment I offer a sliding scale fee for 1 : 1 Therapeutic Discovery Sessions. Soon, I will be able to offer ‘out of network’ benefits through ISMETA. Majority of insurance companies do not include somatic therapy as ‘in network’.

    The Body Psychology Association of America, as well as the International Somatic Movement Educators & Therapists Association are working on a systemic level to change this. I am currently a member of both organizations.

  • Just yourself and a sense of curiosity although I do suggest wearing clothing that you are comfortable moving in to both somatic therapy in Pittsburgh and online sessions. If there are certain art materials you like to use, you’re welcome to bring it. However, the space is set up with everything you need to support your experience.