With Susan Shafer
Licensed Professional Counselor 500 Hour Certified Yoga Instructor Advanced Accredited and Certified EFT Practitioner
Somatic Therapy
My own experience with anxiety and depression taught me that understanding something in your mind doesn’t always change how you feel in your body.
Somatic work helped me reconnect with myself and find greater ease. It’s one of the reasons I bring mind-body approaches into my work with clients.
Do you know what you need to do but feel like your body won't cooperate?
Do you keep thinking, I should have this together by now?
Do you want to feel like your old self again but cannot figure out how to get unstuck?
Sometimes you can understand something intellectually, yet your body continues to react as if you’re not okay. You may find yourself feeling tense, overwhelmed, disconnected, or on edge even when you can’t quite explain why. And you may wonder why knowing better hasn’t necessarily helped you feel better.
Somatic approaches help you bring your awareness to what’s happening in your body, not just what’s happening in your thoughts. By slowing down and paying attention to these responses, you can begin to understand them, work with them, and develop a greater sense of ease, connection, and choice.
Clients Come To Me When They:
Feel stuck
Feel dysregulated
Repeat patterns
Feel disconnected
Are constantly overwhelmed
Want their old self
Struggle to settle
Can’t get unstuck
Somatic therapy gives us another way to work when thinking, analyzing, and talking haven’t been enough.
How Somatic Therapy With Me Works
In our sessions, we may use tapping, movement, breathing, or other body-based practices to help you notice your experience in a different way. Rather than only talking about what’s happening, we pay attention to how it shows up in your body and what changes when you gently shift your attention, posture, breath, or movement. You might stay comfortably in your chair, or I may invite you to stand and try a simple movement while we notice what you experience together.
These practices can help create more space around what you’re feeling, making it easier to settle, reconnect, build stability, or access energy and confidence when you need it. We’ll choose what fits your needs and what you’re hoping to change.
I’ll explain what we’re doing, how it may help, and why I’m introducing it. My goal is for you to leave with a better understanding of yourself and practical tools you can use on your own.
Approaches We May Use
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Brings physical sensations and movement into therapy to help you build grounding, stability, awareness, and a stronger sense of safety.
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Uses gentle tapping while we focus on thoughts, feelings, or sensations to help settle your nervous system and reduce emotional intensity.
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Uses breathing practices to influence your physical response to stress and gives you a simple skill to use when you need to settle.
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Uses mental imagery alongside body awareness to help you prepare for situations and connect with the response you want.
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Helps you notice what's happening in your body and surroundings. And supports feeling more present when stress pulls you away from the moment.
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Uses intentional movement to reconnect mind and body and build awareness and physical regulation.
Your Body Is Part Of The Work
You do not have to keep trying to think your way out of something your body is still experiencing.
Together, we build practical ways for you to understand yourself, regulate your nervous system, and help yourself feel better.
What Changes With Somatic Therapy
More regulation
More self-awareness
Less reactivity
More self-compassion
Stronger self-trust
More connection
More calm
Somatic therapy works with your body, not just your head, so you can finally feel regulated, grounded, and like yourself again.
“I want you to not need me at some point.
I’m here to teach you so you can do this without me.”
About Susan Shafer
Hi, I’m Susan Shafer, Licensed Counselor, Accredited, Certified EFT Practitioner, and Certified 500 Hour Yoga Instructor.
I believe the body can heal itself when we give it the tools it needs. Movement, nutrition, psychotherapy, tapping, and other somatic practices all play a role in helping you feel more connected and regulated so you can feel like yourself again.
Therapy, yoga, and tapping have been a wellness trifecta in my own life. I combine these approaches with clinical psychotherapy based on what makes sense for you. We’ll pay attention to what your body is telling us and turn that information into practical skills you can use in everyday life.
Outside of therapy, I practice yoga, meditation, tapping, and exercise. I also enjoy spending time with family, traveling, volunteering, and occasionally binge-watching comedies.
If you’re ready to take the first step, I’m ready to connect.
Availability: I provide virtual mental health counseling for residents of New Jersey, North Carolina and New Hampshire.
Education, Credentials, and Trainings
Education
M.A.
University of North Carolina-Charlotte, 2008
Licensure & Credentials
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC)
North Carolina #8482
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
New Jersey #37PC00876900
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
New Hampshire #3481
Advanced Accredited, Certified Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Practitioner
Certified 500 Hour Yoga Instructor
National Board Certified Counselor
NBCC #240852
Areas of Training & Experience
Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed therapy
Extensive crisis management experience
Extensive trauma treatment experience
Childhood trauma
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT Tapping)
Somatic and body-based approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Mindfulness-based approaches
Breathwork, movement, and yoga-informed practices
3 Steps To Get Started
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Fill out the contact form and tell me what has been feeling difficult lately.
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We’ll talk about what you’ve tried, what you want to change, and whether my approach feels right for you.
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We’ll get to know each other, learn what your body is communicating, and begin building skills that help you feel more regulated.