Somatic Meditation Therapy

with Annelies Spykman

  I consider it the ultimate gift to be able to hold space for people and to allow them to make connections between their past and the present, their bodies and their minds. As a Clinical Social Worker and trauma therapist I have had the honor of working with people across the lifespan to transform their physical and emotional pain through the power of being witnessed.

Over the years of sitting with people with painful emotional histories I became increasingly interested in how physically unwell so many of my clients were. I began to shift my work away from merely talking about the past and into exploring how trauma gets trapped in the body, manifesting as chronic pain, physical limitations, disease, and unexplained physical sensations.

Somatic therapy is the process of bringing the body consciously into emotional exploration, and bringing emotions consciously into the process of body healing. I weave somatic therapy in with guided meditation to facilitate a contained exploration of mind-body wellness.

EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing and is an evidence based practice used to treat trauma, depression and anxiety. Using eye movements or tapping, along with awareness of body queues, clients release long held negative beliefs about themselves while connecting with current triggers and reimagining positive future actions.

Outside of my sessions with Mudita, I have spent nearly 15 years working in community mental health in the Monadnock Region. I love our community and feel grateful every day to be a part of the collective healing that happens when people feel valued, heard, and seen.

Apart from my therapeutic work I keep myself busy with hiking, yoga, meditating, watercolor painting, drinking tea, spending time in the woods, cooking yummy meals, and embracing the challenges and joys of motherhood.