Frequently asked questions
What you might be wondering.
If your question is not addressed here, ask me on a consult call, or by email and I’ll answer it directly.
The work
Are you a talk therapist or a somatic therapist?
Both. I'm a licensed clinical social worker, trained in CBT, CBT-ED, CBT-AR, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, and Prolonged Exposure Therapy, all talk therapies, and I use them.
I'm also trained in Somatic Experiencing, Transforming Touch, Somatic Resilience and Regulation, the Safe and Sound Protocol, the Rest and Restore Protocol, the Focus System, Brainspotting, and Embodied Recovery for Eating Disorders. The emphasis of my work is on the nervous system, because that's where the patterns we're trying to shift actually live.
What should I expect from the first session?
The intake is virtual and runs 90 minutes rather than the usual 50. It's where I gather what I need to understand your history properly, including things that might not seem relevant, like like your birth mother's pregnancy, sensory sensitivities, early childhood, health history, and what your family was like before you have clear memories of it.
Afterwards we talk through which somatic approach would be most helpful for you, and if you agree, we begin.
What does touch-based therapy actually involve? Is touch required?
In Transforming Touch, you remain fully clothed. You lie on a table, or sit if that's more comfortable, and I make gentle, still contact at specific points, many times at the shoulder and wrists, the lower back, base of your skull, and ankles. There's no massage, no pressure, no manipulation.
And no, it isn't required. Some people work with me for a long time before touch enters the picture, and some never use it at all. We decide together, and you can change your mind at any point without needing to explain why.
How long does this usually take?
It depends. For some people it takes longer than they hope, for others after a few months they have relief and graduate. Most of the people I work with stay a while, because what we're working with took years to build and the nervous system changes at its own pace.
That said, people usually notice something shifting well before the work is finished. Often it's the people around you who notice first. Sleep goes deeper, eating gets easier, the startle response softens, and you start catching your own patterns while they're happening.
Is there research to support this?
Yes, and it's growing, across the mind-body connection, touch, somatics, intergenerational trauma, and the specific modalities I'm trained in. A few of my favourites:
- Two experiments on the psychological and physiological effects of touch on the HPA axis
- Somatic Experiencing for post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled outcome study
- Somatic Experiencing, effectiveness and key factors: a scoping literature review
- Brainspotting compared with EMDR for post-traumatic stress disorder
- Safe and Sound: Is safeness a specific affective dimension related to eating disorder behaviors?
- Supporting maternal healing and its link to childhood asthma symptoms
Email me if you'd like more. I'm happy to send them.
Practical
Do you offer telehealth, in person, or both?
Both. I see people in Denville, New Jersey, and I work virtually with anyone located in New Jersey. The intake itself is virtual.
Transforming Touch involves physical contact, so that happens in person. Plenty of the other work can be done either way, and many people do a mix.
What are your fees? Do you accept insurance or offer a sliding scale?
The 90 minute intake is $300, and 50 minute sessions are $265. Email me for intensive rates.
I don't accept insurance, though I can provide a superbill you may be able to submit for out-of-network reimbursement. There is currently a waitlist for sliding scale spots.
How do I pay?
I accept HSA and FSA cards, Zelle, cash, check, or credit card through Stripe or TherapyNotes.
How do I schedule?
Email me at sarah@mysomatichealing.com. Start with the free 15 minute call if you'd like to talk things through first.
Whether it's a fit
What if I need more support than outpatient therapy?
I'm an outpatient therapist and I'm not available around the clock. You're welcome to email me between sessions, and if I have availability we can talk for fifteen minutes.
If you need a higher level of care, I'm glad to act as a bridge. With the proper releases in place I'll communicate with your treatment team so everyone is working from the same picture, and I'm happy to see you again when you return to outpatient work.
How do I know if you're the right fit?
You probably won't know for certain from a website, which is what the consult call is for. Fifteen minutes on the phone will tell you more than any amount of reading.
If it turns out I'm not the right person, I'll do my best to point you toward someone who is. That's not a formality. I'd rather you find the right fit than the nearest one.