Somatic Music Therapy
COMBINING NEUROSCIENCE & MUSIC WITH THERAPY
Somatic Music Therapy centers music and sound waves that your nervous system enjoys to guide you back to a state of rooted joy and purpose.
What to Expect
Engage in a dynamic process of co-regulation and self-regulation with your favorite songs, artists, and an experienced therapist compassionately attuning to you through body language, vocal tone, words, and experience. By adding songs to your therapy journey in a sensitive way, both your mind and body can settle into comforting vibrations that allow you to be more present and ready to engage in your own healing.
The Neuroscience
Behind Somatic Music Therapy
In Somatic Music Therapy, we use the latest research in neuroscience to incorporate polyvagal-informed therapy and your nervous system into your healing process.
In neurophysiology, the state of feeling grounded, mindful, joyful, curious, empathetic, and compassionate is called our ventral vagal state. This is the state of social engagement where we feel connected to ourselves and the world.
Each of our bodies have preferred ways of how we like to embody our thoughts and feelings depending on where we are, who we’re with, and the amount of trust and safety we feel in that moment. We will prioritize and support what your body feels comfortable doing in our sessions.
FAQs
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Meet live online to organically build a foundation of trust by incorporating music personal to you. This can allow you to access parts of yourself that have been difficult to reach and heal on your own.
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Learn how to access your own ability to recover, heal, and self-regulate even in situations that are challenging for your nervous system. I'll be there to support and guide you to naturally use and move through difficult emotions or situations with more ease and strength. This can provide you with the practice and confidence to then connect more authentically and deeply with your own loved ones and community.
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Music and sound waves are vibrations that literally touch our skin, eardrums, brains and change what we feel in our bodies and nervous systems. Because our feelings and thoughts are inextricably linked to our nervous systems, adding music in an attuned way to the process of therapy leads to the potential of deep healing. We can experiment with embodying the present moment using your music and of course depending on your comfort levels through listening and speaking with presence, or integrating visual imagery, movement, and playfulness to enhance safety.
Give yourself permission to explore, strengthen, and find yourself through music.
Somatic Music Therapy is effective as a primary mode of therapy or as adjunctive therapy while meeting with the consent of both you and your regular therapist.
About Alice
Alice (she/they) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with training and experience conducting individual and group therapy in both California and New York. She is certified in Foundations of Polyvagal Informed Practice, Ecotherapy, and received her Masters in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work in NYC, and her BA in Ethnomusicology from UCLA. They are passionate about the intersections of how music, dance, and animals/nature enhance and deepen our healing journeys and lives. Their multi-cultural identity as a 2nd Generation Chinese-Taiwanese American womxn is foundational to the work they do.
© Words and art by Alice Dote. All Rights Reserved. Any and all content may not be copied or duplicated in whole or part by any means.
