Somatic Psychotherapy for Highly Sensitive Children and Adults
Welcome here
You are likely seeking support, perhaps for yourself, perhaps for your child or a child you care for, perhaps for the child you once were. Congratulations on taking a courageous and caring step.
Life can often feel overwhelming—too fast, too loud, too bright, too much—especially when you can’t seem to find an effective response ready at hand. It’s possible that events or absences earlier in life seem to have disrupted pathways of development and connectivity, or perhaps it has always been like that, and likely a combination of both—patterns of enhanced sensitivity lead quickly to overwhelm. This can cause inefficient information processing, ineffective and sometimes injurious compensation patterns, and relentless struggle.
Unlocking the body, freeing the mind
Somatic psychotherapy cultivates a free and protected space to cultivate relationship with the complex systems from which self-awareness and behavior emerge. Our essence, like a seed, waits for the right conditions to appear. When given developmentally appropriate support, our psyche and biology can align with intrinsic trends towards growing greater coherence, range, and adaptability. New patterns become available, and authentic, vibrant presence emerges. We become more available to life and to ourselves—courageous, curious, and connected.
ABOUT ME
I am a firm believer in the healing nature and developmental necessity of both physical and creative play. I am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT124589) and a Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator (ISMETA) specializing in sensorimotor development, repetitive and chronic injuries, and supporting highly sensitive people in managing and soothing their diverse and unique nervous systems.
Ian Shaw-Zak MA, AMFT, RSMT/E
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) #124589
Supervised by Brian Lukas PSY9835 & Kathy Buys LMFT34173
Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy
We live in an environment that can be harmful to both our bodies and spirits—from sedentary lifestyles, to cultural messages, to accidents and injuries, to commonly accepted practices that are now known to impede healthy development in children—not to mention the social upheaval of the pandemic and its impacts on families and individuals. Traumas, systemic oppression, and embodying diverse identities or neurotypes impact the ways we experience safety and engage with the world.
Yet our bodies also contain intelligence, wisdom, and a map towards natural systemic reorganization that is as unique and archetypal as their histories. I work to unlock developmental potential—like an acorn already containing a great oak—by holding a free and protected space in which the psyche can bloom and grow into embodied expression. Providing developmentally attuned support and stimuli in a field of safety makes it possible for a new and more integrated self to emerge.
