You wake already braced for the day. The weight is not sadness exactly, and the tension is not fear exactly. It is a persistent, low-grade alarm that never fully quiets, a body that has forgotten what neutral feels like. You have tried to think your way out of it. It has not worked.
What SOMA Offers
Nervous System Regulation, Not Just Symptom Management
SOMA approaches anxiety and depression not as separate disorders to be managed, but as nervous system states to be understood and shifted. Anxiety is often a chronically activated threat response. Depression is often a collapsed, shutdown state. Both are intelligent adaptations to circumstances that were once overwhelming.
Treatment begins with a clear map of your autonomic nervous system state, using Polyvagal Theory (Porges) as the clinical framework. From there, EMDR (Shapiro) addresses the underlying experiences that trained your system into its current pattern. Somatic Experiencing (Levine) works directly with the body to discharge stored activation and restore the capacity for genuine rest.
The goal is not the absence of difficult feelings. It is a nervous system flexible enough to move through them, and a self grounded enough to trust that it can.
Anxiety and depression are not character flaws. They are patterned nervous system responses. The system that learned to protect you can learn something new.
Clinical Approaches
Polyvagal Theory Application (Porges)
EMDR for Underlying Experiences (Shapiro)
Somatic Experiencing (Levine)
Window of Tolerance Expansion (Ogden)
Cognitive Processing and Reframing
Nervous System Regulation Practices
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety & Depression
Can trauma therapy help with anxiety and depression?
Yes. SOMA approaches anxiety and depression not as separate disorders to manage but as nervous system states to understand and shift. Anxiety is often a chronically activated threat response. Depression is often a collapsed, shutdown state. Both are intelligent adaptations to circumstances that were once overwhelming. Using Polyvagal Theory (Porges), EMDR (Shapiro), and Somatic Experiencing (Levine), we address the underlying experiences that trained your system into its current pattern.
Why can't I just think my way out of anxiety or depression?
Because anxiety and depression are patterned nervous system responses, not failures of willpower or logic. If you wake already braced for the day and carry a low-grade alarm that never fully quiets, that is your autonomic system, not your reasoning. At SOMA, treatment begins with a clear map of your autonomic state, then works directly with the body to discharge stored activation and restore your capacity for genuine rest.
What is polyvagal theory and how does SOMA use it?
Polyvagal Theory (Porges) is a framework for understanding how your autonomic nervous system moves between states of safety, threat activation, and shutdown. SOMA uses it as the clinical map for treatment. Once we can see whether your system is stuck in survival mode, we can pair EMDR and Somatic Experiencing to help it move again. The goal is a nervous system flexible enough to move through difficult feelings rather than getting locked in them.
Does SOMA use EMDR for anxiety and depression?
Yes. EMDR (Shapiro) addresses the underlying experiences that trained your nervous system into anxiety or depression in the first place. Rather than only managing symptoms, EMDR helps reprocess the material that keeps the system on high alert or in collapse. We pair it with Somatic Experiencing (Levine) and window of tolerance work (Ogden) so change happens at a pace your system can integrate, not at a pace that floods it.
Is the goal to never feel anxious or sad again?
No. The goal at SOMA is not the absence of difficult feelings. It is a nervous system flexible enough to move through them and a self grounded enough to trust that it can. Difficult emotions are part of being human. What changes in this work is your relationship to them: instead of being stuck in chronic activation or shutdown, your system regains the capacity to cycle and return to baseline.
Can I get this care virtually in Florida?
Yes. SOMA sees adult clients (18 and older) in person at our Coral Gables office and virtually by telehealth. We are licensed to provide telehealth to residents of Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Mexico. SOMA is private pay and out of network. We can provide a superbill for possible out-of-network reimbursement, and HSA and FSA funds are often eligible. Rates are shared during your consultation.