We think we live in our bodies. But how do many of us really inhabit full-body awareness? Mental health clinicians know that trauma, stress, anxiety and depression can catapult clients into a myriad of symptoms, including insomnia, irritability, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, panic attacks, depressed body feelings, and more. It’s easy to think that these symptoms can be healed by working with thought patterns and emotions alone. The truth is that we live and dream in the body. Symptoms are of the body. Yet, we rarely consider the body as the source and inspiration for healing. We perceive the world around us through our body responses. Not sleeping well, ruminating thoughts, worries about family or the future, grief and trauma have devastating health effects. The body is under attack, and we can’t heal the body with the mind alone.

“A thorough, thoughtful, and immensely practical workbook written to help therapists work with clients’ bodily responses, not just with their actions and emotions. Manuela Mischke-Reeds has a compassionate voice that imbues her very precise somatic interventions and suggestions with warmth and clinical wisdom.”

-- Janina Fisher, PhD, World Renowned Trauma Expert and Author

“Manuela brings to this intricate and useful guidebook a lifetime of working skillfully on the edges between life journeys and the challenges posed by our being flesh. While there have been so many positive turns towards the significance of our embodiment in recent decades, much remains on the surface, brought to light by such simple principles as noticing our breathing and our feet on the ground. But there is so much more to discover in the depths. More profound and risky journeys require an experienced guide to navigate safely the intricacies of the vast wilds of our bodies to uncover the beauty, wisdom and healing potentials that lie beyond our ordinary awareness. This book gives so many helpful avenues for exploration into unexpected revelations.”

-- Don Hanlon Johnson, PhD, Founder of the Somatics Psychology Graduate Program, California Institute of Integral Studies

"There are so many options in this boo on how to work with a presenting issue, so it really helps me in finding the most suitable intervention for any particular client. The different option are also well described, so it's easy to understand when to use what. I also find the way the tools are categorized really helpful. They are easy to find, just like in a great toolshed. The worksheets can be downloaded and printed, which is really useful when I work with clients online, but also for clients who would like to track their experiences at home. This is a great book to have handy, not only for client interventions, but also to look up helpful exercises to ground and nourish my own body and mind. I highly recommend it!"

-- Pernilla Siebenfreund, Certified Hakomi Therapist & Hakomi Teacher

"This is a must-read for every clinician out there. This book reminds us just how much of our experience happens in the body and just how unattended the body can be. It is a wonderfully clear, concise and comprehensive guide to using somatic techniques in therapy that can equally benefit a seasoned or a novice clinician. The author shares her tremendously rich experience by offering very practical and concrete ways of how to guide our clients into their own body, help them become aware of inner processes, and how to make this experience safe and meaningful."

-- Asya Mourraille, MFT