Testimonials: Somatic Therapy Chicago | Somatic Experiencing | Yoga Classes

When I began working with Dorie, I was tired. There was not a big moment or event leading up to my decision to seek Somatic Therapy, other than a decade-long war I was losing with depression and anxiety. I tried a few different forms of therapy before Somatic, but nothing helped me long-term and I often felt worse when walking out of sessions, while continuously dealing with the same physical and emotional symptoms; pain all over my body, hopelessness, guilt, shame, panic attacks, horrible sleeping patterns, unexplained anger, feeling stuck/frozen, and a whole lot more. I was in a place where I could not talk about myself, good or bad, to anyone without my body completely tensing up, my voice shaking, my heart racing, and holding myself in a hunched-over position.

Through working with Dorie, I have a newfound ability to be in my body and feel safe. She gave me the tools to work through emotions in the moment, which has given me the ability to say no and set boundaries, take care of myself physically and mentally, and share pieces of my life with those who care about me without having anxiety attacks, and most importantly being able to stop living in my mind so much, which has given me the opportunity to finally see the world around me and live in the moment. I have also learned that healing is a continuous effort throughout life, which used to scare me to no end.

But Dorie gave me the capacity and the tools to look at this as a positive; more chances to connect with myself, learn about myself, and never-ending opportunities to feel better physically and emotionally.

​Dorie created a nonjudgmental space for me to feel safe. She has an innate warmth that you can feel even over Zoom. After over a year in therapy, I am continuing to discover parts of myself and my story that I have never noticed before, and with time, I am able to handle the emotions, reframe, and forgive anything that comes my way. Thanks to Dorie and everything she has given me, I have been able to work on myself, heal both physically and emotionally, and change my life.

~Addison

From the first virtual consultation with Dorie, I felt her warmth and kindness. I could sense with her tone and smile that she cared deeply for her clients. I let her know that I had tried other therapy modalities in the past and while they had helped for a short time, I was still experiencing daily headaches and stomachaches along with debilitating migraines once or twice a month. I would also experience bouts of sciatica and pelvic pain that were not responding to physical therapy treatments prescribed by my primary care physician. In addition to these physical symptoms, I was able to voice my concerns about feeling overwhelmed with life, anxiety in social settings, and struggling with knowing what I need and asking for it. I struggled with setting boundaries and saying no. Dorie instilled confidence that she could help me from that first meeting and let me know what to expect in our following sessions. We took time to map out my nervous system early in the process and this was a completely new technique for me. After our work together, I am finally free from the cycling of headache/migraine/stomachache. I am not experiencing sciatica or pelvic pain. I have developed an inner knowing of when my nervous system is becoming activated and how to make decisions to prioritize myself and my needs. I have learned to ask my partner and family members for what I need which has ultimately helped those relationships as well. I am taking time to slow down, notice my emotions, and prioritize self-care. I am no longer scared of making decisions because I know I can trust myself and my gut. The guilt I had felt as a child and always stuck with me has melted away and everything feels more balanced. I am truly experiencing more joy and playfulness in my life. I feel grateful to have worked with Dorie and I feel much lighter than before.

~Catherine Santo - Social Work

"Working with you last year was a lifesaver."

"I've done talk therapy and talked about this addiction from every which angle. This is the missing piece of connecting with my body that I was missing."

"I've never, in my entire life, felt this relaxed. It's such a relief and no one can take that away from me"

"It's how I feel after yoga or meditation but without needing to do those things"

"Working with you really changed my life. I still use the tools I learned 2 years after our work together."

I met Dorie Silverman at a time when I had fallen into an emotional abyss.  I was experiencing panic attacks, could not work, and in simple words, stopped wanting to live.  A few months prior, my close brother had died in a sudden, tragic military airplane crash, after which I developed complex PTSD symptoms.  And to compound the psychological trauma, in the months that followed, my partner suddenly packed up and left, our friends stopped talking to me, and a critical part of my family went no-contact.  I had been left lost, wounded, and without support in a city of 3 million people.  No one knew what to do with me.

At one point, I couldn’t feel anything anymore, I had gone numb, frozen.  The cognitive freeze was so intense that there were days when I couldn’t leave my bed, make a phone call, or prepare a meal.  Other times, the sound of an ambulance siren or the stimulating beat of a song would throw me into a panic attack; I screamed and cried until I fell asleep again.

First I recurred to traditional psychotherapy—five different psychologists tried CBT, SFT, and other methods.  Three psychiatrists prescribed various antidepressants and benzodiazepines.  And I self-medicated, too.  What I discovered was that, talking didn’t help me, tranquilizers didn’t help me, I was actually feeling worse.  I felt that people wanted to hear the story, get all the juicy details, but then they disengaged.  Anti-anxiety medication helped me sleep without nightmares, but I wasn’t processing what was happening, it was getting stuck inside my body.  My lower back hurt, all the time.

When I started working with Dorie, we didn’t talk about what had happened.  I didn’t have to recount all the experiences or get worked up talking about what people had done to hurt me.  I didn’t have to explain why I felt permanently damaged.  We focused on sensation, on what my body was experiencing.  We gave shape and texture to emotions, and Dorie guided me in moving them through and out of my body.  It was incredible… how these visualizations were so bizarre but so real… I went into our sessions feeling overwhelmed and heavy, but walked out feeling light.

Dorie taught me how to identify anger and move it through, in the strangest way, like a wild animal, so that it would finish and the next emotion could arrive.  She taught me how to regulate my nervous system with different techniques, to bring a sense of stability, and safety.  These were some of the weirdest things I had ever done in front of anyone.

And somehow, slowly, I started to heal.

Some things happened quickly—like learning how to feel safe where I am by feeling my body and regulating to my surroundings.  Other things, like the process of developing trust, have been slower, but I am making progress.  One of the most powerful things I learned from Dorie was how to notice what my body does when a panic attack or a freeze is coming, honoring those emotions and body sensations as real, not imaginary, and knowing exactly what to do so they can express, move through, and complete; so that can I move along to the next thing and not get stuck.  This saved me, big time, and every week I get better at it.

Most importantly, Dorie helped me validate that what I was experiencing was real and appropriate.  I wasn’t crazy.  She gave me hope that I would get better, and then she proved it.

I slowly started being able to work again, run errands, finish jobs, make new friends.  I started being able to stand up for myself in challenging situations.  I found a positive creative outlet and I am turning it into a business.  I am learning to identify trauma in others and be compassionate in the way I treat them, because they could be going through what I went through, too.

I believe that, as with plants and animals, healing the natural way by learning to connect to your body sensations takes more time, commitment, and consistency than traditional talk therapy or medicine.  It can also be more effective.  For someone like me, that had tried so many things but was left empty, Somatic Experiencing Therapy with Dorie worked.  I am climbing out of the abyss into a place that is much, much brighter.

Anonymous - Chicago, IL

“Whatever is happening in this class in my body is WORKING MAGIC. Thank you. Just profound.”

~Sara Strother, accomplished Chicago-based yoga instructor.

I wanted to take a moment to appreciate yesterday's yoga class with Dorie Silverman. We share a teacher from way back and I've always liked her teaching but here are some things she did in her online class that really helped with the COVID-feelings:

• Music optional: she sent the playlist, which you could turn on or not. I find music distracting, and it can be hard to hear the teacher, so this was a lovely way for students to make their own choices. I also have a low tolerance for noise in general right now.

• Rest and digest time. In addition to silence, I like some time to feel through poses and/ or notice what is happening in my body. See above about noise.

• Understandable alignment cues. We focused on neck and head placement on Saturday, among other things, and dang did my neck need it.

• Handstand and wheel. Did I fall out of the handstand right away? Yes. But I felt my arm strength and spent the rest of the day heaving around furniture because I felt a bit more like my normal self.

If you're normally stressed out by Zoom like I am, I highly recommend Dorie's class!

~HV Cramond, Chicago

I have been very fortunate to begin my yoga practice with Dorie. Previous attempts in various classes have resulted in back pain so I was very concerned about trying again. Dorie quickly determined that my form would likely cause pain. I committed to working with her until I could feel confident that my form would keep me safe in class. Since then, I’ve found so much value in private sessions that I’ve chosen to continue our work together. Not only has she helped me with form, she has also helped me identify how my overachieving, perfectionistic tendencies influence my practice. She has helped me begin to take a more compassionate approach, one that helps in my life off of the mat as well, not to mention that my severe, tension headaches are virtually nonexistent. Dorie is caring, committed AND a lot of fun! I highly recommend working with her. ”

— Carol - Chicago,  private yoga student

“For many reasons, I had decided it was time to bring yoga into my life. I wasn’t sure how to start, and then I was put into contact with Dorie and all was well. Dorie has helped me in so many ways....she has not only shown me the physical movements of yoga, but she has shared with me the ways to treat myself and focus myself while doing it. None of this would have happened if I was one of 12 in a class, so while it was an investment financially, it has been the best investment in myself that I could have made. I am so grateful for having met Dorie and for having benefited from her amazing one-on-one teaching.”

Cheri - Chicago, private yoga student