Center for Somatic Psychotherapy — Psychotherapist in City and County of San Francisco, CA

I found the center for somatic psychotherapy back in 2023. This was at a time when I was exploring holistic approaches to my mental health and I learned about somatic psychotherapy. This type of therapy was really focusing on my mind and body and helping me stay In the present rather than the past. I appreciated my therapist so much and how she really made me feel safe to open up to her. She was a student trying to complete her hours to graduate but she was honestly the best mental health practitioner! When she graduated I was able to follow her to her new clinic. I think holistic approaches to mental health are so important and i appreciate this center having these fundamentals ! I appreciated that it was therapy on a sliding scale and I didn't have to worry about affording my weekly sessions.

I tried somatic therapy here and had an extremely poor experience with my assigned therapist, who was unprofessional and inadequately trained. I later discovered that this practice uses graduate students from CIIS rather than licensed therapists. CIIS lacks accreditation and has a reputation for promoting pseudoscientific approaches over established therapeutic methods. I found this concerning given that I was seeking legitimate mental health treatment. In my view, being treated by unlicensed students from a non-accredited program who use pseudoscientific techniques over proven therapeutic methods is harmful. If you're looking for serious mental health care, I'd suggest going elsewhere.

This is a great option for low cost therapy. There are a lot of clinics like this in San Francisco, but this is the only Somatic clinic in town. It is body oriented holistic therapy that takes the whole being into account. The therapist are advanced students or graduates from the Somatic program and they are typically very gung-ho and excited to help you work through what you need to. The fee is sliding scale based on income so that you can afford your sessions which are usually weekly. They also provide couples therapy and group therapy, and some therapists work with children as well.