• Somatic Experiencing® (SE) is a trauma-informed, body-based approach to addiction recovery that focuses on nervous system regulation rather than willpower or behavioral control.

    Addiction and relapse are often driven by unresolved trauma and chronic nervous system activation. When the body becomes stuck in fight, flight, or freeze responses, cravings, emotional overwhelm, and compulsive behaviors can arise as attempts to restore balance.

    Somatic Experiencing works by helping individuals develop awareness of bodily sensations, impulses, and patterns of activation in the present moment. Instead of reliving traumatic events, SE supports the completion of interrupted survival responses, allowing the nervous system to return to a greater sense of safety.

    Somatic Experiencing for addiction recovery can help:

    • Reduce cravings and relapse triggers

    • Improve emotional regulation

    • Increase tolerance for discomfort

    • Restore a felt sense of safety in the body

    Recovery through Somatic Experiencing is a gradual, compassionate process that supports sustainable change by addressing addiction at its nervous system roots.


  • Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP) is a trauma-informed, integrative approach to addiction recovery that understands substance use as an adaptive response to developmental, relational, and nervous system stress.

    Rather than focusing solely on abstinence or symptom reduction, Integral Somatic Psychology explores how addiction develops in response to early attachment experiences, unmet emotional needs, and chronic dysregulation of the nervous system.

    ISP integrates somatic awareness, mindfulness practices, developmental psychology, and relational inquiry. Attention is given to how sensations, emotions, beliefs, and relational patterns interact to maintain addictive behaviors.

    Integral Somatic Psychology for addiction recovery supports:

    • Reduced shame and self-blame

    • Increased emotional and relational capacity

    • Greater understanding of addiction as protection

    • Harm reduction and any positive change

    This approach allows recovery to be flexible, humane, and responsive to each individual’s history and nervous system.

  • Somatic EMDR is a trauma-informed approach to addiction recovery that integrates traditional EMDR with body-based awareness and nervous system regulation.

    Addiction is often driven by unprocessed traumatic memories and implicit emotional learning stored in the nervous system. These memories can be triggered in the present moment, activating intense cravings, emotional overwhelm, or dissociation — even when a person consciously wants to change.

    Somatic EMDR helps individuals safely reprocess traumatic memories while staying connected to present-moment bodily experience. By tracking sensations, impulses, and shifts in nervous system activation during EMDR processing, this approach reduces the risk of overwhelm and supports deeper integration.

    Rather than focusing solely on stopping behaviors, Somatic EMDR works to resolve the emotional and physiological charge that drives addictive patterns in the first place.

    Somatic EMDR for addiction recovery can help:

    • Reduce trauma-driven cravings and triggers

    • Reprocess memories linked to substance use

    • Decrease emotional reactivity and relapse risk

    • Support nervous system regulation and stability

    • Replace shame-based beliefs with adaptive self-understanding

    By integrating bilateral stimulation with somatic awareness, Somatic EMDR allows healing to unfold in a way that is paced, embodied, and respectful of the nervous system.

    How Somatic EMDR Fits Within Somatic Recovery

    Within Somatic Recovery, Somatic EMDR is integrated with:

    • Somatic Experiencing® for nervous system regulation

    • Integral Somatic Psychology for developmental and relational understanding

    • Inner Relationship Focusing for compassionate parts-based work

    • Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy for flexible, non-shaming change

    This integration ensures that EMDR is not used in isolation, but within a framework that prioritizes safety, consent, and long-term stability.

  • Inner Relationship Focusing (IRF) is a parts-based, experiential approach to addiction recovery that helps individuals build a compassionate relationship with cravings, urges, and emotional pain.

    From this perspective, addictive behaviors are not signs of weakness — they are protective strategies developed in response to trauma, overwhelm, or unmet needs. Attempts to suppress or eliminate these parts often increase internal conflict and shame.

    Inner Relationship Focusing supports recovery by teaching individuals how to turn toward cravings and protective parts with curiosity and respect. As these internal relationships shift, urges often lose their intensity and urgency.

    Inner Relationship Focusing for addiction recovery helps:

    • Reduce internal conflict and self-criticism

    • Increase self-compassion and emotional clarity

    • Soften protective survival patterns

    • Create space for intentional choice

    By changing the relationship to internal experience, addiction no longer needs to function as the primary

Below, you’ll find the core approaches that make up Somatic Recovery.
Each one supports a different layer of healing, and together they form a framework that is flexible, humane, and deeply attuned to the nervous system.

How These Approaches Work Together

Somatic Recovery integrates Somatic Experiencing®, Integral Somatic Psychology, Somatic EMDR and Inner Relationship Focusing, and other trauma-informed modalities to address addiction at its roots — the nervous system.

Together, these approaches support recovery that is:

  • Body-based rather than purely cognitive

  • Compassionate rather than shaming

  • Flexible rather than rigid

Oriented toward safety, connection, and choice

Somatic Recovery, created by David McNamara, is a trauma-informed, body-based approach to addiction recovery that focuses on restoring nervous system safety, reducing overwhelm, and creating sustainable change without shame or force.

  • "Healing is about reclaiming our power and rewriting our future."

    — Peter A. Levine

About Somatic Recovery

My recovery began in 12-step programs, where I learned the importance of honesty and connection. Over time, I deepened my practice through seventeen years as a formal student in the Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism, using mindfulness and awareness as tools for staying present in recovery.

While this helped me observe my inner experience, something was still missing. Ten years ago, I discovered Somatic Experiencing, which allowed me to feel my emotions safely — not just talk about them. For the first time, I could begin releasing trauma held in my body that had kept me stuck in addictive patterns.

I’m David McNamara, SEP / CASAC, an addiction counselor and recovery coach who integrates Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, harm reduction, parts-based work, and mindfulness to support recovery that restores safety, choice, and connection.

Virtual sessions available · In-person sessions through Woodstock Healing Arts · Groups available

Close-up portrait of a middle-aged man with gray hair and beard, wearing a light blue collared shirt, against a dark background.

  • "The work I did with David changed my life. I couldn't begin to recover until I was able to feel my feelings. Now I can and my recovery is thriving!"

    — WC

  • "David introduced me to capacity and helped me understand how to increase my own capacity. By focusing on where I was rather than where I "should be", I was able to let go of a lot of shame and guilt around my addiction. I also became more aware of how I felt about my experiences in my body, and this loosened the grip of inescapable narratives I had about my life...

    JH

  • cont..."Our sessions unfolded naturally, and I felt that, in a sense, I was leading and he was guiding, when that was needed. My understanding of the recovery process and of healing trauma was greatly deepened and clarified. I now feel more empowered to work with the root causes of my trauma and addiction, not solely managing the symptoms."

    JH

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