There are many studies and articles on the effectiveness of exposure therapy for OCD or phobias. But what do you do if you tried this approach and didn’t find results, or have even found that your anxiety was boosted by the exposure?

You may have learned to power through challenging situations while feeling incredibly fearful inside in a way that isn’t immediately obvious to others. Without an embodied sense of safety and calm, some people learn to habitually power through it and (hopefully) recover later. 

If exposure therapy didn’t work, or even backfired for you, it’s possible you were powering or “white-knuckling” through the exposures in a way that reinforced the fear reaction. If your therapist didn’t pick up on the severity of your internal fearful responses, the approach may have left you feeling the same or worse. This is where a trauma-aware somatic approach such as Feldenkrais Method + Somatic Experiencing, can support you in developing a sense of embodied safety.

Most of the clients I work with see a therapist as well. You may find this approach to be enough of a help to shift you out of constant fearful responses, or you may use this as an intermediate step, and continue or return to a psychotherapist for exposure therapy.  

The Feldenkrais Method is an approach to learning new patterns of coordination through sensing one’s body in movement. Combining my approach with Somatic Experiencing, results in a trauma-aware approach that can help people with OCD or phobias to feel safer and more present in their own embodied experience and more connected with others as well. In private or group sessions you’ll learn how the sensations of your body in movement can create a sense of improved inner strength, not necessarily muscular strength — but the strength that comes with feeling more settled, centered, and capable.