Somatic Trauma Therapist in San Diego
You understand it. Your nervous system hasn’t caught up yet.
Your body was smart to adapt. Somatic trauma therapy helps it learn it’s over now.
For high-achievers, overthinkers, and people-pleasers who are anxious, empty, and exhausted. Online across California, with in-person intensives in San Diego.
Video call with Shay · Currently accepting new clients
Free 15-minute video consult
$267 per 50-minute session
Online across California
Superbills provided for out-of-network reimbursement
Present, Not Perfect.
Regulated, Not Run-Down.
Attachment-focused exploration, body-based therapy and nervous-system tools, so your care goes beyond managing symptoms.
We go at the pace your body allows
You don’t have to retell every detail. We listen for what feels safe, and we slow down whenever you need to.
We get curious about where it started
Gently, together, we explore how your early experiences shaped the way you see yourself and the world.
Your body and brain practice something new
We get to know the parts of you that protect, please and push, so old survival responses can loosen their grip.
Also offered: Brainspotting intensives, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy with a prescribing medical team, and neurofeedback.
Licensed clinical social worker with advanced training in Somatic Experiencing, Compassionate Inquiry, and Brainspotting.
Trauma Sucks. Trauma Therapy Doesn’t Have To.
Hi, I’m Shay — a trauma and anxiety therapist based in San Diego, offering both in-person intensives and online therapy to clients throughout California. Using somatic therapy for trauma, I help my clients move past hopelessness, fear, excessive worry, and shame — not by numbing what hurts, but by healing it. My clients learn they are lovable exactly as they are, and discover a real sense of peace in their bodies. I can’t change your past, but you deserve a healthy path forward. Come work with me.
You Tried to Talk About It, It Didn’t Work.
You feel broken, stuck, afraid to talk about what happened.
You tried talking but heard “you have it better than I did,” “get over it,” or weren’t believed. You got the message no one was there for you.
You’re ashamed. “Was it my fault?” It’s a common effect of childhood trauma to believe you can’t tell anyone — they’ll act different, and you can’t stand that. No one knows the real you.
Your Body Is Tired of Keeping Score.
You push it down, but it’s exhausting — this is what chronic stress and nervous system dysregulation actually feel like day to day.
The only escape is to numb out: binging TV, scrolling your phone, shopping, sex, drinking…
When you aren’t numb, you’re anxious, angry, and doubting yourself — stuck in a cycle of hypervigilance and freeze that makes it hard to feel safe in your own body.
You Want Relief.
You are afraid of what might come up if you start to talk, but this isn’t living.
You are always on guard, unable to trust others, unable to regulate your emotions — and always giving more than you get. If that sounds familiar, you may be living in a fawn response: over-giving, people-pleasing, and losing yourself to keep the peace.
If you’ve been carrying this alone for a long time, staying on guard and giving more than you get, you deserve a place where you can finally set some of it down, at your own pace.
You’ve tried other kinds of therapy and are ready for something to work.
Not sure what starting therapy looks like? Read what to expect in your first session →
How I Can Help
I’m Shay DuBois, LCSW, a somatic trauma therapist in San Diego. I bring advanced training in Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry, Brainspotting and Somatic Experiencing, and IFS-informed parts work, to help you heal trauma and anxiety at the root, not just manage the symptoms.
We work with your mind, body, and nervous system together, because lasting change happens when all three are part of the process. When trauma therapy is working, you’ll notice it: more presence in your day-to-day life, a calmer nervous system, and a growing sense that you’re not carrying the past around with you anymore.
If you’re ready to invest in real healing — not just coping strategies — I’d love to help.
As Featured In
Shay DuBois, LCSW, is a trusted voice on trauma healing, anxiety, and nervous system regulation — quoted by national and local media to help explain somatic therapy in a way people actually understand.
What Somatic Therapy Is, and Why It Works
11 Best Somatic Exercises to Do at Home
8 Common Dark Empath Phrases and How to Respond to Them
4 Ways to Stay Calm When You Have No Idea What’s Going On
Meet Shay DuBois: Trauma & Anxiety Therapy in San Diego
My Adult Daughter Made a Devastating Decision — And I Know Other Parents Can Relate
Specialties & Modalities
Trauma & Anxiety Therapy in San Diego, CA
Find Your Way Back to Yourself
If you’re recovering from childhood trauma, people-pleasing, or battling anxiety, you deserve compassionate support from someone who truly sees you.
Book your 15-minute consultation with somatic trauma therapist in San Diego, Shay, today.
