Somatic Trauma Therapist in San Diego
Healing Starts Here: Somatic Therapy That Resolves Trauma at the Root
Present, Not Perfect.
Regulated, Not Run-Down.
My work blends compassionate, attachment-focused exploration with body-based somatic therapy and nervous-system-focused tools — real resolution, not coping strategies that just help you manage the pain.
Trained in Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry — a rare approach held by only about 47 people in the U.S. — so we gently explore how your early experiences shaped the way you see yourself and the world.
Also trained in Somatic Experiencing, with certification currently underway.
From there, I integrate:
Lets us process trauma without having to talk through it in detail, and helps wire in the gains you make in therapy — using moments of positive or expansive experience to help your brain and body rewire toward that new pattern, instead of snapping back to old survival responses.
Supports neuroplasticity and can be especially effective for treatment-resistant depression, reaching deeper layers of trauma that talk therapy alone often can’t touch.
Trains your brain toward calm and regulation directly — much of it doable at home, reinforcing the work we do together in session.
Through all of it, we keep coming back to your body and your nervous system — listening for what feels safe, and honoring the pace that feels right for you. Healing is possible, and we get there by going slowly enough for every part of you to come along.
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, 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.
You’ve tried other kinds of therapy and are ready for something to work.
How I Can Help
I’m Shay DuBois, LCSW — a somatic trauma therapist in San Diego with training most therapists don’t have. I’m one of a small number of clinicians trained in Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry (held by only about 47 practitioners in the U.S.), and I integrate Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, and neurofeedback 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
Find Your Way Back to Yourself
If you’re recovering from childhood trauma 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.
