Phil Enock, PhD
Somatic Therapist
If you're seeking therapy, most likely you are experiencing emotional pain. You may be in a struggle with yourself or others. I’d like to help.I am a somatic therapist who offers remote sessions on Zoom. I help adults with mental health and emotional issues like anxiety, depression, trauma, and conflict with others.Contact me for a free 30-minute consultation call.
About Me
My approach is primarily Somatic Experiencing and is informed by clinical psychological science (PhD, Harvard), relational meditation, Alexander Technique (mindful psychophysical re-education and bodywork) and other practices.
Ph.D. from Harvard University in clinical psychological science, led research on smartphone-based training of attention as anxiety treatment (6 years, completed 2015 as research degree with only partial clinical training)
Somatic Experiencing (completed Beginner III in 2024, currently in training with SEI in NYC and private consultation)
Certified Alexander Technique teacher (M. AmSAT, 3.5 years / 1600 hours, completed 2023 with RIAT in NYC). Alexander Technique is a psychophysical re-education practice to improve posture patterns, movement and mindfulness
400 hours of additional Alexander Technique in taking private lessons or classes
Certified Circling facilitator (6 months, completed 2024 with TC), a form of mindful authentic relating
1000 hours of additional Circling or Authentic Relating practice beyond facilitator training
I also make use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and Internal Family Systems (IFS), based on solo study and learning in sessions received
Fluent in Spanish (native language: English)
Lived in NYC, Boston, and Oaxaca City (Mexico)
Previously rock guitarist, data scientist, software engineer
Ultimate frisbee and Spikeball player
Received lots of psychotherapy for depression and anxiety
(Please note that from a legal/regulatory standpoint, I am not licensed, am not a psychotherapist and am not technically offering psychotherapy or treatment of any specific mental health disorders. I am not a healthcare provider, can't take health insurance, and insurances would be very unlikely to reimburse for our sessions out-of-network.)
About Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy builds a new skill set centered around feeling the body and noticing the present moment. These embodiment and mindfulness skills improve one's ability to regulate oneself and meet life’s challenges including mental health, stress, and relationships.Somatic therapy involves talking but is different from traditional talk therapy. A key difference is that we bring deeper awareness to the body and how to process your emotions and traumas (both great and small).Our goal is that with your enhanced mind-body abilities, you will be able to self-regulate and process your issues long after you have completed therapy with me.
Sessions FAQ
If you work with me, our sessions will involve a blend of conversation and guided awareness of your body and emotional experience. I will be authentically present, empathically attuned, listening to and witnessing you, as well as gently coaching you on somatic presence skills. We will work with manageable amounts of uncomfortable states, as well as with pleasant states and imaginings.The sessions may help you directly in healing, as the in-session experiences of somatic presence tend to help. Even more importantly, it's a learning or training process: We will grow your ability to handle and process difficult emotions and triggers on your own. Your expanded capacity will give you more freedom in responding to your issues as they arise in your everyday life.My approach focuses on Somatic Experiencing therapy by Peter Levine, which is designed to heal the emotional wounds of trauma or repeated psychological distress on the body, mind and nervous system. These wounds are the "score" described in the popular 2014 book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.I also draw on my extensive training and experience in Alexander Technique, Circling, and the science of clinical psychology.For your reference, other somatic therapy approaches (which I don't practice) include: Hakomi Method, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, EMDR, AEDP, Focusing therapy, and Gestalt therapy.
We'll still be talking (on Zoom), but we focus on your present-moment experience during the session, including mindfulness of the sensations in the body. I assist you with tracking what is emerging for you (sensations, emotions, thoughts) and how to notice and make use of it.By the way, it's okay if it's hard for you to sense anything in your body. (It was like that for me before this kind of practice.)Somatic therapy is quite different from things like psychoanalysis (Freud, Jung, and psychodynamic therapies) and traditional Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), which involve logical analyzing of your thought content and causes of distress, with less emphasis on feeling and experiencing the body and developing embodied skills.The somatic presence therapy that I do isn't about talking through your life events, trauma or mental health issues. Rather, it's learning new skills to handle negative-feeling states in your body that arise for whatever reason. Learning these skills will lead to insights about yourself, but we're not chasing insights, we're building up your abilities.
What I offer is very different from things like psychoanalysis (Freud, Jung, and psychodynamic therapies) and traditional Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), which involve logical analyzing of your thought content and causes of distress, with less emphasis on feeling and experiencing the body and developing embodied skills.The somatic presence therapy that I do isn't about talking through your life events, trauma or mental health issues. Rather, it's learning new skills to handle negative-feeling states in your body that arise for whatever reason. Learning these skills will lead to insights about yourself, but we're not chasing insights, we're building up your abilities.
Your initial 30-minute consultation is free.The fee for a 55-min somatic therapy session on Zoom costs $175 to 225. The $175 price is available to most people--anyone who doesn't fit a high-net worth profile, which we can talk about. If needed, you may also inquire for a small discount on a limited number of sessions.(Insurance is not accepted and will typically not reimburse you for sessions.)
Contact
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation Zoom with me to see if I'd be a good fit for you to address issues of mental health, emotional problems or relating to others in your life.We can talk about your overall picture including your options for getting help from me or other providers, various kinds of psychotherapy, self-help and mindfulness practices.Contact Phil below or send an email to "phil@" ending in "penock.com".
