Somatic Therapy
in Montreal
In-person sessions in Montreal, with virtual sessions available across Québec and beyond. I work with the nervous system directly, using body awareness, breath, and movement to support patterns that talk therapy alone doesn't always fully shift.
Insurance receipts available · ACNN registered
Hello — I'm Rio
I'm a Montréal-based somatic therapist and naturotherapist with over 17 years of experience in body-based healing and nervous system regulation. My approach blends somatic therapy, bioenergetics, and mind-body practices to help you reconnect with your body and build greater regulation and awareness.
I specialize in working with highly sensitive and neurodivergent individuals, as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and tailor each session to what your system needs in the moment.
Member of ACNN · Insurance receipts
In-person & virtual worldwide
You've done the inner work,
but your body still feels stuck.
Stress, emotion, and survival patterns get stored in the body and shape how you think and respond — long after the original event is over. This work supports change at that level, not insight alone.
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is a body-centred approach that works with the nervous system directly — using body awareness, breath, gentle movement, and felt sensation to explore what's held physically, often below conscious awareness, and support greater regulation and self-awareness.
My approach to somatic therapy in Montreal draws on Dr. Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing–informed practices, a body-based approach developed over more than 45 years of clinical work with the nervous system's response to stress and overwhelm.
In session, I also bring in myofascial release, craniosacral therapy, reflexology, reiki, and breathwork depending on what you're holding that day.
How a session works
Every session is paced to what your nervous system can hold — never pushing past what feels safe.
Before working with any difficult material, we make sure your system feels resourced and grounded. The nervous system needs to feel safe to open.
We move slowly — addressing only manageable amounts of stored stress at a time, so you never feel overwhelmed by what we're working with.
We give your system time to complete what started, at its own pace — until it settles into a felt sense of ease. The body responds well when given the right conditions.
Who this work may resonate with
I specialize in working with highly sensitive and neurodivergent individuals, as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and tailor each session to what your system needs in the moment.
My work is educational, experiential, and body-based. It is not psychotherapy, psychological assessment, or medical treatment, and it isn't a substitute for care from a psychologist, psychotherapist, or physician when that level of care is needed.
Book a SessionWhat I bring into session
Rather than picking a single modality upfront, you get a session built around what's actually present for you — which is why I recommend starting with a somatic session as your foundation.
Somatic Therapy
A somatic session begins with an exploration of your nervous system — where you're holding tension, where you go when stressed, what patterns are present. From there, we draw on whatever your system needs that day.
Often includes bioenergetic work: craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, reflexology, and reiki to work directly with fascia, circulation, and the body's energetic structure.
Bioenergetic Work
Myofascial release, craniosacral therapy, reflexology, and reiki — working directly with fascia, circulation, and the body's energetic structure. Deeply restorative; releases what's held physically and in the subtle body.
Craniosacral · Myofascial Release · Reflexology · ReikiMind-Body Practices
Hypnosis uses guided attention and relaxation alongside the body-based work to support reflection on habitual patterns. NLP works with language and structure to support new perspectives on emotional experience.
Hypnosis · NLP · EFT (Tapping)EFT (Tapping)
EFT is one of the mind-body tools woven into a somatic session — used alongside body awareness to support processing of emotional charge. Bridges what's tracked somatically with what needs to be spoken or released.
EFT · Somatic Parts Work · Nervous System Regulation
Somatic Reset — 8-Week Container
Want more than a single session? Somatic Reset is a structured 8-week space to explore one recurring pattern through somatic, bioenergetic, and mind-body practices.
SOMA+ pairs private sessions with a self-paced practice library and monthly group calls — hosted on Inner Alchemy Academy.
From people who've done this work
17+ years of sessions across somatic therapy, bioenergetics, craniosacral, reiki, and parts work.
"I've been working with Rio on and off for many years now, and every session brings new insights. She provides a safe, non-judgmental space and I always feel lighter after a session."
— J.D."I've had the great pleasure of seeing Rio for a somatic therapy session as well as a number of workshops, all of which have given me invaluable insight and healing. Rio has a welcoming energy, powerful intuitive connection, and an ability to share her wisdom with ease."
— S.B."Rio is a very calm, reassuring and powerful healer. I am discovering what works to help calm my mind and I find Rio's somatic therapy workshops very, very helpful."
— D.F."Rio's somatic healing workshop was a wonderful experience. We learned techniques to help transfer blocked and trapped energy from our body. It was a truly healing start to a continuous journourney."
— K.B.Where to find me
I see clients in person across Petite-Patrie, Rosemont, Villeray, Little Italy, and Mile End — and virtually from anywhere.
Clients also travel in regularly from the Plateau, Outremont, NDG, Westmount, and Downtown Montreal.
Insurance receipts available as a member of the ACNN — check with your provider to confirm naturopathy coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Yes — I offer insurance receipts as a member of the ACNN, #23-6826. Confirm with your provider that naturopathy is covered under your plan. Many extended health plans include it.
It depends on what you're working through. Some people come for a single reset session; others work through a structured container like Somatic Reset (8 weeks) or ongoing sessions for deeper, long-held patterns.
A somatic session begins with an exploration of what's present in your body and nervous system, then draws on whatever your system needs — often including bioenergetic work like craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, reflexology, and reiki, along with hypnosis and mind-body practices. It's a comprehensive starting point, not one modality in isolation.
Yes. Somatic therapy, somatic parts work, breathwork, and mind-body practices translate fully online. I work with clients across Québec, the rest of Canada, and internationally.
I specialize in working with highly sensitive people (HSP), neurodivergent individuals, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. My approach is trauma-informed, non-pathologizing, and paced to what your nervous system can hold.
Bioenergetic therapy is hands-on with less talking — craniosacral, myofascial release, reiki, and reflexology releasing what the body holds physically and energetically. Somatic therapy includes all of those modalities plus somatic tracking, somato-emotional release, parts work, breathwork, and mind-body practices. It's the more comprehensive, integrative approach.
No. My work is educational, experiential, and body-based. It is not psychotherapy, psychological assessment, or medical treatment, and it isn't a substitute for care from a psychologist, psychotherapist, or physician when that level of care is needed.
Ready to begin?
In-person in Montreal. Virtual everywhere else.