Body-Based Somatic Therapy for LGBTQ+ Folks in San Francisco

If you're queer or trans and looking for therapy in San Francisco, you’ve probably been through the maze. You've scrolled the directories. Maybe you've sat across from a well-meaning therapist who asked you to explain your identity before you could even get to the hard part. Maybe you've tried to talk about dysphoria or grief or rage, and it didn't land. Or maybe you've never felt safe enough to start.

The body remembers all of that.

Somatic therapy is different. It starts where so many of us have been cut off. It begins with the body. It makes space for what never had space before.
This work is not about fixing you. It’s not about mastering your triggers or thinking your way through the pain. It’s about learning to be in your body again, on your own terms.

Why Queer and Trans Bodies Need Something More
Growing up in a world that doesn’t fully see you shapes your nervous system. You learn to watch for signs. You learn to hold your breath. You keep parts of yourself quiet or hidden. You might dissociate. You might harden. You survive, because you have to. But it comes at a cost.

This isn’t just emotional pain. It’s physical. The ache in your chest. The clench in your jaw. The part of you that disappears when you feel shame or touch or tenderness.

Somatic therapy gives you a way back. It helps you track those patterns with care instead of judgment. It helps you notice what safety feels like. It makes space for what’s been frozen. It allows healing to come through relationship, through sensation, through attention.

What Somatic Work Can Support
In my practice, I work with LGBTQ+ folks who are carrying a lot. Sometimes it’s trauma, old or new. Sometimes it’s chronic anxiety or a sense of deep exhaustion. Sometimes it’s disconnection from the body, from intimacy, from joy.
Together, we build the capacity to stay with what’s real. To notice without collapsing. To feel without getting swallowed.
Clients often come for support with:

• Trauma and complex PTSD
• Panic, shutdown, or freeze
• Disconnection from the body
• Shame about sexuality or identity
• Touch and intimacy challenges
• Dysphoria and body-based grief
• Self-trust and boundaries
• Wanting to feel more present in sex and relationships

This work can be subtle. It’s not always dramatic. But the changes run deep. Breath returns. Movement softens. Pleasure becomes possible.

What a Session Might Feel Like
You don’t need to perform or explain everything. We begin with what’s here. That might be a tight chest, a held breath, the urge to disappear. We stay with that. We support your body to feel a little more choice, a little more room.
We may use breath, movement, visualization, or just sitting quietly together. I bring a background in somatic psychology, trauma healing, and consent-centered practice. But your body is the guide.
The work is relational. It’s slow. It asks for truth, not performance. And it honors your pace.

A Queer Somaticist in San Francisco Who Gets It
I’m Dr. Pavini Moray. I’m queer, nonbinary, and trauma-trained. I’ve been doing this work for over 15 years, both professionally and personally. I know what it’s like to live far from your body. I know what it takes to come back.
I offer somatic coaching for LGBTQ+ clients in San Francisco, NYC, and online. My work is grounded in consent, trauma-awareness, and respect for your lived experience. This is a space where you don’t have to justify who you are. Where your tenderness and your rage are both welcome.

You Don’t Have to Do It Alone
​If something in you is ready—even just a little—I’d love to meet you. You don’t have to be fully ready. You don’t have to be eloquent or brave. You just have to show up.
I offer a free call so we can see if this work feels right.