Attention concerns rarely start in the head. People with ADHD describe feeling wired, braced, flat, or revved long before their attention slips. They notice a buzzing in the limbs that makes sitting painful, or a pressure in the chest that kills curiosity. From a nervous system perspective, focus rides on a body that can shift smoothly between activation and rest. When those gears grind, attention frays. Somatic Experiencing, a body-based approach developed by Peter Levine, looks at that gear shifter. It works with the autonomic nervous system so arousal can rise for action and settle for recovery, without getting stuck in hyper or hypo states. For many clients, this is the missing piece in an integrative mental health therapy plan for ADHD.
I have used these methods with adults who have long histories with medication and coaching, and with teens who carry both school anxiety and a diagnosis of inattentive ADHD. The same themes return. When we help the body register safety, track micro-shifts, and discharge unnecessary tension, the mind can sustain attention without white-knuckling.
How ADHD Shows Up in the Body
The DSM describes behavioral criteria. The body tells a richer story. Consider three common ADHD patterns through a polyvagal lens:
- Sympathetic tilt. The system sits closer to fight or flight. Restless legs, shallow breath, jaw clenching, racing thoughts, rapid task switching. Energy spikes help with sprinting work, but sustain too long and fatigue or irritability follows. Dorsal drift. When overwhelm hits, the system tips toward shutdown. Heaviness in the limbs, spreading numbness, foggy vision, yawning that does not refresh. People label this as procrastination or laziness. Somatically, it is a safety strategy: reducing output to manage input. Mixed states. Many clients ping between revved and flat within a single hour. They push into a task, then drop into scrolling or micro-sleeps. The swing itself becomes aversive, which adds shame and tension, further gluing the cycle.
Executive function tools help with planning and time blindness, yet if the autonomic baseline is too hot or too cold, behavioral plans take more effort than they should. The body simply cannot hold steady attention when it perceives threat or collapse.
What Somatic Experiencing Brings to ADHD Care
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is not a focus-training program. It is a method for working directly with sensing, movement impulses, and self-protective reflexes to restore flexible regulation. Rather than retelling difficult stories, we track sensations and small shifts in the present moment, then let the organism complete truncated responses. With ADHD, that often means refining the edges of activation and rest, not removing activation altogether. People need mobilization for curiosity and action. They also need a felt sense of “enough” that permits downshifting without guilt or crash.
A typical SE arc includes orienting to the environment, contacting internal sensations, noticing pendulation between comfort and discomfort, and letting the body discharge through micro-tremors, yawns, warmth, or subtle postural changes. The process is deceptively simple. In practice, it requires careful dosing. Too much contact with agitation, and the client spirals. Too little, and nothing changes. ADHD adds another twist: sustained interoception can be hard when attention is jumpy. So we shape the work in small bites and keep an eye on novelty, movement, and concrete outcomes that matter in daily life.
Arousal Regulation Comes Before Focus
When arousal calms into a workable range, attention follows. One of my clients, a software engineer, rated his baseline workday arousal as an 8 out of 10. He could sprint on urgent bugs, then he would crash midafternoon and sleep with noise-canceling headphones at his desk. We started with 90 seconds of somatic practice, not hours. He learned to scan the edges of his arms and hands for tingling while slowly expanding his visual field to include the far corners of the room. After two weeks, his arousal often slid down to a 6 before standup meetings. That shift alone gave him 20 to 30 more minutes of stable coding before the urge to switch tabs returned.
Arousal regulation in SE hinges on two skills:
- Orienting. Gently look and listen around the space, letting the head and eyes move. We are not looking for threats. We are letting the nervous system confirm there is nothing urgent right now. Many ADHD clients have learned to only orient to screens. They benefit from slow head turns and long exhalations while noticing far and near. The body often sighs, the shoulders drop, and heart rate dips a few beats. Pendulation and titration. Pendulation means feeling a small amount of activation, then returning to an area of ease. Titration means keeping the dose small. For ADHD, I often pendulate between the charge in the forearms and the comfort of contact points with a chair. Over sessions, the charge disperses more quickly. The client learns that a spike does not demand immediate action.
Clients describe the subjective change as space returning to the inside of the skull. The inner grip on time loosens. When that happens, planning sheets and timers start to work as intended, rather than as restraints that fuel rebellion.
Focus as a Bodily State
Sustained attention has a recognizable posture and breath pattern. It is neither collapsed nor braced. The chest has some buoyancy. The back of the neck lengthens. Eyes settle into a softer focus that can narrow without strain. Somatic work helps people locate this set point and return to it.
Three entry points tend to help:
- Micro-mobilizations. Many ADHD clients try to sit perfectly still to be productive. That often backfires. Allowing ankle circles, fidgets that have a start and stop, or a five-breath reach through the spine gives the body the movement it craves so it can then rest. I cue a brief mobilization every 10 to 15 minutes at first. Over time, as regulation improves, the interval lengthens. Oculomotor tracking. Rapid saccades and scanning can mirror internal restlessness. We practice slow, smooth eye movements that follow a finger or pen through a gentle figure eight. The goal is to feel the eyes and breath coordinate. After a minute of smooth pursuit, reading lines of text usually feels easier. Respiratory pacing. I avoid forcing big belly breaths at the start. For many with chronic anxiety, that spikes discomfort. Instead we map the current breath, then lengthen exhalation by a count or two. Two minutes at a 4 in, 6 out pace often reduces sympathetic charge enough for attention to take hold.
When clients can sense these bodily anchors, they notice earlier when focus is slipping. They can intervene with a 30 second orienting sweep rather than losing 40 minutes to a rabbit hole.
Where the Safe and Sound Protocol Fits
The safe and sound protocol (SSP) uses filtered music delivered through headphones to engage the social engagement system and promote parasympathetic settling. It draws from polyvagal theory. The research base is growing but still mixed. Some clients report improved auditory tolerance, better sleep, and a calmer baseline. Others feel overstimulated or notice no change. In my practice, SSP is a possible adjunct, not a core requirement.
For ADHD, I consider SSP when there is clear sound sensitivity, a history of startle in noisy spaces, or persistent social overwhelm that feeds school or workplace avoidance. We run it at a low dose, often 5 to 15 minutes per day at first, with real breaks between segments. Headphone comfort matters. So does the environment. People do better in a softly lit room with minimal competing noise. We monitor for dizziness, fatigue, irritability, or headache. Those signals mean the dose is too high or the system is not ready.
SSP does not replace skills training or medication. In a best case, it lowers the floor of arousal so that SE sessions, coaching, and task engagement feel less uphill. When people are already highly dissociative or in the middle of acute trauma processing, I usually defer SSP until the system shows more stability.
The Rest and Restore Protocol, Practically Defined
Many clinics refer to a rest and restore protocol, usually meaning a structured set of practices that cue parasympathetic recovery. There is no single standardized program by that name, and the evidence varies depending on the elements included. Common building blocks include paced breathing, orienting, gentle stretching, prosocial cues like warm vocal tone, and darkness or weighted blankets to support downshifting.
When I use a rest and restore protocol with ADHD clients, it functions like a daily nervous system hygiene routine. We keep it brief and predictable. We also keep a boundary around it so it does not become another avoidance ritual. Ten minutes after lunch, lights dimmed, three rounds of orienting, a minute of slow neck turns, a minute of palming the eyes, then two minutes of exhale-lengthening. If sleepiness arrives, we let the head nod for two to three minutes, then sit back up and reorient. The goal is to teach the body that micro-rest is safe and allowed, which reduces the later crash. As with SSP, it is one ingredient among many.
Building an Integrative Mental Health Therapy Plan
ADHD care is most effective when it stacks supports rather than betting on one hero intervention. Medication can widen the window of attention. Cognitive behavioral strategies help reframe all-or-nothing thinking. Coaching improves task design, calendar use, and accountability. Somatic experiencing contributes bodily regulation so the rest can land.
I encourage clients to treat movement and sleep as nonnegotiable pillars. Aerobic exercise of 20 to 30 minutes, three to five times per week, consistently improves attention and mood. Strength training adds a stabilizing effect that many describe as feeling held from the inside. Sleep hygiene is not glamorous, but a 30 minute wind-down, lights out at a consistent time, and reducing late evening screen saturation often changes next-day focus more than any single trick. Nutrition matters too, especially steady protein intake and limiting long fasting windows that can trigger jitter and rebound crashes. Somatic practices sit naturally within this stack, helping people feel what enough movement, enough food, and enough rest actually register as in the body.
A Sample Session Arc That Works
Below is a five-stage flow I use frequently in ADHD focused SE work. Sessions run 50 to 75 minutes. The same arc adapts to 10 minute self-practice blocks between meetings.
- Arrival and orienting. Two minutes of quiet looking and listening. Name three comfortable sights. Track one long, unforced exhale. Note a body area that feels a bit more settled. Contact and containment. Bring awareness to the contact points: feet, seat, back. If activation is high, add gentle pressure from hands on thighs or a pillow across the lap. Wait for a sign of settling, even if small. Dose the activation. Briefly visit a current challenge. Notice the first place it shows up in the body. Track any impulse to move. Allow a small completion, like a shoulder roll or jaw release. Return to contact. Resourcing and expansion. Recall or sense something supportive: a pet’s weight, a recent success, the warmth of tea in the hands. Let the breath follow. If the system allows, expand the visual field. Watch for warmth or tingling that signals discharge. Transfer to the task. Look at the actual next step for the day’s priority. Notice body response. If activation rises, pendulate once more. If you feel steadier, write a one sentence starter and set a modest time box.
Clients who follow this arc three to five times per week usually report that task initiation latency shortens by 20 to 50 percent within a month. They get started while attention is still in reach, instead of waiting for a perfect block of focus that never arrives.
Home Practice Menu Without Overwhelm
Not every day needs a full session. Two to five minute somatic movements can carry attention through the afternoon without derailing work. A short menu makes it more likely you will use them.
- Orient and soften the eyes. Let your gaze drift to the farthest point in the room, then the nearest, three times. Notice any sigh or yawn. Hands and feet sandwich. Press one hand with the other, then switch. Rub the soles of the feet on the floor. Track any change in temperature. Neck arcs at one quarter speed. Draw a tiny yes and no with the head, staying in a pain-free range. Feel where the movement stops naturally. Exhale plus pause. Breathe in for four, out for six, then rest empty for two. Repeat for one minute. Micro-lean. While seated, lean 2 centimeters forward until you feel the spine engage, then return. Do the same backward and sideways. This wakes postural muscles without bracing.
Two cautions. First, keep the dose small at the start. If you feel sleepier than you like or more wired afterward, cut the practice time in half. Second, do not chase a specific sensation. Let the body show you what completes the loop.
Working at the Edges: Trauma, Autism, and Medical Factors
ADHD commonly coexists with trauma histories. Early instability, bullying, medical scares, and chronic stress can set the autonomic dial higher or lower than average. In trauma therapy, we want to avoid overwhelming the system. With ADHD, novelty can tempt us into bigger doses than are wise because the client feels bored. The fix is not more intensity. It is more precision. Aim for 10 percent shifts, not 90 percent breakthroughs.
Autism spectrum differences add another layer. Some autistic clients prefer less eye contact during sessions and may find orienting with the head uncomfortable. We respect that and use sound or touch pressure as primary inputs. Predictability helps. Scripts work. If a client stims, we integrate the stim into pendulation rather than trying to https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/about-amy extinguish it. Many find that rhythmic stimming becomes a resource once it is noticed with intention.
Medical factors also matter. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome can complicate breath work and standing practices. Start seated, increase fluids and salt under medical guidance, and adjust pace when dizziness hits. Joint hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos can make deep stretches unsafe. Use smaller ranges and isometrics instead. If someone has migraines triggered by visual motion, we avoid smooth pursuit drills and keep orienting mostly auditory. People with epilepsy should consult their neurologist before using sound-based protocols like SSP. Those with bipolar disorder need careful tracking so that upshifts in energy do not tip toward hypomania. Stimulant medication timing also interacts with session effects. Late day SE work can sometimes unmask fatigue just as meds wear off. Plan accordingly.
Measuring What Matters
Progress shows up in everyday numbers. You can track subjective arousal on a 0 to 10 scale three times per day. Aim for a slowly lowering average, with flatter spikes during known stressors. Log task initiation latency in minutes for one key task each day. Watch for the number dropping over weeks. Calendar adherence provides another window. If you complete 50 percent of planned blocks now, look for 60 to 70 percent after a month of regular practice. Heart rate variability can help, but it is sensitive to many confounders. I treat it as a supportive signal, not a sole indicator.
Qualitative markers count too. Clients report feeling more “choice” when the urge to switch tabs arises, more warmth in the torso when reading, fewer jaw headaches at dinnertime, and the return of playfulness. Partners notice less edge in the voice during transitions.
Pitfalls and How to Adjust
A common pitfall is going too cognitive in a somatic session. If you are talking for more than half the time, attention is probably running the show rather than sensation. Another is chasing big releases. Tremors, tears, and deep yawns can be useful, but making them the goal traps people in performance mode. A third is trying to fix focus during an already fried moment. When the system is at a 9 out of 10, abort the task, do two minutes of rest and restore protocol elements, then renegotiate the plan. For teens and college students, beware of using somatic practices as sanctioned avoidance. A brief practice followed by a short, defined task protects both regulation and productivity.
If practices feel flat, add novelty. Change rooms, bring in scent, or work with temperature. If practices feel chaotic, reduce inputs. One chair, one lamp, one sound. Seasonality matters too. Winter can tilt systems toward dorsal. Build more mobilization. Summer heat can push sympathetic activation. Build more exhale and cool-down.
A Brief Case Vignette
Marisol, 29, worked in marketing analytics. Diagnosed with ADHD at 21, she used 20 mg of long acting methylphenidate on weekdays. She described her mornings as sprint then spin. She would launch into emails at 8, get 50 done by 9, then bounce across six dashboards without finishing any single report.
We started with two 50 minute SE sessions per month and 5 minute daily home practices. The first month, the only goal was to find a bodily sense of “enough for now.” She learned to feel when her eyes hardened and her ribs lifted, which predicted a tab switch within two minutes. She practiced a 30 second orient and exhale when those cues showed up. Her task initiation latency on the main report dropped from an average of 22 minutes to 13. She still bounced, but the bounce carried less charge.
In month two, we added gentle oculomotor drills and a 10 minute rest and restore block after lunch. We trialed the safe and sound protocol at 10 minutes per day. On day four she developed a dull headache and irritability. We paused SSP for two weeks, then resumed at five minutes every other day. This time she noticed a warm spread in her chest and fewer startles when a colleague came to her desk. By the end of month three, her report completion times stabilized, and she reported leaving work with “two notches more energy.” We kept her medication unchanged. The gain came from bodily regulation and better rhythm. She still had rough days before big presentations, but she now had levers to pull beyond sheer will.
For Clinicians: Safety, Dose, and Consent
SE for ADHD rewards patience. Begin with short windows of interoception and frequent returns to external orienting. Track for signs of overactivation: rapid talk, flushing, fidget acceleration, breath holding. Track for signs of dorsal drift: long blinks, slumping, tone loss in the voice. Adjust dose in 30 to 60 second increments. Name successes as bodily events, not performance wins. When using adjuncts like the safe and sound protocol, obtain clear consent, explain that responses vary, and set a low starter dose with an exit plan if symptoms worsen. Communicate with prescribers about timing around medication peaks and troughs.
Integrative mental health therapy works best when each provider understands the others’ aims. A coach can remind a client to run a 90 second orienting sequence before starting a planning block. A therapist can anchor trauma processing after the client reestablishes a workable arousal baseline. A prescriber can adjust dosing when somatic work consistently lowers baseline anxiety. Keep the client’s lived goals central: finish the weekly report, show up for rehearsal, read with the kids without snapping. Regulation is not an abstract state. It is permission for a life that works.
Bringing It All Together
Somatic experiencing does not cure ADHD, and it does not need to. It gives people access to their body’s basic toggles, so that focus is a state they can enter, not a cliff they fall from. Combined with medication when indicated, sensible sleep and movement, thoughtful coaching, and care around trauma therapy, SE helps many clients reduce the friction that steals their day. The practices look humble: a head turn, a softer gaze, a longer exhale. Over weeks, those humble moves change how the nervous system rides its energy. Attention stops being a fight. It becomes a place the body can find again and again.
Address: 550 SE 6th Ave, Suite 200-M, Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone: 954-228-0228
Website: https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/
Hours:
Sunday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Open-location code (plus code): FW3M+34 Delray Beach, Florida, USA
Map/listing URL: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VZTFSS2fq1YPv7Rs5
Embed iframe:
Socials:
https://www.facebook.com/p/Amy-Hagerstrom-Therapy-PLLC-61579615264578/
https://www.instagram.com/amy.experiencing/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/111299965
https://www.tiktok.com/@amyhagerstromtherapypllc
https://x.com/amy_hagerstrom
https://www.youtube.com/@AmyHagerstromTherapyPLLC
Amy Hagerstrom Therapy PLLC provides somatic and integrative psychotherapy for adults who want mind-body support that goes beyond talk alone.
The practice serves clients throughout Florida and Illinois through online sessions, with Delray Beach listed as the office and mailing location.
Adults in Delray Beach, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and nearby communities can explore support for trauma, anxiety, chronic stress, burnout, and midlife transitions.
Amy Hagerstrom is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner who works with clients in a steady, nervous-system-informed way.
This practice is suited to people who want therapy that includes body awareness, emotional processing, and whole-person support in addition to conversation.
Sessions are private pay, typically 55 minutes, and a superbill may be available for clients using out-of-network benefits.
For local connection in Delray Beach and surrounding areas, the practice uses 550 SE 6th Ave, Suite 200-M, Delray Beach, FL 33483 as its office and mailing address.
To learn more or request a consultation, call 954-228-0228 or visit https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/.
For a public listing reference with hours and map context, see https://maps.app.goo.gl/VZTFSS2fq1YPv7Rs5.
Popular Questions About Amy Hagerstrom Therapy PLLC
What services does Amy Hagerstrom Therapy PLLC offer?
Amy Hagerstrom Therapy PLLC offers somatic therapy, integrative mental health therapy, the Safe and Sound Protocol, the Rest and Restore Protocol, and support for concerns including trauma, anxiety, and midlife stress.Is therapy online or in person?
The website describes online therapy for adults across Florida and Illinois, and some service pages mention limited in-person availability in Delray Beach.Who does the practice work with?
The practice describes its work as being for adults, especially thoughtful adults dealing with trauma, anxiety, chronic stress, burnout, and nervous-system-based stress patterns.What is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing is described on the site as a body-based approach that helps people work with nervous system responses to stress and trauma instead of relying on insight alone.What are the session fees?
The fees page states that individual therapy sessions are $200 and typically run 55 minutes.Does the practice accept insurance?
The website says the practice is not in-network with insurance and can provide a monthly superbill for possible out-of-network reimbursement.Where is the office located?
The official website lists the office and mailing address as 550 SE 6th Ave, Suite 200-M, Delray Beach, FL 33483.How can I contact Amy Hagerstrom Therapy PLLC?
Publicly available contact routes include tel:+19542280228, https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/, https://www.instagram.com/amy.experiencing/, https://www.youtube.com/@AmyHagerstromTherapyPLLC, https://www.facebook.com/p/Amy-Hagerstrom-Therapy-PLLC-61579615264578/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/111299965, https://www.tiktok.com/@amyhagerstromtherapypllc, and https://x.com/amy_hagerstrom. The official website does not publicly list an email address.Landmarks Near Delray Beach, FL
Atlantic Avenue — A central Delray Beach corridor and one of the area’s best-known local reference points. If you live, work, or spend time near Atlantic Avenue, visit https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/ to learn more about therapy options.Old School Square — A historic downtown campus at Atlantic and Swinton that anchors local arts, events, and community gatherings. If you are near this part of downtown Delray, the practice serves adults in the area and across Florida and Illinois.
Pineapple Grove — A walkable arts district just off Atlantic Avenue that is well known to local residents and visitors. If you are nearby, you can review services and consultation details at https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/.
Sandoway Discovery Center — A South Ocean Boulevard landmark that connects Delray Beach residents and visitors to coastal nature and marine education. If Beachside is part of your routine, the practice maintains a Delray Beach office and mailing address for local relevance.
Atlantic Dunes Park — A recognizable Delray Beach coastal park with boardwalk access and dune scenery. People based near the ocean side of Delray can learn more about scheduling through https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/.
Wakodahatchee Wetlands — A well-known western Delray destination with a boardwalk and wildlife viewing. If you are on the west side of Delray Beach or nearby communities, the practice offers online therapy throughout Florida.
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens — A major Delray Beach cultural landmark west of downtown. Clients across Delray Beach and surrounding areas can start with https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/ or tel:+19542280228.
Delray Beach Tennis Center — A public sports landmark just west of Atlantic Avenue and a familiar point of reference in central Delray. If you are near this area, visit https://www.amyhagerstrom.com/ for service details and consultation information.