Improve your results in trauma treatment. Help clients reconnect with their somatic intelligence through powerful, integrative techniques.
My newest book, Embodied Pschedelic Therapy, is now available for order online!
Hello, I’m Manuela Mischke-Reeds, MFT — a somatic trauma psychotherapy expert, international Hakomi trainer, and movement educator.
I have spent three decades pioneering somatic approaches to trauma recovery, weaving together therapeutic practice, teaching, and cross-cultural experience. My work is grounded in a multicultural lens—shaped by living and teaching across diverse contexts—and dedicated to making healing practices accessible to individuals, communities, and leaders worldwide.
Alongside this international work, I have maintained a private practice in Northern California for over 30 years, working directly with clients. This clinical foundation continues to shape and refine the practices I now teach worldwide.
Early in my career, working with torture survivors showed me that talk therapy alone could not heal such profound pain.
I have worked with many forms of trauma, including the profound impacts of torture, kidnapping, and sexual trauma. Often, clients cannot find words for their pain, but their bodies speak volumes.
Through studying diverse somatic therapies, I learned to recognize and interpret the body’s language: subtle shifts and expressive movements, postures and gestures, breath patterns and sounds. These expressions reveal where fear and healing coexist in the body. Decoding this silent language reveals the body’s innate somatic intelligence and opens the path to recovery.
Building on this realization, I have applied, researched, and innovated somatic therapies for trauma treatment. My work integrates somatic approaches with emerging modalities such as psychedelic-assisted therapy, and led to the creation of ISITTA™ (Innate Somatic Intelligence™ Trauma Therapy), an integrative, movement-based method for healing trauma.
Some of my most sought-after professional training programs include:
Hakomi — a mindfulness-based somatic psychotherapy method that deepens therapeutic presence and effectiveness
“ISITTA™ (Innate Somatic Intelligence™ Trauma Therapy) — a pioneering integrative, movement-based method I developed for healing trauma.”
Hakomi Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy — integrating somatic and psychedelic-assisted methods to expand trauma treatment possibilities
Hakomi-Informed Somatic Coaching — applying Hakomi methodology within a coaching framework to support transformational change
Continuum — a movement-based somatic therapy that supports trauma resolution and nervous system regulation
We can all reconnect with our innate ability to self-heal.
For immediate insights, consult my books:
Somatic Psychotherapy Toolbox: 125 Worksheets and Exercises for Trauma and Stress (PESI, 2019)
Embodied Psychedelic Therapy: A Somatic Guide (W.W.Norton, 2025)
Trauma-Sensitive Movement: 96 Somatic Techniques to Support Nervous System Regulation and Embodied Transformation in Therapy (PESI, 2025)
8 Keys to Practicing Mindfulness: Practical Strategies for Emotional Health and Well-being (W.W.Norton, 2015)