In today's episode, I am sitting down with Darshana Avila for a truly fascinating and important conversation about the intersection of sexuality, somatic work, and trauma healing.
As therapists, we often talk about the mind and body connection, but many of us shy away from exploring how that connection relates to our clients' sexuality, intimacy, and sense of pleasure. Darshana brings a deeply trauma-informed and culturally sensitive approach to this work, helping clients reconnect with their bodies, navigate consent, and move beyond shame into embodied wholeness.
In our discussion, we explore what sexological bodywork actually looks like, how it differs from traditional sex therapy, and why somatic awareness is essential for both healing trauma and deepening intimacy. We also touch on how therapists can hold space for these conversations within private practice and why it is so important to bring curiosity, consent, and compassion to this part of the human experience.
This is one of those episodes that might stretch your perspective a bit, and that is a good thing. I am so grateful to Darshana for sharing her wisdom, and I think you will walk away with a richer understanding of how to support your clients and yourself in a more embodied and holistic way.
In This Episode, We Cover:
- How Darshana's personal journey led her to somatic and erotic healing work
- The difference between sexological bodywork and traditional sex therapy
- Why somatic awareness is essential for trauma healing and intimacy
- What it means to truly "come home to your body"
- How consent goes beyond just saying yes or no
- The role of the nervous system in safety, pleasure, and connection
- How therapists can introduce somatic principles in private practice
- Understanding erotic wholeness and how it expands our idea of healing
- The impact of shame and cultural conditioning around sexuality
- Why pleasure and safety are part of the same healing process
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
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Meet Darshana Avila
Darshana Avila is a trauma-informed somatic sex & intimacy practitioner (SEP, CSB) who guides people through embodied journeys of erotic wholeness. Her work blends nervous-system regulation, somatic awareness, consent-fluency, and relational liberation. Featured on Sex, Love & Goop (Netflix), she supports women, non-binary folks, and couples in reclaiming pleasure, voice, and connection.
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