Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about somatic therapy, bodywork, sessions and practical arrangements.
Section 01
About the work
Somatic therapy, bodywork and the Pantarei Approach.
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is a body-based way of working with thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and nervous-system responses as parts of one connected experience.
Alongside conversation, we may pay attention to breath, posture, tension, movement, impulses, numbness and the ways your body has learned to protect or support you.
In my work, the body is not treated as a problem to fix. It becomes part of the conversation. The process may include dialogue, body awareness, movement, breath and mindful touch. It is shaped around you and what feels relevant in the moment.
Somatic therapy as I offer it is not psychotherapy or medical treatment.
What is somatic bodywork?
Somatic bodywork is the more hands-on dimension of my wider somatic approach. It brings together touch, awareness, breath, dialogue, movement and attention to the nervous system.
Touch is not used mechanically. It becomes a way of listening and communicating. It can bring awareness to places that feel tense, guarded, numb or difficult to reach, while helping you notice how your whole system responds to contact.
A session may include physical release, but it remains connected to your emotions, breath, protective patterns and present experience.
What is the difference between somatic therapy and somatic bodywork?
Somatic therapy and somatic bodywork are closely connected in my practice and often overlap within the same session.
Somatic bodywork usually describes the more hands-on side of the process. Somatic therapy describes the wider body-based work, which may also include emotional awareness, dialogue, breath, movement and nervous-system regulation.
A session may begin with conversation, move into hands-on work and return to reflection or grounding. What matters is responding to what is actually present rather than fitting your experience into a fixed category.
Is somatic bodywork the same as massage?
No. Somatic bodywork may include massage techniques and muscular or fascial release, but it is broader than conventional massage.
Alongside physical tension, I pay attention to how your body receives contact, where your breath changes, what sensations or emotions become noticeable and how your nervous system responds.
The work may include deep-tissue techniques, myofascial work, trigger-point therapy or more subtle touch, but these tools remain part of a wider process.
How is somatic therapy different from talk therapy?
Talk therapy can be deeply valuable for understanding patterns, making sense of the past and finding language for difficult experiences.
Somatic work includes another layer by exploring how those experiences are present in the body. We may notice tension, breath, posture, numbness, activation, emotion or subtle impulses that are difficult to reach through words alone.
Conversation remains part of the work, but the process also asks what can be felt, experienced and gradually integrated. It does not replace psychotherapy when psychotherapeutic care is needed.
What is the Pantarei Approach?
The Pantarei Approach is a form of somatic bodywork that combines empathic touch, movement and communication. It places strong emphasis on individuality, personal choice, body awareness and the resources already present within a person.
For me, Pantarei is more than a collection of techniques. It has shaped the way I meet people without reducing them to a diagnosis or fixed problem.
This can be felt in the way I work without a rigid formula. Sessions are responsive and shaped around the person, the present moment and what feels meaningful.
Section 02
What the work supports
Physical, emotional and nervous-system themes.
What kinds of concerns bring people to André?
People come with a wide range of physical, emotional and personal themes.
These may include chronic stress, emotional overwhelm, exhaustion, anxiety, persistent tension, pain patterns, restricted movement, numbness or a feeling of being disconnected from the body.
Grief, relationship difficulties, burnout, difficult past experiences and major life transitions can also be part of what brings someone.
Others come without a specific problem, but with a wish for greater embodiment, self-understanding, vitality or connection.
Can somatic work support stress and nervous-system regulation?
Somatic work can support you in becoming more aware of how stress is held and expressed through the body and nervous system.
Stress may appear as tight breathing, chronic tension, restlessness, inner pressure, exhaustion, emotional reactivity, numbness or shutdown.
Rather than forcing these responses away, we slow down and explore what your system is doing, what it may be protecting and what helps create more space and choice.
A session may include touch, breath, movement, stillness, body awareness and dialogue.
Can somatic work support emotional overwhelm and trauma-related patterns?
Somatic work can offer non-medical support when emotional overwhelm or the effects of difficult past experiences are still present in the body.
The focus is not on forcing catharsis, deliberately reopening memories or treating trauma as a diagnosis. We begin with what is manageable in the present.
Attention may go to breath, sensation, boundaries, protection, numbness, activation or parts of you that have had to stay strong for a long time.
This work is not psychotherapy and does not treat trauma-related disorders. When psychotherapeutic or psychiatric care is needed, somatic sessions can only be complementary.
Can somatic bodywork support chronic tension, pain patterns or physical recovery?
Somatic bodywork can be part of support for chronic tension, recurring pain patterns, restricted movement and physical recovery.
I may work with muscular and fascial tension, posture, breath, movement patterns and joint mobility.
Depending on what is useful, I may draw from the Pantarei Approach, Liebscher & Bracht, myofascial release, deep-tissue massage, trigger-point work and movement practices.
These sessions are not medical treatment or physiotherapy. Persistent, acute or unexplained symptoms should be medically assessed.
Can this work support numbness or disconnection from the body?
Somatic work can support people who feel numb, far away from themselves or unsure how to sense what they need.
You may understand yourself intellectually but struggle to feel your emotions, notice your boundaries or recognise what is happening in your body.
We do not try to break through numbness by force. We begin with what is available, even when that is only a small sensation, a breath, a point of contact or the awareness that very little can be felt.
Is this work also suitable for personal growth or life transitions?
Yes. You do not need a diagnosis, crisis or specific symptom to work somatically.
People may come because they are moving through a change, want to understand themselves more deeply or want a more direct relationship with their body, needs and inner resources.
Somatic work can also be a space for embodiment, creativity, confidence, relationships and learning through direct experience.
Can somatic work complement psychotherapy, EMDR, coaching, physiotherapy or medical care?
Yes. Somatic work can complement other forms of support by bringing attention to the body, nervous system and direct experience.
Some clients come alongside psychotherapy, EMDR, coaching or personal development work because they want to embody what they already understand.
Others use bodywork alongside physiotherapy or medical care when physical symptoms, stress and movement patterns are part of a wider process.
My work does not replace psychotherapy, medical diagnosis, physiotherapy or psychiatric care.
Section 03
Sessions and the process
What happens in a session, including touch, consent and boundaries.
What happens during a first session?
A first session begins with time to talk about what brings you, what feels present and what you would like to explore.
We may look at physical sensations, emotions, life themes, pain patterns, stress or a feeling that something is stuck or disconnected.
From there, the session usually moves into a hands-on and somatic process. This may include body awareness, touch, breath, movement, dialogue, stillness or more direct physical work.
Toward the end, there is time for grounding and reflection. The current first session is 90 minutes.
Do I need to know exactly what I want to work on?
No. You do not need a diagnosis, perfectly defined goal or finished story before booking.
Many people begin with a general sense of stress, tension, emotional overwhelm, pain, numbness or disconnection. Others simply know that something needs attention but cannot yet explain what it is.
We can begin with what is present and explore from there.
Is touch part of every session?
Touch is usually an important and central part of my work, but it is never automatic or imposed.
The amount, quality and focus of touch depend on the person, the moment and what feels supportive.
Some sessions involve more physical bodywork. Others may include more dialogue, breath, movement, stillness or subtle contact.
Touch remains connected to communication and your actual experience rather than being applied as a standard routine.
How are touch, consent and boundaries handled?
Touch is used with clarity, care, consent and respect for your boundaries.
You can ask questions, request a change, pause the process, decline a form of touch or stop at any time. You can also change your mind after previously agreeing to something.
Consent is not treated as a single decision made at the beginning of the session. It remains part of the contact throughout the process.
The pace is adjusted to what feels manageable rather than pushing toward a particular result.
Do I need to talk about trauma or painful experiences?
No. You do not need to tell everything, explain your whole history or deliberately relive painful experiences.
Somatic work can begin with what is present now. That may be a sensation, tension, numbness, a protective response, an emotion or simply the feeling that something is difficult to reach.
You choose what you want to share and what you are not ready to discuss.
What might I experience during or after a session?
Experiences vary. A session may feel calming, emotionally active, physically focused or quietly reflective.
You may notice relaxation, tension, warmth, movement, emotion, tiredness, clearer sensations or a stronger awareness of patterns that were previously difficult to feel.
Afterward, you may notice greater presence, less tension, emotional clarity or a need for rest and space.
There is no correct response and no guaranteed result.
How long is a session, and how many sessions might I need?
The current First Acquaintance Session is 90 minutes. Sessions within the five-session and ten-session packages are currently 80 minutes.
Other individual follow-up formats and durations can be discussed with me directly.
You can begin with one first session. There is no fixed number of sessions that is right for everyone.
The number and rhythm of sessions depend on your intentions, what begins to unfold and what feels personally and financially sustainable.
Section 04
Suitability and professional boundaries
What the work is, and what it does not replace.
Who may benefit from this way of working?
This approach may be relevant if you want support that includes the body without losing emotional depth.
It can be meaningful for people living with stress, overwhelm, chronic tension, pain patterns, numbness, grief, burnout, life transitions or the effects of difficult experiences.
It may also suit people who have already done verbal therapy or personal development work and want to explore what they understand through more direct embodied experience.
When might this approach not be the right fit?
This approach is not the right form of support for a medical emergency, an acute mental-health crisis or when you need diagnosis, psychotherapy, psychiatric treatment or medical care.
It may also not fit if you are looking for a guaranteed result, a fixed treatment protocol or a completely passive service in which a technique is applied without your participation or awareness.
My work is relational, process-oriented and usually hands-on. If you do not want to work with touch at all, this particular approach may not be the right fit.
Is André’s work psychotherapy or medical treatment?
No. My work is not psychotherapy, medical treatment or the practice of medicine.
Somatic Therapy & Bodywork André Laubner offers non-medical, body-based support for self-experience, relaxation, personal development, body awareness, emotional integration and embodied learning.
I do not diagnose illnesses, treat psychiatric or medical conditions or provide a substitute for doctors, psychotherapists, physiotherapists or licensed healthcare providers.
Are sessions confidential?
Yes. Everything you express or share during a session is treated as confidential.
I do not share information about your session with another person or professional without your permission, except where disclosure may be legally required.
Personal information submitted through contact and booking is used for purposes such as responding to your enquiry, organising your appointment, processing payment and preparing for the session.
What qualifications and experience does André Laubner have?
I have more than ten years of professional experience in somatic, body-based, coaching and movement-oriented work.
My central training includes the Pantarei Approach and Pantarei Advanced Practitioner Levels 1, 2 and 3.
I am also trained as a Liebscher & Bracht pain specialist and certified massage therapist, with education in deep-tissue massage, myofascial release, direct-release techniques and trigger-point therapy.
My wider background includes life coaching, mindfulness, personal training, functional training, Pilates, relaxation methods and movement education.
Section 05
Practical information
Location, booking, cancellations and payment.
Where do sessions take place?
All current individual sessions take place at Somatic Therapy & Bodywork André Laubner, at Satori Institute, Straßmannstraße 3, 10249 Berlin Friedrichshain, Germany.
Sessions take place by appointment.
Are sessions available in English and German?
Yes. Sessions are available in both English and German.
How do I book a first session?
The easiest way to book is through the online booking calendar on the website.
Choose the First Acquaintance Session and select an available appointment.
What should I book if I am unsure which session is right?
Begin with the First Acquaintance Session.
You do not need to decide in advance whether your process belongs under somatic therapy, physical recovery or preparation and integration work.
During the first session, we explore what brings you and what kind of support makes sense.
How can I reschedule or cancel an appointment?
You can change or cancel an appointment without charge up to 24 hours before the scheduled starting time.
Please use only the Cancel or Reschedule button in your booking confirmation email to make any changes.
For changes or cancellations made less than 24 hours before the appointment, the full session fee may be charged.
How can I pay?
Sessions can be paid in cash or by invoice.
When you receive an invoice, payment is due within 14 days of receiving it.
Is the practice wheelchair accessible?
The practice is on the ground floor, but it is not completely wheelchair accessible.
Access may be possible with some wheelchairs, depending on their dimensions and the person’s specific access needs.
Please contact me before booking so we can clarify whether entering the practice will be possible for you.
Can I contact André before booking?
Yes. You can contact me before booking with questions about the work, booking, accessibility or the practice location.
Email: somaticdojo@gmail.com. Phone and WhatsApp: +49 155 65436802.
Section 06
Satori LSV and integration
Expanded states, preparation and integration.
What is Satori Light, Sound & Vibration?
Satori Light, Sound & Vibration, or Satori LSV, is a guided multisensory experience using light, sound and vibration to support a non-substance-based exploration of expanded states of awareness.
People may use a session for deep rest, self-exploration, preparation, integration or curiosity about non-ordinary states without taking a psychedelic substance.
Satori LSV is not medical treatment, psychotherapy or a medical device, and no specific result is guaranteed.
What are psychedelic preparation and integration sessions?
Psychedelic preparation and integration sessions offer non-medical, body-based support before or after an expanded-state experience.
Preparation can help you explore intentions, concerns, expectations and boundaries.
Integration creates space to reflect on what happened and explore how the experience relates to your body, emotions, relationships, choices and everyday life.
These sessions are intended for reflection, integration and harm reduction. They are not psychotherapy, medical treatment or substance-assisted therapy.
Does André provide or administer psychedelic substances?
No. I do not provide, sell, administer, source or recommend psychedelic substances.
I do not encourage the use of illegal substances or provide instructions for obtaining or using them.
Preparation and integration sessions are limited to general information, reflection, embodied integration and harm-reduction support before or after experiences that occur elsewhere and under the client’s own responsibility.