Cannabis-Assisted Somatic Therapy for Trauma Healing
Bentley Psychotherapy offers cannabis-assisted somatic therapy in Broomfield, Colorado for adults working through trauma, dissociation, emotional numbness, chronic stress, and patterns that feel hard to reach through talk therapy alone.
Cannabis may be part of the session, but the work centers on guided therapy, body awareness, and support when deeper material starts to surface.
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What Is Cannabis-Assisted Somatic Therapy?
Cannabis-assisted somatic therapy brings intentional cannabis use into a body-based therapy session. It can help some people notice emotions, sensations, and protective patterns that stay out of reach in regular talk therapy.
The focus is steady therapeutic guidance and noticing what begins to show up. That may be a tight chest, heat in the face, sadness, numbness, or a memory that feels more physical than verbal.
Why Trauma Can Feel Stuck in the Body
Trauma does not always live as a clear memory. Sometimes it shows up as a body pattern. A clenched stomach. A chest that will not soften. Shoulders that stay braced even when life is calm. A blank feeling when someone asks, “How do you feel?”
I see this a lot with people who have already done a fair amount of thinking about their past. They understand the story. They can explain the pattern. Still, their body reacts before they can talk themselves out of it.
You may notice trauma through:
A freeze response during conflict
Going numb when emotions get close
Feeling restless when you try to slow down
Shallow breathing or pressure in the chest
A sense of watching life from a distance
Knowing something hurt, but not feeling much around it
Anxiety that feels physical before it feels mental
That is one reason somatic therapy matters. It gives the body a place in the conversation.
Understanding Dissociation and Emotional Numbness
Dissociation and numbness can be hard to name. From the outside, they may look calm. Inside, they can feel distant, blank, or strangely disconnected.
Dissociation
Dissociation is the nervous system’s way of creating distance from something that feels like too much. Some people space out. Others go quiet, lose body awareness, or feel like they are watching life through glass.
Dissociation is not viewed as a weakness in trauma therapy. At one point, it shielded you. The goal is to create enough stability so that the body doesn't have to vanish in order to feel secure.
Emotional Numbness
When you are emotionally numb, life may seem like it is happening at a distance. You may care deeply, but the feeling does not fully register in your body.
Cannabis-assisted somatic therapy may help certain clients pick up small signals again. Warmth in the chest. A catch in the throat. The urge to move, soften, pull back, or cry. Those small signals can become the first doorway back into feeling.
How Cannabis May Support Trauma Processing
In some sessions, cannabis may help clients notice emotions, protective patterns, or physical signals with more clarity. With therapeutic support, those experiences can be explored in a steadier and more useful way.
Some Clients Notice Softer
Protective Barriers
The body and mind might learn to guard the door through trauma. Joking through pain, overanalyzing every emotion, becoming numb, tightening up, or guiding the conversation away from anything too close are some examples of how that manifests.
In cannabis-assisted somatic therapy, some clients notice those guards loosen a little. Not disappear. Just soften enough to look underneath with more care. If the material feels too much, we slow down, ground, and return to what feels steady.
It May Help Increase
Body Awareness
Some clients notice physical sensations more clearly with cannabis. That might mean feeling where tension sits, noticing breath changes, or sensing a part of the body that has felt distant for years.
Small details matter here. A tight jaw may connect to held anger. A numb arm may connect to freeze. A heavy chest may carry grief that has not had room yet.
It May Support
Nervous System Connection
A quieter goal matters here: staying present enough to notice what is happening without shutting down or pushing the feeling away.
Research on cannabis-assisted psychotherapy is still early. A 2023 Frontiers in Psychiatry case report looked at cannabis-assisted psychotherapy sessions for complex dissociative PTSD, but it also points to the need for more study.
That is the right tone for this work. The research is still developing, so cannabis-assisted somatic therapy should be approached carefully, with screening, consent, and clinical support.
It Can Support
Emotional Accessibility
For certain people, cannabis can soften the edge around emotions. Not always. Not for everyone. But some clients notice that feelings become easier to approach when the mind is not working so hard to explain, defend, or organize everything.
That can open a door for therapy, especially when talk therapy has created insight but not much felt change.
Cannabis-Assisted Therapy vs. Recreational Cannabis Use
Cannabis-assisted therapy is different from using cannabis alone. Here, the session has a purpose: stay connected to the body, notice emotion without rushing it, and make sense of what comes up with support.
A lot of confusion clears up when people understand the difference.
The key difference is the structure around the experience: the setting, intention, support, and follow-up.
What Happens During a Cannabis-Assisted Therapy Session?
A cannabis-assisted therapy session is structured, guided, and paced around your capacity. You do not need to arrive with the perfect story or the right words.
Here is how the process may unfold:
Preparation and Intention Setting
The session begins with a check-in. We might discuss what you want to explore, what feels present that day, and what would help you feel oriented before the work begins. The intention is not a performance goal. It is more like setting a gentle direction.
Guided Somatic Awareness
As the session continues, attention turns toward the body. That may include tracking sensations, emotions, images, impulses, breath, body tension, or numbness.
This part can feel subtle at first. A shoulder pulls back. The belly tightens. The breath stops for a second. These small signals are not random noise. In somatic therapy, they can point toward protective patterns that have been running for a long time.
Support During Emotional Shifts
If intense emotions surface, I help you slow the process down and stay connected to what is happening. This could include opening your eyes, feeling your feet, observing the space, changing the tempo, or using basic language to describe what is happening.
The goal is to notice what feels honest without pushing past your capacity. For many people, that shift alone is meaningful.
Integration and Closure
Toward the end, we slow the process down. There is time to reflect, ground, and notice what may need support after the session. Some sessions feel clear right away. Others unfold in pieces over the next few days. We leave room for both.
Who Cannabis-Assisted Somatic Therapy May Help
This approach may be a fit for adults who feel stuck in patterns that thinking alone has not resolved. It can be especially relevant when trauma shows up through the body, not just through thoughts.
It may support people experiencing:
Trauma or PTSD symptoms
Dissociation or emotional numbness
Chronic stress or burnout
Anxiety that feels physical
Difficulty accessing emotions in talk therapy
Disconnection from the body
Freeze, shutdown, or people-pleasing patterns
Grief or unresolved emotional experiences
A sense of “I understand it, but I still do not feel better”
A consultation helps clarify fit. This work is personal, and the pace matters.
When This Approach May Not Be the Right Fit
Cannabis-assisted somatic therapy is not for everyone, and that matters. A careful “not right now” can be more helpful than forcing an approach your nervous system is not ready for.
This may not be the right fit for someone who is:
Looking for a recreational cannabis experience
Hoping for a quick fix
Currently unable to stay grounded during altered states
Looking for a substance-centered experience instead of a guided therapy process
Dealing with certain medical, psychiatric, or substance-use concerns that need extra screening
Needing a higher level of care or a different kind of support first
Good therapy should not rush the door open. It should help you find the handle, notice your pace, and choose the next step with care.
what our clients say
Why Integration Matters After the Session
The work does not end when the cannabis-assisted session ends. Emotions, memories, dreams, body sensations, or new awareness may continue to move in the days after. Integration gives those changes a place to land.
In integration, we look at what came up and how it connects to real life. That may include reflection, follow-up therapy, or simple changes in how you relate to yourself during the week. Without integration, even a meaningful session can fade into “that was intense.” With support, it has a better chance of becoming useful.
Is Cannabis-Assisted Therapy Safe?
Cannabis-assisted therapy may be safe for some people when there is screening, preparation, therapist guidance, and a clear plan for staying grounded. It is not a fit for everyone, and that is part of the point of a consultation.
Safety is not only about cannabis. It is about the person in the room. Their history. Their stress level that week. Their relationship with their body. Their ability to slow down when something intense shows up.
In my work, I pay close attention to capacity. If something starts to feel like too much, we pause, reorient, and adjust the session instead of pushing through.
Start With a Grounded Consultation
Curious about cannabis-assisted somatic therapy, but not sure where to begin? A consultation gives you space to ask questions, talk through concerns, and see if the pace feels right.
Bring what you have. The questions, the hesitation, the messy parts. We can sort through it together and decide if this work fits where you are right now.
Joseph Bentley
MA, LPCC
Since young adulthood I have been on a spiritual journey of seeking for answers and truth about our greater reality. This seeking is ultimately a fruitless endeavor unless applied. My career is an embodied application of my learning. Healing my own relational wounding is my personal calling, and I am actively involved in my own therapeutic process.
I have been trained by a group of cutting edge psychedelic therapists at Innate Path in Broomfield, CO. I completed training at Innate Path in Winter of 2022.
I graduated from Naropa University in 2023 with a Masters in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling.
Originally from Arkansas, I moved to Colorado to obtain my masters degree and train in psychedelic modalities for the treatment of trauma.
FAQs
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In Colorado, adults 21 and older may legally access cannabis under state law. At Bentley Psychotherapy, cannabis-assisted therapy is offered as psychotherapy with preparation, guidance, and integration. Cannabis is not prescribed here as a medical treatment for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, or any other condition, and it is not an FDA-approved mental health medication.
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The intention is to avoid becoming overwhelmed or losing control. The pace of the sessions allows you to pay attention to what comes up while maintaining a connection to your body, the therapist, and the setting. The work slows down if you begin to feel too distant, too active, or too numb.
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Strong feelings are possible, but they don't have to dominate the entire session. We might stop, open our eyes, feel the ground, monitor our breathing, or focus on anything stable in the space. Stopping at the appropriate time is not a sign of failure in somatic work, but rather a component of the therapy.
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No. While prior cannabis use is not necessary, it does matter. Before determining whether this approach makes sense, discuss whether cannabis has ever caused you to feel nervous, dizzy, disoriented, or uneasy.
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Traditional talk therapy focuses more on conversation, insight, and reflection. Cannabis-assisted somatic therapy pays closer attention to how the body responds during emotional work, such as held breath, jaw tension, numbness, the urge to move, or sudden pressure in the chest. Words still matter, but they are not the only source of information.
Cannabis-Assisted Therapy in Broomfield, Colorado
Bentley Psychotherapy offers cannabis-assisted somatic therapy in Broomfield for adults working through trauma, anxiety, dissociation, or emotional shutdown.
Broomfield has a real need for this kind of care. UCHealth Broomfield Hospital’s 2024–2026 Community Health Needs Assessment listed behavioral health as one of the county’s priority needs.
That matters here, because people do not always need another big explanation of what is wrong. Sometimes they need a steady place to begin, close enough to reach without turning care into a whole day.
Clients may visit from:
Westminster
Superior
Louisville
Lafayette
Boulder
Northglenn
Thornton
Arvada
Denver
North Denver communities
Driving Directions
I-70 & W Colfax Ave
Lakewood, CO 80215
- Get on I-70 E 3 min (1.7 mi)
- Continue on I-70 E to CO-95 N/Sheridan Blvd. Take exit 1B from I-76 E 7 min (7.7 mi)
- Get on US-36 W in Westminster 11 min (5.0 mi)
- Follow US-36 W to CO-121 N in Broomfield. Take the CO-121/Wadsworth Parkway exit from US-36 W 4 min (4.0 mi)
- Take US-287 N to Burbank St 3 min (1.0 mi)
Bentley Psychotherapy
730 Burbank St, Broomfield, CO 80020
84th Ave & I-25
Thornton, CO 80229
- Get on I-25 N 2 min (0.5 mi)
- Continue on I-25 N. Take W 120th Ave to W 6th Ave in Broomfield 17 min (10.3 mi)
- Continue on W 6th Ave. Drive to Burbank St 2 min (0.3 mi)
Bentley Psychotherapy
730 Burbank St, Broomfield, CO 80020
Downtown Denver
Denver, CO 80204
- Get on I-25 N from N Speer Blvd 6 min (1.7 mi)
- Follow I-25 N and US-36 W to CO-121 N in Broomfield. Take the CO-121/Wadsworth Parkway exit from US-36 W 14 min (14.5 mi)
- Follow CO-121 N, US-287 N and W 6th Ave to Burbank St 3 min (0.9 mi)
Bentley Psychotherapy
730 Burbank St, Broomfield, CO 80020
I-70 and Colorado Blvd (Park Hill)
Denver, CO 80220
- Get on I-70 W 2 min (0.7 mi)
- Take US-36 W to CO-121 N in Broomfield. Take the CO-121/Wadsworth Parkway exit from US-36 W 15 min (15.6 mi)
- Take US-287 N to Burbank St 3 min (1.0 mi)
Bentley Psychotherapy
730 Burbank St, Broomfield, CO 80020
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