Therapist Marina del Rey | Body-Centered Healing

I offer somatic therapy and body-centered healing support in Marina del Rey, CA for adults who may appear calm, capable, or composed while feeling tense, fatigued, or disconnected inside. You may be moving through grief, chronic illness, trauma, relational change, or a life transition that has left your body feeling alert even when your surroundings are quiet. My role is to offer a grounded space where you can slow down, notice what is present, and begin reconnecting with your body at a pace that feels possible.


I have served clients throughout the Westside of Los Angeles for years, including those living near the marina, the waterfront, the Venice border, Playa Vista, and the coastal communities shaped by work, movement, and proximity to the ocean. Marina del Rey has a spacious visual rhythm, with boats, water, apartments, professionals, creatives, and people seeking privacy and ease. Still, external calm does not always translate into internal rest.


In Marina del Rey, many people come to this work because they are tired of trying to force themselves to relax. You may be surrounded by beauty and still feel braced, watchful, or far from yourself. I offer support that honors the body’s timing and helps you build more agency, presence, and trust without overriding what your system is trying to communicate.

Here’s What’s Included

Step 1: Slowing Down and Building Awareness

We begin by creating space to notice what is happening in your body, thoughts, and emotional life. Together we explore patterns of tension, sensation, and response, helping you understand how your nervous system has learned to organize itself over time.

Step 2: Developing a Relationship with Your Inner Experience

Rather than trying to fix or override what you feel, we build curiosity and capacity with what arises in the moment. This may include somatic awareness, relational dialogue, EMDR when appropriate, or gentle movement and creative exploration.

Step 3: Supporting Integration Over Time

As awareness grows, many people begin to notice meaningful shifts, more room to breathe, more flexibility in how they respond to stress, and a deeper sense of trust in their own bodies. 

Explore my therapy services and specializations


You may look composed from the outside while feeling braced, watchful, or unsettled within. Grief, chronic illness, trauma, relationship changes, or a major transition may have made it difficult to rest, trust your body, or feel fully present.


Being surrounded by calm does not always mean your body knows how to settle.  Sometimes quiet simply reveals how much effort you have been using to hold yourself together, especially when your system has learned to stay ready for what might happen next.


Through somatic psychotherapy, we may explore patterns of holding, sensation, emotion, pacing, and the places where your system is asking for support rather than more control. For someone whose days move between the water, work, boats, open sky, and the pace of the Westside, this work offers a place to stop performing ease and begin feeling what is actually present.


You may be surrounded by water, open sky, and visual spaciousness, yet still feel tight, watchful, or unable to settle inside your body. Grief, chronic illness, trauma, relationship changes, or a transition may have made stillness feel less like rest and more like exposure.


Movement can offer another way in when talking or trying to relax does not reach what your body is carrying. You may begin to notice where you hold, where you brace, where you soften, and where small shifts create more breath, choice, and internal room.


In movement therapy, we may explore grounding, weight, breath, subtle movement, pacing, and the body’s natural desire to complete what has been interrupted. Between the marina, boats, work, open air, and the pace of the Westside, this work offers a way to stop performing ease and begin feeling what is actually present.


Calm surroundings do not always create calm inside the body. Even near water, boats, and open sky, your system may still feel guarded, watchful, or unable to fully rest after trauma, grief, illness, or relational rupture.


Sometimes stillness makes everything louder. The body may reveal how much effort it has been using to hold you together, especially if safety once depended on staying alert. 


Trauma therapy can help those patterns be understood without forcing them to disappear before they are ready.We may explore holding patterns, sensation, emotion, pacing, memory, and the places where control has become exhausting. For someone whose days move between the water, work, and the pace of the Westside, this work offers a place to stop performing ease and begin feeling what is actually present.


Even near water and open sky, your body may not know how to settle. A memory, transition, or relational wound may keep your system guarded, watchful, or unable to rest.


Processing what still feels charged can bring more internal spaciousness. You may notice less urgency, less shutdown, and more ability to stay present with yourself.


In EMDR therapy, we may work with memories, sensations, images, and emotional patterns your body has not fully released. Between the marina, boats, work, and Westside pace, this gives your system a place to stop performing ease.


Even in spacious surroundings, depression, grief, trauma, or chronic stress can make your inner world feel closed or unreachable. You may look calm while feeling distant from yourself inside.


This process can create room for emotional movement, perspective, and contact with parts of you that have felt frozen or unavailable. Integration helps those openings become something you can live with and return to.


In ketamine therapy, we may explore preparation, sensation, imagery, emotion, memory, and meaning. Between the water, boats, open sky, and work demands, this gives your system a place to stop performing ease and listen more deeply.


A calm environment may not quiet a mind caught in checking, reviewing, or seeking reassurance. You may be near water and open space while your thoughts feel tight, repetitive, and urgent.


The work can help you build tolerance for uncertainty and reduce the pressure to solve every fear immediately. Relief may come from learning that anxiety can be present without becoming the authority.


In OCD therapy, we may explore intrusive thoughts, rituals, avoidance, body sensations, and the need for control. Between the marina, boats, work, and open sky, this offers space to stop treating every inner alarm as a command.


Illness can make the body feel unpredictable, even when your surroundings seem calm. You may be managing symptoms, fatigue, appointments, grief, or the private fear of not knowing how your energy will change.


Support can help you build a less adversarial relationship with your body. You may begin to feel more permission to pace, rest, ask for help, and live with uncertainty without disappearing from yourself.


Through chronic illness therapy, we may explore body signals, medical stress, grief, nervous system responses, and the pressure to seem fine. Between water, boats, open sky, and work demands, this offers space for what calm scenery alone cannot hold.


Even after leaving a controlling belief system or community, your body may still feel watched, judged, or afraid of doing life wrong. Calm surroundings do not always quiet inherited fear.


There can be relief in slowly separating intuition from conditioning. The work can support more agency, clearer boundaries, and a sense of safety that does not depend on obedience.


Through religious trauma therapy, we may explore shame, fear, grief, anger, consent, identity, and the body’s response to authority. Between the water, boats, open sky, and work demands, this offers space to stop performing certainty and listen inward.

I serve clients in Marina del Rey and nearby areas

I support clients virtually across California, including adults connected to Venice, Playa Vista, Mar Vista, and the surrounding Westside. Even near the water, boats, open sky, and coastal routines, your body may still feel braced, tired, or unsettled. My work offers a grounded space to explore what your system has been holding and what it may need to feel more supported.

Testimonials

“Danielle is a wonderfully intuitive practitioner who knows how to listen and empathize at a very deep level. She also has a deep, spiritual presence and understanding that can only be attained through real life experiences - In other words she gets it. She really helped me gain clarity on my goals and feel more grounded. I’d recommend her to anyone looking for a blend of intellect and intuition.”

Client

"What I valued most about working with Danielle was her genuine curiosity. She made a real effort to understand me rather than fit me into a framework, which helped me build more self-compassion and trust in myself. I always felt like a partner in the process, never a patient being managed. I'm so grateful I found her."

Client

“The space Danielle creates could only come from someone who has done deep excavation work and returned with the medicine of her soul. She is exquisitely embodied, attuned, and holds a torch for others to safely inhabit their bodies and express themselves – no matter where they are on their journey. No matter where I am inside of myself when I enter her classes, I leave feeling more connected to myself and my own expression.”

Student

Hello, I’m Danielle Wiggins, a somatic therapist serving Marina del Rey


I am the founder of Space Takes Practice, a somatic psychotherapy practice shaped by my belief that the body is not something to override, fix, or control, but a place of intelligence and relationship. This work grew from my own experience of needing to slow down, pace, and listen differently through chronic illness, grief, and transition. I support adults who may appear capable or composed while feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or unsure how to trust what their bodies are telling them.

Smiling person with curly hair in a rust-colored jacket, standing outdoors with arms crossed.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How do I get started?

    The first step is scheduling a consultation. This gives us a chance to briefly connect, discuss what you're looking for, and see whether the work feels like a good fit.

  • What happens in a somatic psychotherapy session?

    Sessions include conversation as well as attention to the body’s sensations, emotions, and nervous system responses. Together we explore patterns of tension, bracing, emotion, and expression in a way that supports awareness and integration over time.

  • Do you offer virtual sessions, in-person sessions, or both?

    Sessions are offered virtually and in person in Santa Monica. We can discuss what format works best for you during the consultation.

  • Do you accept insurance?

    Space Takes Practice is an out-of-network practice. Payment is due at the time of service, and a superbill can be provided for potential reimbursement through your insurance provider.

  • Do you offer sliding scale options?

    A limited number of sliding scale spots are available. If cost is a concern, you're welcome to ask about availability during your consultation.

  • What if I need to cancel or reschedule?

    Please provide at least 48 hours' notice for cancellations or rescheduling. Sessions cancelled with less notice will be charged the full session fee.

  • What are extended sessions or therapy intensives?

    Extended sessions allow us to work together for a longer period of time (90 minutes to several hours). These can be especially supportive for EMDR work or when exploring experiences that benefit from additional space and depth.

  • How often do people usually meet for therapy?

    Most people begin with weekly sessions. The consistency of meeting regularly creates a kind of practice — a rhythm that supports awareness, integration, and nervous system change over time.


    As the work evolves, we can always adjust the pace of sessions.

  • How is somatic therapy different from traditional talk therapy?

    Somatic psychotherapy includes the body as part of the therapeutic process. Rather than working only with thoughts and stories, we also pay attention to sensation, nervous system patterns, and the ways the body holds experience. This can allow insight to become something you actually feel and live, not just something you understand.

  • How do I know if this work is right for me?

    Many people who find their way to this work are thoughtful and self-aware but feel something in their experience hasn’t fully shifted despite years of insight or reflection. If you’re curious about working with the body, nervous system, and emotional life — not just thoughts alone — this approach may resonate with you. A consultation is a good way for us to explore whether it feels like a supportive fit.

  • Do I need to have a specific problem to start therapy?

    Not necessarily. Some people come to therapy during a specific challenge such as grief, trauma, illness, or major life transitions. Others come because they feel stuck, disconnected, or curious about understanding themselves more deeply. Therapy can be a space for exploration, integration, and growth — not only crisis.

  • What if I’ve already been in therapy before?

    Many of the people I work with have already spent years in therapy or personal growth work. They often understand their patterns intellectually but still feel tension, overwhelm, or disconnection in their bodies. Somatic psychotherapy offers a way to include the body and nervous system in the process, allowing insight to gradually become something that is lived and felt.

  • Good Faith Estimate

    You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical and mental health care will cost.


    Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.


    You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services. You can ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service.


    If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.


    For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call (800) 985-3059.