The Founders’ Story

Danielle Harel + Celeste Hirschman

Danielle Harel has a Ph.D. in Human Sexuality (DHS), a graduate degree in Clinical Social Work (MSW), and a Bachelors (BA) degree in Psychology and Educational Counseling.

Celeste Hirschman received her MA in Human Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State University, and a BA in Women’s Students from UCSC.

They met at a Sexological Bodywork Certification Training, and shortly after graduating from the program,  teamed up and led their first Become an Extraordinary Lover workshop.

From their experiences in social work, different modalities of training, and with clients in session, they began to realize that some work in the realm of sex and relationships was beyond the boundaries of traditional therapy. At the same time, they found that sexological bodywork and sex surrogacy had much broader boundaries, but still left a lot of the important aspects of sex and relationships out of the picture.

They were inspired to create the Somatica Method as a holistic method of sex and relationship coaching, covering every aspect of sex and relationships – from emotions and communication, to passion and sexual pleasure.

They believed the skills required to have a good sexual, intimate and emotional connection are learnable and teachable. And they wanted their clients and students to have the opportunity to practice real-time emotional and erotic intimacy beyond what traditional talk therapy could offer. At the same time, they were conscious of maintaining boundaries that would feel comfortable to the client and practitioner alike.

The Somatica Method was born from the need for all humans to face their fears, wounds, and challenges so that they can experience fulfillment of their deepest needs for love, connection, and sexual expression.

Over time, Celeste and Danielle were excited to see profound changes and shifts in their clients, students, and even themselves as they implemented the principles and philosophy of Somatica in their sessions, trainings, and own lives.

People shed shame and bravely showed their vulnerability. They became gentler, more loving, and forgiving. They claimed their desires and feelings open and empowered. They listened better to their partners and to people they loved. They took take care of themselves and of each other with more empathy and compassion.

Danielle and Celeste hope to keep inspiring these changes as they teach and inspire professionals to bring more of themselves into their practice.

Join them now at the next Somatica Training.


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