Modalities
An honest directory of approaches — graded by how strong the evidence actually is, with real costs and links to find practitioners. Nothing here earns money, so nothing here needs to look better than it is. Before you spend anything, it's worth readinghow to spot red flags in this space.
Different approaches are different doors onto the same settled state. Some you can open yourself, today. Some give a visit — capacity is what lets you return on your own.
one settled, regulated state — the room they all open onto
Sorted by strength of evidence. What these grades mean →
- EMDRstrong evidence
People with specific traumatic memories that still feel vivid and charged; often faster than open-ended talk therapy for single-incident trauma.
- Feldenkrais Methodmoderate evidence
People carrying chronic bracing or holding patterns who like slow, curious, exploratory movement — it's gentle and cognitive, not a workout.
- Ketamine (clinically supervised)moderate evidence
People in supervised treatment — often for depression that hasn't responded to other things — for whom a short, plasticity-opening reset, with integration afterward, is appropriate.
- Tai chi & qigongmoderate evidence
People who settle better through slow, flowing movement and breath than through stillness — a good fit if sitting meditation doesn't work for you.
- Trauma-sensitive yoga (TCTSY)moderate evidence
People who want a body-based, movement approach with a strong emphasis on choice — you're always invited, never instructed, and nothing is checked or corrected.
- 5-MeO-DMTpreliminary evidence
Realistically, only people within a legal, screened, medically-supervised research context — and even there, cautiously.
- Cannabis (THC)preliminary evidence
Some people find low doses briefly embodying and settling. It fits best, if at all, for those who respond that way and use it deliberately and sparingly.
- Classic psychedelics (LSD & psilocybin)preliminary evidence
People exploring within legal, screened, supported research or therapeutic settings — where set, setting, and integration are taken seriously.
- Coherent breathingpreliminary evidence
Almost anyone as a gentle, always-available tool — especially people who want something concrete to do in a revved-up moment.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)preliminary evidence
People drawn to working with their inner conflict as 'parts' — the self-critic, the protector, the wounded younger one — rather than as symptoms.
- Somatic Experiencing (SE)preliminary evidence
People who feel talk therapy understood them but didn't reach the body — bracing, startle, shutdown that words don't touch.
- TRE (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises)practitioner-reported
People carrying a lot of physical bracing and tension who are drawn to a body-first release rather than talking.
- Bodywork & myofascial releasecontested
People who carry a lot of physical bracing and find that skilled, attuned touch and co-regulation help them settle in a way talking doesn't.
- Polyvagal-informed therapycontested
People who find the states language ('settled', 'fight-or-flight', 'shutdown') clarifying and want to work with a practitioner who uses it.