Post-Therapy Plateau
You've done the insight work. You understand your patterns. Your body still reacts the same way. Coaching offers a next step when conversation has taken you as far as it can.
Trauma-Informed Coaching · West Hollywood
Trauma-informed coaching in Los Angeles: body first, mind second
Trauma-informed coaching is not therapy, and it is not a diagnosis. It is a non-clinical, body-aware coaching approach that works alongside a trauma therapist, never in place of one. Sessions with Certified Somatic Facilitators Jaime and Yonatan Elkayam combine nervous-system regulation, breathwork, and Reiki with intentional conversation, at our Melrose studio or virtually across California.
By complimentary consultation call · In-person & virtual · Not a substitute for therapy
Certified Somatic Facilitators
Not licensed therapists · complement to clinical care
The Approach
What is trauma-informed coaching, and what it is not
Trauma-informed coaching is a non-clinical coaching approach that incorporates an understanding of how trauma shapes the nervous system, relationship patterns, and the body. It offers support for clients who want to work with trauma-shaped patterns in a coaching container, using body awareness, breathwork, and somatic tools alongside conversation to address what insight alone hasn't shifted.
Trauma-informed coaching is not trauma therapy. It does not diagnose or treat PTSD, CPTSD, or any trauma condition, and Jaime and Yonatan Elkayam are not licensed therapists, psychologists, or medical providers. If you are in active crisis or working with a recent traumatic event, please call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or speak with your therapist before booking. This page is not crisis care.
What we offer instead is a complementary, body-aware coaching container that works alongside a trauma therapist, not instead of one. Many clients pair this work with an existing therapy relationship for the embodied integration talk alone has not reached.
How We Work
The five principles of trauma-informed coaching
This is the framework widely cited in somatic and coaching contexts, and it shapes every session we run.
Safety
Sessions are paced by your nervous system, not a timeline. You can slow, pause, or redirect at any point.
Trustworthiness and transparency
We name what we're doing before we do it. Surprises are removed wherever possible.
Peer support
The coaching relationship is collaborative, not hierarchical. Your experience is the data, not a problem to correct.
Collaboration and mutuality
You and your practitioner build the arc of the work together. No imposed framework.
Empowerment and choice
Every practice, breath technique, or movement is offered, not prescribed. You decide what enters the session.
Who It Is For
Who trauma-informed coaching is for in LA
Body-aware support for people who are stabilized and want the body to catch up with the insight work already done.
Therapists and Caregivers
Those who hold space for clients all week often carry unprocessed weight from that work. We offer coaching for the practitioners and space-holders who need someone to hold space for them.
Creatives and Founders
High-achievers and creative professionals who manage performance pressure, industry cycles, and identity-through-output often benefit from coaching that addresses the somatic undercurrent of that pattern.
Couples and Relationships
Trauma shapes attachment, communication, and conflict response. We work with individuals and couples navigating trauma-influenced relationship patterns, in a coaching, not couples therapy, container.
Your Session
How a trauma-informed coaching session works
1
You set the pace
Every session begins with you, not a curriculum. Safety and consent shape the pacing from the first minute, and you can slow, pause, or redirect at any point.
2
Breathwork and nervous-system regulation
Conscious breathing sequences calibrated to your activation level settle the nervous system enough for meaningful work. This is not a warm-up. It is the work.
3
Somatic and body-based coaching
Once the nervous system has more resource, we move into the material: noticing sensation, tracking where things live in the body, and using movement or Reiki as an integration layer alongside conversation.
4
Conversation and embodied feedback
We talk, but from inside the body's experience, not above it. Insights that land here tend to stick differently than ones reached through analysis alone.
Sessions run in person at our private studio on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood or virtually across California, with the same breath, body, and conversation structure either way.
Your Coaches
Meet Jaime and Yonatan Elkayam
Jaime is a Certified Somatic Facilitator, Certified Breathwork Facilitator, Energy Medicine Practitioner, Relationship and Life Coach, and Certified Reiki Master Teacher. She has supported therapists, creatives, and high-achievers in Los Angeles for over 10 years. Yonatan is a Certified Breathwork Facilitator, Certified Reiki Master Teacher, Classical Pilates Instructor, and musician with 30 years of vibrational study, bringing a movement and somatic body lens that talk-only practitioners rarely carry.
Neither Jaime nor Yonatan is a licensed mental health therapist, licensed psychologist, or medical professional. Coaching here is complementary to, not a substitute for, clinical care.
Learn more about us
In Their Words
What clients say
★★★★★
As a licensed clinical mental health therapist as well as a Reiki practitioner for over two decades, I must say that my experience with Word of Mouth was profoundly nurturing as well as professional and poignant. I walked away both feeling wiser and calmer while also more present and uplifted.
Hyim Ross, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Therapist
★★★★★
I feel safe with Yonatan and Jaime. I have shared things and burdens I have never shared with anyone, because until them I thought trust was an illusion. I now know what trust feels like.
William Kendig
Good Questions
Trauma-informed coaching in Los Angeles, answered
Honest answers about scope, safety, and how coaching fits alongside a therapist.
Trauma therapy is conducted by a licensed clinician (LMFT, PsyD, LCSW) and can diagnose, treat, and provide clinical interventions for trauma disorders. Trauma-informed coaching is a non-clinical, non-diagnostic coaching relationship that incorporates awareness of how trauma shapes the body and behavior. We do not treat PTSD or any other condition. We are certified coaches and somatic practitioners, not therapists.
No. Most clients who come to us haven't been diagnosed with anything. They simply recognize trauma-shaped patterns, such as hypervigilance, difficulty resting, over-functioning, or nervous-system reactivity, and want support that addresses the body level of those patterns. A diagnosis is not required.
If you are in acute crisis, experiencing suicidal ideation, or working with a very recent traumatic event, please work with a licensed clinician first, or call or text 988. We are not equipped to provide crisis intervention. Once you have more support and stability, trauma-informed coaching can be a meaningful next step.
We encourage clients to maintain their therapeutic relationships. We can coordinate with your therapist if helpful and are explicit with you about what falls inside and outside our scope. We don't compete with clinical care; we complement it.
Our credentials include Somatic Facilitator training, Certified Breathwork Facilitator certification, Certified Reiki Master Teacher status, and 10+ years of applied practice supporting trauma-shaped clients. We stay explicitly in the coaching lane and refer out when clinical support is indicated. Ask us directly about any credential; we'll answer honestly.
Single sessions are available for clients who want to explore the work before committing to a program. Our 3-month Holistic Life Coaching program is the container most clients find creates the arc they need. Program pricing is shared on your consultation call, with no surprise costs.
Both. In-person sessions are at our private studio on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. Virtual sessions are available across California and for coaching programs nationwide.
We are trained to recognize signs of overwhelm and will slow or stop if you need grounding. Sessions are paced by your window of tolerance, not a curriculum. You always have the right to pause, redirect, or end the session. If what surfaces is beyond the coaching scope, we will name that clearly and support you in finding appropriate clinical care.
Ready to Begin
Ready to begin?
Trauma-informed coaching at Word of Mouth is an application process, not an open booking. We want to make sure the fit is right before we begin. Apply for a complimentary consultation call to discuss your situation, ask questions, and see if this work makes sense for where you are.
More Ways In
Related work at Word of Mouth
Holistic Coaching
Weekly sessions blending Reiki, breathwork, Classical Pilates, and coaching conversation, confirmed on a free discovery call.
Holistic coaching →Somatic Coaching
Body-centered coaching that works with sensation, movement, and nervous-system awareness in an explicit coaching, not therapy, framework.
Somatic coaching →Nervous System Coaching
Coaching oriented toward understanding and supporting nervous-system regulation, for clients running chronically on high alert.
Nervous system coaching →Reiki for Trauma
Trauma-aware energy work as a complementary support, offered alongside coaching or as a standalone session.
Reiki for trauma →