Surgery Doula Support
Somatic preparation + post-op integration for a more easeful surgical experience
With Kelsey Maeve, SEP, TCTSY-F
Surgery (whether planned or unexpected) is a big experience for our bodies & minds.
While medical interventions are inherently intense on a physical level, they don’t have to be emotionally traumatic.
With the right support, your body can stay connected to safety, consent, and healing before, during, and after surgery.
As a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and surgery doula, I offer trauma-informed, body-based support to help you prepare for surgery, recover more easefully, and reduce the risk of overwhelm, dissociation, or retraumatization.
Why Somatic Surgery Support?
Somatic Experiencing® is a gentle and powerful approach that helps your nervous system stay regulated and resilient during major events. We work together to create a sense of safety, build a relationship with your body, and move through each phase of the surgical journey with more agency, awareness, and care.
This work helps you:
• Feel more grounded and emotionally prepared
• Communicate clearly with your body and nervous system
• Reduce anxiety and tension before surgery
• Support healing and integration afterward
• Minimize the emotional impact of a medical experience
Benefits of Somatic Surgery Support:
Surgery can be overwhelming, not just physically, but emotionally and energetically. Even when it’s planned or necessary, your body may respond with anxiety, fear, shutdown, or tension. Somatic support offers a different way: one that honors the body’s wisdom and helps you stay connected, resourced, and empowered throughout the experience.
Here’s how somatic support can help:
Before Surgery
Reduce anxiety and overwhelm by helping your body understand what’s coming
Feel more grounded in your decisions, timeline, and support system
Strengthen your connection to your body so you enter the procedure with more agency and less fear
Create rituals and routines that bring comfort, calm, and a sense of control
Prepare your support teams & have a clear care plan
During Surgery
While I won’t be in the room, our preparation work helps your body stay in a state of consensual participation, so it doesn’t interpret the surgery as an attack
We activate the healing vortex, aligning your system with vitality, life force, and resilience
Somatic tools can support your system in knowing when to stay alert and when to soften, when to hold on, and when to let go and trust your care team (including cooperating with anesthesia)
After Surgery
Gently process the necessary anesthesia and dissociation, reconnecting your body’s timeline and sense of presence after a fragmented experience
Release stored tension or shock that may have accumulated during the procedure
Support tissue and nervous system healing by helping your body shift from survival mode into restoration
Rebuild trust with your body after a potentially invasive or vulnerable experience
Whether your surgery is minor or major, this kind of care helps the experience become a portal for healing, not just a disruption to endure.
Procedures I’ve Supported
Every body and every surgery is unique. I bring trauma-informed care and deep presence to a wide range of medical experiences. Some of the procedures I’ve supported clients through include:
Knee, hip, and ankle replacements
Hysterectomy
Cancer treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, partial & double mastectomy)
Gender-affirming top surgery including both chest masculinization (breast removal) and breast augmentation (implants)
Whether your surgery is elective, preventative, or medically necessary, my role is to walk alongside you with compassion, practical tools, and somatic support before, during, and after the experience.
What’s included?
Sessions are 75–90 minutes and include a combination of Somatic Experiencing, guided preparation, practical planning, and in-person SE touch support (as available). Each surgery support plan is tailored to your needs.
Here’s a sample flow:
1–2 Months Before Surgery
• Intake Session: Share your story, concerns, and hopes. I’ll offer initial somatic tools, practices, and resources specific to your surgery.
• Planning Session: We go step-by-step through your prep (from what to eat and wear to your support team, music, and mindset) creating a roadmap for grounded, empowered care.
1-2 Weeks Before Surgery
• Somatic Session: A gentle, body-based conversation with your nervous system to check in with what's anticipated and needed. We'll also envision the surgery going well and prepare your body to move through it with more ease.
Day Before or Morning of Surgery
• Healing Vortex Session: A powerful somatic session to help you enter the “healing vortex” aligning your system with health, life, and trust. This session helps set the tone for a smoother experience.
1–2 Weeks After Surgery
• Post-Op Resourcing Session: Support your recovery, listen to your body’s needs, and bring healing energy to where it’s most needed.
1 Month After Surgery
• Integration Session: Reflect, celebrate progress, and integrate the full journey emotionally and physically.
Additional sessions can be added based on your needs before or after surgery.
Modalities That Shape the Work
Somatic Experiencing® (SE)
Somatic Experiencing® is a body-based approach to healing trauma and chronic stress. Developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine, SE works by gently guiding the nervous system out of fight, flight, or freeze responses and toward greater regulation and resilience. Rather than revisiting traumatic events in detail, SE helps clients tune into bodily sensations and renegotiate incomplete survival responses at a pace that feels safe and empowering.
Learn more at traumahealing.org
Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY)
TCTSY is an evidence-based somatic practice developed at the Trauma Center in Brookline, MA, under the leadership of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. Rooted in yoga and informed by neuroscience and trauma theory, TCTSY offers a healing pathway for trauma survivors through invitational language, interoception, and personal agency. Rather than emphasizing external forms or goals, TCTSY supports participants in making choices about how to move and feel in their bodies on their own terms.
Learn more at traumasensitiveyoga.com
About Kelsey
Kelsey Maeve (she/her) is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), certified Post-Traumatic Growth Coach & Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Facilitator (TCTSY-F), and trauma-informed educator with over 15 years of experience supporting people through deep transitions and embodied healing.
As a surgery doula, Kelsey brings a gentle, relational approach to preparing for and recovering from medical procedures, helping clients stay connected to their bodies, navigate fear and dissociation, and move through surgery as a portal for healing rather than a traumatic disruption.
Interested in working together?
You can book a free 30-minute consultation to see if this support is a good fit
Together, we’ll create a plan that meets your needs and supports your body’s natural healing intelligence every step of the way.
Client Testimonials:
“Before working with Kelsey, I experienced anxiety and freeze states linked to emotional trauma. Now, I have less anxiety and feel more empowered in my embodied safety and inner guidance.”
“The sessions with Kelsey felt so good for my soul and nervous system. I can’t recommend her enough.”
“Being new to somatic healing, Kelsey’s gentle strength really made me feel safe to open up and to unpack my fears, worries, and anxiety and find clarity.”
“I loved all the beautiful body-based, creative and symbolic approaches Kelsey used. I loved the way she brought in education about the nervous system which helped me understand the process on an even deeper level.”
“Kelsey is very attuned and brings compassionate presence, inquiry and guidance, with her heart, soul, poetry and humour. I felt really seen, cared for & supported in this grounding and inspiring container.”
“I've learned how to sit with challenging emotions, notice where they show up in my body, and release the anxious energy through moving my body. I know that these are skills I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Surgery Doula FAQ
Q: What is a surgery doula?
A: surgery doula is someone who offers emotional, somatic, and logistical support before, during (in spirit & via text with your care team), and after a medical procedure. My role is to help your body and nervous system prepare for the experience, process it more easefully, and recover with more support and integration.
Q: How is this different from what a surgeon or nurse provides?
A: Medical teams are focused on the clinical procedure. I support you - your emotions, your body, your nervous system, and your sense of agency - throughout the entire experience. I help you stay connected to yourself in a way that medical settings often don’t allow space for, similar to a birth doula or death doula.
Q: Can I work with you if I already have a therapist or other care team?
A: Yes! Many of my clients also work with therapists, bodyworkers, acupuncturists, or other practitioners. Somatic support complements other care beautifully, and I’m always happy to collaborate (with your consent) as part of your healing team.
Q: What kinds of surgeries is this support for?
A: I’ve supported clients through a wide range of procedures, including:
• Gender-affirming top surgery (FTM & MTF)
• Hip, knee, and ankle replacements
• Hysterectomy
• Chemotherapy and radiation
• Partial & double mastectomy
Whether your procedure is elective, preventative, or medically necessary, this work can support a more connected and empowered experience.
Q: How many sessions do people usually do?
A: A full arc of care often includes 5–6 sessions over the course of 1–2 months, but this varies depending on your timeline, needs, and preferences. Some people do just 2–3 key sessions around the surgery date, while others continue for longer-term support.
Q: Do I have to do in-person sessions?
A: No - many sessions can be done via Zoom. However, if you’re local to the Bay Area, I do recommend at least one in-person session so we can include SE touch work, which can be especially supportive before and after surgery.Q
Q: What’s the cost?
A: Sessions are priced at $215 for 75 minutes and $245 for 90 minutes. Longer sessions are reccomended to give the body time to process fully. I offer a free 30-minute consultation to explore whether this work is a good fit.. I offer a free 30-minute consultation to explore whether this is the right fit.
Q: What if I’m feeling scared or overwhelmed about my surgery?
A: That’s totally normal, and this is exactly the kind of space where you can bring those feelings. You don’t need to be “ready” or have it all figured out. We move at a pace that feels supportive for your system.