About Romi & Somatic Therapy
in Santa Barbara, California
Romi Cumes, MA, LMFT, CMT, is a somatic psychotherapist, educator, intuitive healer, bodyworker, and yoga instructor with over twenty-five years of experience in somatic therapy and the healing arts. Her work views healing as a multidimensional process that includes psychological, emotional, physical, spiritual, and energetic aspects of well-being.
Integrating clinical expertise with intuitive wisdom, Romi offers a somatic approach to therapy that supports clients in engaging the mind-body connection as a pathway for healing and meaningful growth. Her work emphasizes cultivating somatic awareness, emotional regulation, and embodied transformation. Separate from her clinical psychotherapy practice, Romi also offers body-centered education, somatic bodywork and healing arts, yoga instruction, and intuitive healing as part of her integrative approach.
Romi founded Transformative Healing Arts in 2006 and later established Romi Cumes Somatic Therapy, P.C., a Marriage and Family Therapy Corporation, in 2021. The practice provides somatic-relational psychotherapy in Santa Barbara and secure telehealth therapy throughout California.
My Background & Path to Somatic Psychotherapy
From an early age, I felt drawn to healing and developed a strong intuitive sensitivity to the emotional and energetic experiences of others. Experiencing the transformative power of bodywork, energy healing, and yoga ultimately led me to explore somatic-relational therapy and integrative approaches that examine the connection between the mind, body, and human relationships.
Over decades of practicing both healing arts and somatic psychotherapy, I’ve come to understand how intuition, intention, and evidence-based therapy are deeply interconnected. And through years of witnessing how body-centered work supports emotional regulation, nervous system balance, and relational healing, I’ve deepened my understanding of somatic psychology.
For me, effective healing arises when these dimensions are held together with grounded care, attunement, and professional responsibility. This progression reflects an integration rather than a shift—bringing together embodied somatic awareness, clinical training, and relational attunement.
Training and Clinical Experience
I earned my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in 2011, and took additional courses at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (2012). From 2013 to 2015, I completed post-graduate training with Michael Sieck, PhD, and Jeff Turner, LMFT, founders of the Three Fold Way—a somatic-relational, trauma-informed approach grounded in Bioenergetic Analysis. Their compassionate, client-centered, and deeply relational model continues to profoundly inform my clinical approach. In addition, I am a certified EMDR therapist with The Institute for Creative Mindfulness (Stephen Danziger, PsyD), and EMDR is an important component of my clinical practice.
My work has also been influenced by a range of somatic, trauma-informed, and psychodynamic modalities, including Family Constellation Work (Joanna Chartrand & Dyrian Benz, PsyD.), Biosynthesis (Gabrielle Hoppe, LMFT), and the somatic and end-of-life healing work of Jeanne Denny, MA, BS. While I am not formally certified in Internal Family Systems (IFS), I have received foundational training, and my relational psychotherapy approach aligns well with the IFS parts model.
Before becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in 2018, I worked across several Santa Barbara mental health agencies with diverse populations, cultures, and age groups, supporting individuals navigating a wide range of mental health challenges. In these settings, I introduced foundational somatic-relational concepts to help clients better understand the mind–body connection and engage in a more holistic approach to mental health.
I felt especially drawn to working with young adults at Santa Barbara City College and UC Santa Barbara, as well as with bereaved individuals and families through Hospice of Santa Barbara. These experiences deepened my understanding of how somatic-relational therapy can be applied within mainstream clinical settings to support nervous system regulation, resilience, and meaningful healing.
Integrating Yoga, Bodywork & Somatic Therapy
Movement has always been central to my personal healing journey. I was a gymnast as a child and, by age ten, spent a summer in Russia training with elite gymnasts. Although I did not pursue athletics professionally, the discipline and embodied presence of the sport profoundly shaped how I relate to the body and mental health, and inspired my interest in somatic psychology.
Over time, dance and yoga also became central practices for both personal healing and self-inquiry. I explored jazz, modern, and African dance, as well as creative movement and flow arts, including fire poi spinning and hoop dancing. Motivated in part by my vinyasa yoga–loving parents, I began practicing yoga in the mid-1990s and became a certified yoga instructor through the White Lotus Foundation in 1998, completing advanced training in 2007. Over the years, I have studied with a wide range of skilled yoga teachers and have participated in and facilitated numerous yoga workshops and introductory training courses.
In parallel with my movement-based practices and growing interest in intuitive healing, I began formal training in massage therapy, acupressure, and anatomy in 1998, becoming a Certified Massage Therapist in 2001 through the Santa Barbara Body Therapy Institute. Since then, I have integrated a wide range of bodywork modalities into my intuitive bodywork practice, including Craniosacral Therapy, Myofascial Release, Neuromuscular Therapy, Deep Bodywork, Acupressure, and Intuitive Energy Healing. I hold certifications in Craniosacral Therapy through the Upledger Institute and in Myofascial Release through John F. Barnes’ Myofascial Release (MFR) training program.
Today, my background in yoga, bodywork, and somatic therapy informs a holistic, integrative approach to psychotherapy and healing—supporting clients in reconnecting with their bodies as a source of joy, insight, regulation, and resilience.
Nature, Somatic Healing, and Self-Discovery
I have always felt deeply connected to the healing power of nature. Raised by South African parents with a strong appreciation for wilderness-based healing and international travel, I was exposed early on to indigenous cultures and earth-centered approaches to health and well-being. In college, I majored in Environmental Studies with a focus on ecology and field-based ethnobotany. Studying plant life in both California and Nepal further shaped my understanding of the relationship between the environment and holistic healing.
Exploring remote landscapes, backpacking, and participating in spiritually focused rituals have deepened my connection to Self, the natural world, and ancient wisdom in nature. These experiences continue to inform my work today, grounding it in an appreciation for interconnection and rhythm, and in the belief that our relationship with the Earth mirrors our inner lives—shaping both personal healing and the collective psyche.
Our first duty as human beings is to proceed as if there were not limits to our ability. We are collaborators in creation.
Cumes Family Health, Wellness & Art
Shamanic Healing & Readings (Santa Barbara, CA)
David Cumes, M.D.
Willka T’ika Wellness Retreat Center (Rumichaka, Peru)
Director: Terry Cumes, M.B.A
Founder & Visionary: Carol Cumes
Fine Art (Carpinteria, CA)
Paul Cumes
Designer & Toy Maker (Carpinteria, CA)
Cimmi Cumes