Regulate your nervous system & reconnect with you.

Somatic Therapy in Columbus, Ohio

Meet with a somatic therapist in-person in Columbus, Ohio

 

You’ve done the talking, so…what now?

Maybe you’ve been in therapy before. In that time, you’ve gained insight, learned how to reframe your thoughts, and recognized exactly what your anxiety should be telling you. But despite all that...you still feel overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected from yourself.

It’s like living in overdrive. There’s pressure to perform at work, keep your family afloat, or simply hold yourself together, and it’s keeping your nervous system constantly on high alert. 

But you’re tired of surviving. You want to feel again.

Somatic therapy is for people who are ready to move beyond just talking about their struggles.

It’s especially powerful for those who:

 

  • Have tried talk therapy but still feel stuck in anxiety, trauma, or burnout.

  • Struggle with boundaries, people-pleasing, or perfectionism.

  • Feel like they’re always in fight, flight, or freeze mode—hyper-alert or shutting down.

  • Want to reconnect with their bodies after stress, trauma, or disconnection.

  • Are navigating postpartum anxiety or depression, burnout from work or parenting, or trauma that’s lived in the body for years.

 

MY APPROACH AS A Somatic Therapist

 This work listens to the brain and the body.

Somatic therapy is a mind-body approach to healing. While we’ll still talk through your experiences, we’ll also bring your body and nervous system into the work, because that’s where trauma, stress, and anxiety actually live.

Here's what you can expect in somatic therapy:

+ Body Awareness Assessment

We begin by tuning into your relationship with your body. Some people feel totally disconnected, almost like they’re living from the neck up. Others are already attuned to their physical sensations. There’s no right or wrong here—instead, this is a chance to notice what’s happening so our work can meet you right where you are.

+ Safety + Regulation

Before diving into heavier emotional processing, we’ll focus on helping you feel safe in your own body (skin). You’ll learn and practice somatic tools like:

  • Grounding techniques to help you feel steady and supported

  • Breathwork to calm an activated nervous system

  • Tapping or small movement to release tension

  • Visualization or orientation exercises to bring you back to the present

These give you a way to pause, regulate, and stay in control, especially when big emotions or sensations show up.

+ Processing + Releasing

Once you feel safe and supported during somatic therapy, we’ll begin exploring the stress, trauma, or overwhelm stored in your body. As you share, I’ll help you notice where those emotions show up physically—like a tight chest, a knot in your stomach, or tension in your shoulders. Together, we’ll:

  • Track and name those sensations

  • Pause when things feel intense

  • Use your newfound tools to help the emotion move through your body

This is where most clients often begin to feel real shifts, like a release of long-held tension or a sense of calm they haven’t felt in years. It’s where the deep, lasting healing begins.

+ Integration

This is the part where your nervous system starts to trust safety again. You’ll begin to notice more control over your emotional responses, feeling less on edge in daily situations, and a deeper connection to yourself and your needs. As a somatic therapist in Columbus, Ohio, we’ll work together to help you carry this type of awareness into your everyday life so you can respond to stress with intention, rather than react from survival mode.

Schedule A Free Therapy Consultation

You’ll gain more…

  • Awareness of your body’s signals

  • Tools to calm your nervous system

  • Confidence in your boundaries + decisions

  • Ability to be present with your kids, partner, or self

  • Calmness—even when life feels chaotic

  • Connection between your emotions + physical sensations

& have less…

  • Emotional overwhelm

  • Burnout and constant fatigue

  • Shame, guilt, and perfectionism

  • Triggers that hijack your day

  • Roadblocks or “stuckness” due to past trauma

  • Disconnection from your body or emotions

 Relief isn’t just possible, it’s already within you.

Schedule A Free Somatic Therapy Consultation

FAQs ABOUT SOMATIC THERAPY

  • Talk therapy can help you understand your thoughts and emotions, but it doesn’t always resolve what’s happening in your body. Somatic therapy helps you notice and process physical sensations that are tied to emotional pain, so you can experience full-body healing, not just mental insight. Learn more.

  • No, I’ll meet you wherever you’re starting from. You don’t need to “know your body” or have any prior experience with somatic work, just a willingness and openness to try something new. Learn more.

  • Yes—especially for people who still feel stuck, anxious, or overwhelmed even after traditional talk therapy. Somatic therapy helps you process trauma, anxiety, and chronic stress by working with your nervous system, which is often where these symptoms live. It’s intentional, effective, and designed to help you feel safe throughout the entire process. Learn more.

  • Yes, it can be incredibly grounding for anxiety. Instead of only talking about your stress, you learn how to work with the physical signs that keep your body stuck in worry mode. Over time, you build a calmer baseline, so stress doesn’t take over as quickly, and you can respond more intentionally. Learn more here.

  • EMDR and somatic therapy both help to work through trauma and anxiety using a mind-body approach. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (such as tapping or eye movement) to reprocess trauma or stressors. Find out more about EMDR here. Somatic therapy focuses on body movements and awareness to help release the trauma or anxiety that is stored in the body. Merrianna Holdeman Counseling‍ often integrates both EMDR and somatic therapy together for even more benefits during the healing process. Learn more here.

  • The physical releases of trauma and anxiety can vary depending on the individual. It can include physical and emotional releases such as warmth, shaking, or tingles. Often times clients describe the release as feeling lighter with a sense of relief. As the emotions get addressed and identify where emotions are stored in the body then emotional releases occur as well such as crying. Learn more here.

  • This can look different for each individual, but some signs can include nausea, muscle tightness, a racing heart, muscle pain or headaches. Learn more here.

  • Yes, somatic therapy involves a bottom-up approach. We focus on the body and nervous system first and then the mind second. By focusing on the body first allows you to feel more in control over your thoughts. Learn more here.

  • Yes, often times clients will cry as this is their body releasing the stored trauma or anxiety. Clients typically say that they feel tired, relaxed or lighter after a release with somatic therapy. ‍Learn more here.

  • People will notice that trauma is being released such as when your body goes from shaking and muscle tightening to feeling the muscle tension release and relaxed in the body (jaw, shoulders, chest, ect.) There can be temperature changes such as hot to cold. Some clients will yawn as they experience a release and access their parasympathetic nervous system, which is the rest and digest state. Learn more here.

  • I always suggest clients wear comfortable and loose clothing. Learn more here.

  • Often times, clients who are a good fit are those who have tried talk counseling in the past, but are still feeling stuck. Also, if you experience a disconnect from your emotions and your body due to trauma or ongoing anxiety and stress. Learn more here.