You’ve done the work. You’ve sat in therapy offices, named the hard things, unpacked the past, and traced the stories of your pain back to their roots. And yet — something still doesn’t feel resolved. Maybe it’s the tightness in your chest that shows up without warning. The hypervigilance that keeps your nervous system on constant alert. The bone-deep exhaustion that no amount of sleep seems to touch. The way your body just knows something is wrong, even when your mind has already “processed” it.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not broken — and you’re not alone. What you may be experiencing is one of the most well-documented realities in trauma neuroscience: the body holds what the mind has processed. Healing isn’t only cognitive. It isn’t only linguistic. It isn’t only the story you tell in a therapy session. The body is a full participant in the healing process — and for many people, it’s the missing piece.
This is exactly where somatic therapy comes in. And this guide was written for you — the person who is curious, maybe a little skeptical, and genuinely ready to explore a different kind of healing.
In the pages that follow, we’ll walk through what somatic therapy actually is, how it works at the level of your nervous system, who it helps, what the research says, how it compares to EMDR, and what it looks like to begin this work right here in Nashville. We’ll also introduce you to Simply Being Therapy — Nashville’s boutique, trauma-informed practice specializing in somatic and body-based healing — and the clinicians who have built their careers around this transformative work.
If you’ve been searching for somatic therapy in Nashville and wondering whether it’s the right fit, this is the guide you’ve been looking for.
What Somatic Therapy Really Means — and Why the Body Matters
The word somatic comes from the ancient Greek soma — simply meaning “body.” Somatic therapy, at its core, is body-centered therapy. But that description, while accurate, barely scratches the surface of what makes this approach so profoundly different from traditional talk-based psychotherapy.
In most conventional therapy modalities, the focus is on cognitive processing: what you think about an experience, what meaning you assign to it, how you can reframe your narrative, and how you can change the patterns of thought that keep you stuck. These are genuinely valuable tools. For millions of people, talk therapy has been life-changing. But for those carrying trauma — especially developmental or complex trauma — cognitive processing alone often leaves something unaddressed. The intellect can grasp what happened. It can even make peace with it. And still, the body keeps the score.
Somatic therapy broadens the lens of healing to include the full landscape of human experience: physical sensations, posture, breath, movement, muscle tension, and the subtle signals your body sends moment to moment. Rather than asking “what do you think about what happened to you?” a somatic therapist might ask “what do you notice in your body right now as we talk about this?” That shift — from thinking to noticing — opens an entirely different channel of healing.
Somatic Experiencing (SE), the primary modality practiced at Simply Being Therapy, was developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine, a biophysicist and psychologist who spent decades studying the way animals in the wild process threatening experiences. His foundational observation was both simple and revolutionary: animals don’t develop PTSD the way humans do. After a life-threatening encounter — a cheetah chase, a hawk attack — prey animals shake, tremble, and move their bodies in ways that discharge the survival energy mobilized during the threat. Then they return to grazing, seemingly unaffected.
Humans, by contrast, often suppress these natural discharge mechanisms. We’re taught from childhood to stop shaking, hold it together, push through. And so the survival energy — the adrenaline, the cortisol, the primal mobilization that was meant to carry us through a threat — gets locked in the body. It doesn’t dissipate. It accumulates. And it expresses itself, months or years later, as chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, depression, dissociation, or any number of physical symptoms.
Somatic Experiencing, as developed by Dr. Levine, works with this same biological wisdom. Rather than revisiting the trauma narrative in detail, SE gently brings awareness to the body’s held survival responses and creates conditions for that stored energy to finally, safely complete its cycle. The result isn’t just symptom relief — it’s a fundamental shift in how the nervous system relates to the world.
It’s important to note that somatic therapy — including SE — is not a replacement for traditional psychotherapy. It is, by nature, integrative. At Simply Being Therapy, somatic approaches are woven together with other evidence-based modalities to create a whole-person treatment plan. Somatic Experiencing International remains the leading professional authority on SE training and practice, and their framework is the foundation upon which Simply Being’s clinical work is built.
So if you’ve been wondering what differentiates somatic therapy from the therapy you’ve already tried — this is it. It’s not that talk therapy was wrong. It’s that the body deserves a seat at the healing table too.
Understanding what somatic therapy is sets the stage for something even more fascinating: how it actually works inside your nervous system, and why the science behind it is so compelling.
How Somatic Therapy Works: The Nervous System, Trauma, and the Body-Mind Connection
To understand why somatic therapy works, you need to understand the stage on which trauma plays out: the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This is the part of your nervous system that operates largely below conscious awareness — regulating your heartbeat, breath, digestion, and, crucially, your survival responses. The ANS doesn’t distinguish between past and present. It responds to perceived threat in the moment — which is why trauma can make your body react to a loud noise or a particular smell as though the original danger is happening right now.
The ANS governs three primary survival states that most of us have heard of in some form: fight, flight, and freeze. When you sense danger, your nervous system mobilizes for action — heart rate spikes, adrenaline surges, muscles tense. If fight or flight isn’t possible, the system may move into a freeze or shutdown state — the biological equivalent of playing dead. These are ancient, adaptive responses. They kept our ancestors alive. The problem is that the modern nervous system, shaped by relational and developmental trauma, can become stuck in one of these states long after the threat has passed.
This is where the groundbreaking work of neurologist Dr. Stephen Porges becomes essential. His Polyvagal Theory maps the vagus nerve — a long, branching nerve that connects the brain to major organs — as the biological infrastructure of our sense of safety. According to Porges, when the vagus nerve is well-regulated, we feel connected, calm, and socially engaged. When it’s dysregulated by threat or trauma, we cycle through states of hyperarousal (fight/flight) or hypoarousal (freeze/shutdown). Somatic therapy works directly with this system — helping clients find their way back to what clinicians call the window of tolerance: that regulated zone where we can engage with difficult material without being overwhelmed by it.
According to Harvard Health, somatic therapy encompasses approaches that help people tune into their physical experiences as a pathway to emotional healing — and the growing body of evidence supports its effectiveness for trauma, anxiety, and stress-related conditions.
At Simply Being Therapy, several key SE techniques bring this nervous system work to life in each session:
- Titration: Working with small, manageable “doses” of sensation or distress — rather than diving into the full intensity of a traumatic experience all at once. This keeps the nervous system in the window of tolerance.
- Pendulation: Gently moving between states of distress and states of safety or resource — like the natural rhythm of the ocean tide. This teaches the nervous system that difficult sensations are survivable and temporary.
- Grounding: Bringing awareness to physical contact with the present environment — the weight of the body in a chair, the feet on the floor — to anchor the client in the here and now rather than the traumatic past.
- Resourcing: Identifying and cultivating internal or external sources of safety, strength, and calm that can be called upon when the nervous system needs support.
- Tracking: The therapist gently guides the client in noticing bodily sensations in real time — a subtle warmth, a shift in breath, a release of tension — as markers of the nervous system’s movement through its healing cycle.
“Trauma is not what happens to you — it’s what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you.” — Gabor Maté
Perhaps the most important element of somatic therapy isn’t a technique at all — it’s the therapeutic relationship itself. Research consistently shows that the quality of the therapist-client relationship is one of the most powerful predictors of healing outcomes. In somatic work, this relational container is especially critical. The therapist’s own regulated nervous system provides what clinicians call co-regulation — a biological transmission of calm that helps the client’s dysregulated system find its way back to safety. This is not metaphorical. It is neurological. As Simply Being Therapy’s own writing on the healing power of the therapeutic relationship articulates, the relationship between therapist and client is not merely a delivery vehicle for technique — it is the healing.
No two sessions at Simply Being look exactly alike, because no two nervous systems do either. Treatment plans are individualized, responsive, and always paced by the client’s own capacity — never forced, never rushed.
With this understanding of the mechanics in place, the natural next question is: who does somatic therapy actually help? The answer, as you’ll see, is broader than many people expect.
Somatic Therapy for Trauma and Anxiety — Who It Helps and How
There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes with carrying trauma in your body. It’s not the tired you feel after a long day — it’s deeper, more pervasive. It’s the exhaustion of a nervous system that has been doing overtime for years: scanning for threat, bracing against sensation, managing emotional floods or emotional numbness, and trying, somehow, to keep living a full life in the middle of it all.
Somatic therapy was built for this exhaustion. And the people who benefit most from it are often the ones who feel like they’ve “already tried everything.”
Complex trauma (C-PTSD) is one of the primary areas where somatic therapy demonstrates remarkable effectiveness. Unlike single-incident PTSD — which often responds well to structured trauma-processing protocols — complex trauma results from prolonged, repeated exposure to threatening or neglectful environments, often in childhood or within intimate relationships. The nervous system doesn’t just respond to a single event; it has been shaped by years of threat. Cognitive approaches can offer insight, but they often can’t reach the body-level imprinting that complex trauma creates. SE, with its emphasis on slowly titrating body-based awareness, is uniquely suited to this kind of deep, layered healing.
Childhood trauma and attachment wounds leave their mark not in explicit memories, but in the body’s learned patterns of relating — the chronic muscle tension, the collapse in posture, the way the chest closes when intimacy gets too close. Somatic work creates space to gently interrupt these patterns at the physiological level, allowing the nervous system to experience something it may never have had in childhood: genuine safety.
Sexual trauma — another area of deep expertise at Simply Being Therapy — is particularly well-served by somatic approaches. Survivors of sexual trauma often experience profound disconnection from their bodies — dissociation, numbness, or a sense of the body as a source of danger rather than belonging. SE’s slow, consent-focused, body-attuned approach offers a path back to embodiment that talk therapy alone often cannot provide.
For those experiencing anxiety, the benefits of somatic therapy are both immediate and long-lasting. Anxiety is not just a thought pattern — it is a physiological state. The heart races. The breath shortens. The stomach tightens. The muscles brace. SE helps regulate the nervous system’s threat-response baseline, meaning that over time, clients don’t just manage anxiety — they experience a genuine shift in how their bodies respond to perceived stress. This is the difference between coping and healing.
Common symptoms that often bring people to somatic therapy include:
- Chronic muscle tension, jaw clenching, or body pain with no clear medical cause
- Gastrointestinal issues linked to stress or anxiety
- Persistent insomnia or disrupted sleep
- Emotional numbness or difficulty accessing feelings
- Panic attacks or sudden overwhelming physical sensations
- Dissociation — feeling detached from your body or surroundings
- Hypervigilance — the constant sense that something bad is about to happen
- Difficulty feeling safe in relationships, even with people you trust
According to Medical News Today’s thorough review of the somatic experiencing research, somatic therapy shows meaningful promise across trauma-related conditions, with particular strength in addressing the physiological dimensions of PTSD that cognitive approaches may not fully reach.
At Simply Being Therapy, the approach to these presentations is never one-size-fits-all. Somatic therapy is frequently woven together with EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and other evidence-based modalities to create an integrative treatment plan that honors the full complexity of each person’s healing. As Simply Being’s blog on building resilience and beginning to heal anxiety explores, healing anxiety is a multidimensional process — and the body is always part of the equation.
Importantly, healing through somatic therapy is rarely linear. There are sessions of profound release and sessions of quiet, subtle shifting. There are weeks of noticeable progress and weeks where the work feels slow. This is not failure — it is the nature of deep nervous system healing. Simply Being’s clinicians hold space for all of it with patience, warmth, and clinical expertise.
With a vivid picture of who somatic therapy serves, a thoughtful reader will naturally want to know: is this approach backed by real science? That’s exactly the right question — and it deserves an honest, nuanced answer.
Is Somatic Therapy Evidence-Based? What the Research Actually Shows
Let’s address this directly, because intellectual honesty matters — especially in a clinical context: Yes, somatic therapy — and Somatic Experiencing specifically — is supported by a meaningful and growing body of research. At the same time, the evidence base is still maturing compared to longer-established modalities like CBT, and acknowledging that honestly is part of what makes a rigorous clinical practice trustworthy.
Here’s what the current research tells us:
A 2021 scoping review published in Frontiers in Psychology (Kuhfuß et al.) examined the current state of evidence for body-oriented and somatic therapies and found that these approaches show preliminary but meaningful evidence of positive impact on PTSD-related, affective, and somatic symptoms. The review noted that body-based interventions address dimensions of trauma experience that purely cognitive or verbal therapies may not fully reach — a finding that aligns with everything we know about how trauma lives in the body.
A 2017 randomized controlled trial specifically examining Somatic Experiencing reported statistically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms and depression among participants who completed SE treatment. Participants showed not only symptom improvement but also meaningful changes in physiological regulation — the body-level shifts that SE is designed to produce. These are not minor findings. They represent real, measurable change in real people’s lives.
The 2021 scoping review found that body-oriented psychotherapies demonstrated preliminary positive effects on PTSD, anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms — with several studies reporting outcomes comparable to established trauma treatments.
Where the honest caveat lies is this: the current evidence base for somatic therapies includes a number of studies with smaller sample sizes, and the field would benefit from more large-scale, methodologically rigorous randomized controlled trials. This is not a criticism unique to somatic therapy — many emerging and integrative modalities are in the same position. The research pipeline is growing rapidly, and the existing evidence is sufficiently compelling that somatic therapy is increasingly recognized and recommended by mental health professionals worldwide.
What also speaks to the rigor of the approach is the training required to practice it. An SEP (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner) credential — which Dr. Barbie Hessel holds — is not a weekend certificate course. It is a multi-year, post-graduate professional training program through Somatic Experiencing International that requires extensive didactic training, personal SE sessions, supervised clinical hours, and ongoing consultation. This rigorous credentialing process ensures that practitioners are not simply applying somatic techniques — they are deeply embodied in the approach themselves.
The distinction between SE specifically and “somatic therapy” as a broader umbrella is also worth noting. SE is one of the most researched and methodologically developed of the somatic modalities. Other approaches — including body-centered yoga therapy, dance/movement therapy, and others — have their own evidence bases, with varying degrees of research depth. Simply Being Therapy’s focus on SE as a primary modality ensures that clients are receiving a body-based approach with the strongest available evidence foundation.
The science, while still evolving, paints a picture that is both credible and exciting: healing is not only possible — it happens in the body, through the body, and the research is beginning to catch up with what clinicians who practice somatic therapy have known for years.
With the evidence examined, a closely related question naturally emerges: how does somatic therapy relate to EMDR — another leading trauma treatment? This is one of the most common questions prospective clients ask, and the answer reveals something important about Simply Being Therapy’s unique clinical positioning.
Somatic Therapy vs. EMDR: How They Differ and Why Both Matter
One of the most frequent questions that prospective clients ask when exploring trauma therapy is: Is EMDR a somatic therapy? It’s a fair and intelligent question, and the answer reveals something important about the landscape of modern trauma treatment.
The short answer: EMDR has somatic elements, but it is not classified as a somatic therapy. Here’s the longer, more useful answer.
EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — is a structured, eight-phase trauma-processing protocol developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s. It uses bilateral stimulation — typically guided eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones — to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories that have been stored in a fragmented, unintegrated way. The bilateral stimulation mimics the eye movement patterns of REM sleep, during which the brain naturally processes emotional experiences. EMDR is highly evidence-based and widely recognized as a first-line treatment for PTSD by organizations including the World Health Organization and the American Psychological Association.
EMDR does incorporate body awareness — particularly in its assessment of how traumatic memories are held physically, and in the body-based installation of positive beliefs — but it follows a structured protocol anchored primarily in memory reprocessing. For a full, detailed exploration of EMDR and how it works, Simply Being Therapy’s complete guide to EMDR in Nashville offers an excellent deep dive.
Somatic Experiencing, by contrast, is less protocol-driven and more organically led by the client’s moment-to-moment bodily experience. SE doesn’t require revisiting or reprocessing traumatic memories in detail. Instead, it works with the body’s incomplete survival responses — the interrupted flight, the frozen stance, the braced shoulders — and creates conditions for these physiological patterns to finally complete and discharge. The focus is not “what happened” but “what your body is doing right now in response to having been through that.”
Here’s a useful way to understand the distinction:
EMDR tends to work “top-down” — beginning with the memory and its cognitive/emotional associations, using structured bilateral stimulation to reprocess it. SE tends to work “bottom-up” — beginning with the body’s present-moment sensations and slowly, gently working toward integration of the nervous system’s survival responses.
Where these two approaches beautifully converge is in their shared recognition that trauma lives below the level of conscious narrative — and that healing requires something more than talking about what happened. Both modalities respect the body. Both avoid forced re-traumatization. Both meet the client where they are.
And at Simply Being Therapy, many clients benefit from a blended approach — SE to regulate and resource the nervous system, creating the safety and stability needed for deeper work, and EMDR to process specific traumatic memories once that foundation is in place. Dr. Barbie Hessel holds both her SEP certification and Level II EMDR training, making her uniquely positioned to integrate these two powerful modalities in a way that is clinically responsive rather than protocol-rigid.
This integrative capacity — drawing from SE, EMDR, IFS, Jungian Sandplay, and other evidence-based approaches through Simply Being’s multi-modal framework — is one of the defining strengths of the practice. Clients aren’t forced into a therapeutic “lane.” They receive the specific combination of approaches that their unique nervous system needs.
Understanding the approaches is one thing. Knowing the person who delivers them is another — and that brings us to the heart of Simply Being Therapy.
Meet Dr. Barbie Hessel — Nashville’s Leading Somatic Experiencing Practitioner
Behind every exceptional therapy practice is a clinician who didn’t just study healing — they were called to it. Dr. Barbie Hessel, Ed.D., LCSW, SEP, CPATP, RSP is that clinician. As the founder of Simply Being Therapy, she has built one of Nashville’s most respected boutique trauma-informed practices from the ground up, rooted in a deep belief that healing is possible for everyone — and that the body is always part of the path.
Dr. Hessel holds a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee (with a focus on trauma treatment) and a Doctorate in Education from Nova Southeastern University. But credentials alone don’t tell the full story of a clinician’s depth. It’s the years of specialized training, the personal SE work she has done herself, and the clinical hours accumulated in the most demanding terrain of trauma therapy that define her practice.
Her SEP (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner) credential — granted through Somatic Experiencing International — represents the completion of a multi-year professional training that goes far beyond coursework. SEP candidates must complete extensive didactic training across three levels, engage in their own personal SE sessions, accumulate supervised clinical hours, and participate in ongoing consultation. It is, in every meaningful sense, a credential earned through depth and rigor — not a workshop certificate.
Beyond her somatic training, Dr. Hessel brings a remarkable breadth of expertise to her clinical work:
- Level II EMDR Training — integrating structured trauma processing with somatic resourcing
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) — working with the internal “parts” that develop as adaptive responses to early wounding
- Jungian Sandplay Therapy (RSP) — a non-verbal, symbolic modality with particular power in early or pre-verbal trauma
- Certified Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Provider (CPATP) — one of a small number of clinicians trained in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, an emerging frontier in trauma treatment
- Mindfulness, Trauma-Focused CBT, ACT, and psychotherapeutic yoga — rounding out a genuinely comprehensive integrative toolkit
“My work is grounded in the belief that the body holds the keys to our healing — and that when people feel truly safe, seen, and supported, remarkable transformation becomes possible.” — Dr. Barbie Hessel
Dr. Hessel specializes in working with adults and teens navigating complex trauma, sexual trauma, childhood sexual abuse, chronic stress, anxiety, women’s issues, and life transitions — the territory where somatic work is most essential, and where her depth of training matters most. You can read more about her journey and clinical philosophy in her full bio and in the Meet Dr. Barbie Hessel blog post.
Simply Being Therapy is also home to other clinicians who bring deep somatic awareness to their work — including Sarah Swaney, LMSW, whose trauma-informed approach reflects the practice’s broader commitment to body-centered, relational care. Simply Being is not a high-volume clinic where clients are seen as cases. It is a boutique practice where every client receives an individualized treatment plan, a consistent therapeutic relationship, and the full attention of a deeply trained clinical team.
This is what it means to choose Simply Being Therapy: you are not choosing a service. You are choosing a partnership in healing — one built on expertise, integrity, and a profound belief in your capacity to heal.
With trust established in the people who do this work, let’s turn to the practical questions that often stand between a person and their first step toward healing.
Somatic Therapy in Nashville — Your Practical Questions Answered
The decision to begin therapy — especially a modality as new and unfamiliar as somatic therapy — rarely happens in an instant. More often, it builds through a series of questions: Can I afford this? What will the session actually be like? Is this going to involve taking my clothes off? How long will this take? These are real, valid questions, and they deserve clear, warm, honest answers.
Here are the most common questions Simply Being Therapy receives about somatic therapy in Nashville:
Q: Is somatic therapy covered by insurance?
Simply Being Therapy operates as an out-of-network provider, which means the practice does not bill insurance directly. However, this doesn’t mean insurance is entirely off the table. Clients receive a Superbill — a detailed receipt that can be submitted to your insurance carrier for potential partial reimbursement through your out-of-network mental health benefits. Many clients are surprised to find that their insurance covers a meaningful portion of the cost this way. HSA and FSA accounts are also typically accepted, making it possible to use pre-tax dollars toward your care. The practice recommends calling your insurance carrier before scheduling to clarify your out-of-network mental health benefits. For more detailed information on rates and financial logistics, Simply Being’s rates page and FAQs page provide clear, straightforward guidance.
Q: How much do sessions cost at Simply Being Therapy?
Current session rates are as follows: a 50-minute session is $295, a 75-minute session is $365, and a 90-minute session is $435. Therapy intensives and longer sessions are also available — reach out to the practice directly for details. These rates reflect the boutique, specialized nature of the care provided: this is not a high-volume, generalist practice, and the depth of expertise and individualization clients receive is commensurate with that investment.
Q: What actually happens in a somatic therapy session?
Sessions at Simply Being Therapy are collaborative, consent-based, and gently paced. You won’t be pushed or rushed into difficult territory. Your therapist may invite you to simply notice — a sensation in your chest, a shift in your breath, a subtle tension in your shoulders — and will guide you with curiosity and care from there. There is no special clothing required, no physical touch (unless clearly agreed upon with full consent), and no requirement to relive your trauma in vivid detail. The work is nuanced, often subtle, and deeply attentive to your nervous system’s pace and signals. Most modalities offered at Simply Being, including Somatic Experiencing, are also available via Telehealth for clients who prefer to work from the comfort of their own space.
Q: Is somatic therapy the same as yoga, massage, or bodywork?
It is not. Somatic therapy is a clinical, psychotherapeutic modality practiced by licensed mental health professionals (LCSWs, LMSWs, LPCs) within a regulated clinical framework. While it shares somatic awareness with practices like yoga or mindfulness, it is not a wellness service or a body treatment. It is psychotherapy — with all of the clinical rigor, ethical standards, and professional accountability that designation carries.
Q: How long does somatic therapy take to work?
Healing is not linear, and this question has an honest answer: it depends. Some clients notice shifts — a lighter quality of breath, a reduced startle response, a new sense of groundedness — within a handful of sessions. Others are engaged in deeper, longer-term work that unfolds over many months. What the research and clinical experience consistently show is that genuine, body-level healing does happen — and that the depth of the work tends to be proportionate to the time and consistency invested in it. Dr. Hessel and her team work with each client to establish realistic, individualized expectations for their healing journey. For more context on nervous system regulation and self-care between sessions, Simply Being’s writing on soothing your nervous system offers useful and accessible guidance.
Q: How do I find a somatic therapist near me in Nashville?
If you’re in the Nashville area searching for somatic therapy near me, Simply Being Therapy is the city’s premier boutique destination for somatic and trauma-informed care. The practice is located at 2822 Erica Place, Nashville, TN 37204, and can be reached at (615) 601-1182 or at simplyask@simplybeingtherapy.com. The full services page provides an overview of everything offered, from individual somatic therapy and EMDR to IFS, Jungian Sandplay, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.
Your Body Has Been Waiting — And Healing Is Possible
There is a moment that many people describe, usually somewhere in the middle of their somatic therapy work, that is difficult to put into words. It’s the moment when the body — which has been braced and guarded and vigilant for so long — finally, quietly, begins to soften. A breath comes easier. The shoulders drop an inch. Something long-held begins, gently, to let go.
This is not magic. It is not metaphor. It is biology — the nervous system finally completing a cycle it has been trying to complete for years, sometimes decades. And it is available to you.
Somatic therapy in Nashville, as offered at Simply Being Therapy, represents something genuinely rare: a boutique, trauma-informed practice where clinical excellence meets deep human compassion. Where the body is never an afterthought. Where your healing plan is built for you, not from a template. Where the person across from you has spent years — in training, in personal work, in clinical practice — earning the right to guide you through some of the most tender territory of your life.
You’ve done the cognitive work. You’ve named the stories. Now, perhaps, it’s time to listen to what your body has been trying to tell you all along.
Healing is not just possible. It is, for those who commit to it, inevitable. And it often begins with a single, courageous step.
Ready to Begin Your Somatic Healing Journey?
Simply Being Therapy is Nashville’s boutique, trauma-informed destination for somatic and body-based healing. Led by Dr. Barbie Hessel, Ed.D., LCSW, SEP — one of Nashville’s only certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioners — the practice offers deeply individualized, integrative care for trauma, anxiety, and the full spectrum of what it means to be human.
Our Nashville-based somatic therapists are here to help you feel at home in your body again. Reach out today to schedule a consultation.
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