Somatic Trauma Therapy in Chicago

Body-based trauma therapy for ADHD burnout, complex PTSD, chronic pain, and nervous system dysregulation. Available in Chicago and online throughout Illinois.

If you feel constantly tense, exhausted, wired, shut down — or disconnected from your body — your nervous system may still be operating in survival mode.

Somatic trauma therapy works directly with how trauma, stress, and identity-based experiences are stored in the body.

I provide specialized somatic trauma therapy in Chicago for ADHD and queer adults navigating complex trauma, burnout, chronic pain, and chronic illness.

What Is Somatic Trauma Therapy?

Somatic trauma therapy is a nervous system–informed approach that focuses on how trauma lives in the body — not just in thoughts or memory.

When trauma or chronic stress is unresolved, the nervous system can remain stuck in:

Fight (hypervigilance, anxiety, overworking)
Flight (restlessness, urgency, panic)
Freeze (shutdown, brain fog, numbness)
Fawn (people-pleasing, over-accommodation)

Rather than forcing cognitive focused insight or retelling traumatic stories, somatic therapy gently builds your body’s capacity for safety and regulation.

This creates sustainable healing — not just temporary symptom relief.

How Somatic Therapy Supports ADHD Burnout Recovery

Adults with ADHD often live in chronic nervous system activation.

Years of masking, compensating, over-performing, and internalizing criticism can create:

Cycles of hyperfocus and collapse
Emotional intensity
Rejection sensitivity
Chronic tension
Exhaustion that doesn’t resolve with rest

Somatic trauma therapy helps regulate the physiological patterns underneath ADHD burnout.

Instead of only addressing productivity, we repair nervous system depletion.

If burnout resonates, you may also want to explore ADHD Burnout Therapy in Chicago.

ADHD Burnout Therapy

Somatic Therapy for Complex Trauma & CPTSD

Complex trauma develops through repeated relational stress, attachment wounds, or chronic invalidation.

Because complex trauma is developmental and relational, it often lives in implicit memory — meaning your body reacts before your mind understands why.

Somatic trauma therapy helps:

Reduce emotional flashbacks
Increase tolerance for closeness and vulnerability
Release long-held survival responses
Restore internal safety

When appropriate, I integrate somatic stabilization with EMDR Therapy in Chicago for deeper trauma reprocessing.

EMDR Therapy for Trauma Processing

Somatic Trauma Therapy & Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is not “just in your head.”
But it is deeply connected to the nervous system.

Research shows that prolonged stress and trauma can sensitize the nervous system, increasing pain perception and muscular tension.

Chronic activation may contribute to:

Tension headaches
Migraines
Fibromyalgia symptoms
TMJ
Chronic back or neck pain
Pelvic pain
Gastrointestinal distress

When the nervous system is stuck in survival mode, muscles brace, inflammation increases, and the body struggles to return to baseline.

Somatic trauma therapy supports:

Down-regulating chronic fight/flight activation
Reducing muscular guarding
Increasing interoceptive awareness
Improving stress resilience
Supporting pain reprocessing

While somatic therapy is not a replacement for medical care, it can significantly reduce the nervous system amplification that worsens chronic pain.

Somatic Therapy & Chronic Illness Conditions

Living with chronic illness can create secondary trauma.

Conditions such as:

Autoimmune disorders
Long COVID
IBS and digestive disorders
Chronic fatigue
Endometriosis
Inflammatory conditions

Often involve ongoing nervous system dysregulation.

Chronic stress can exacerbate symptom flares, increase inflammation, and reduce the body’s recovery capacity.

Somatic trauma therapy helps:

Reduce stress reactivity
Support vagal tone and regulation
Improve pacing and energy awareness
Decrease fear-based symptom spirals
Process medical trauma

For many clients, learning to work with the body rather than against it becomes a turning point in chronic illness recovery.

What Somatic Trauma Therapy Sessions Are Like

Sessions are collaborative and paced.

We may work with:

Breath and grounding techniques
Tracking internal sensation
Micro-movements and tension release
Building regulation capacity
Resourcing and stabilization
Gradual trauma processing

You remain in control at all times. We move at the speed your nervous system can integrate.

Who Is a Good Fit for Somatic Trauma Therapy?

This work may be a good fit if you:

Feel stuck in fight, flight, or freeze
Experience ADHD burnout or chronic overwhelm
Live with chronic pain or illness worsened by stress
Have tried talk therapy and still feel dysregulated
Want body-based, trauma-informed healing
Identify as queer and want affirming care

Somatic trauma therapy is especially effective for thoughtful, high-functioning adults whose nervous systems are exhausted from years of adaptation.

Integrative Trauma Specialization

My approach blends:

Somatic trauma therapy
EMDR therapy
Complex trauma treatment
Neurodivergent-affirming care
LGBTQIA2S+ affirming therapy

I remain committed to ongoing advanced training in trauma neuroscience, chronic stress physiology, and integrative trauma treatment models.

This ensures therapy reflects the most current and effective research available.

Frequently Asked Questions About Trauma & Chronic Pain

Yes. Research shows that unresolved trauma and prolonged stress can sensitize the nervous system, increasing pain perception and muscular tension. When the nervous system remains in survival mode, the body may stay braced, inflamed, or hypervigilant — contributing to chronic pain conditions.
Somatic trauma therapy works with the nervous system to reduce this activation and improve regulation.
Somatic therapy helps calm the fight-or-flight response that can amplify pain signals through inflammation. By increasing nervous system flexibility and body awareness, clients often experience reduced muscular guarding, improved stress resilience, and decreased pain intensity.
Somatic therapy does not replace medical treatment but can complement care for chronic pain conditions.
Yes. Chronic pain is strongly influenced by nervous system regulation. Trauma, stress, and emotional suppression can increase central sensitization — where the brain and spinal cord amplify pain signals. Body-based trauma therapy can help regulate this response.
Research has linked trauma and chronic stress to conditions such as:
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic tension headaches and migraines
- IBS and digestive disorders
- Pelvic pain
- TMJ
- Chronic back and neck pain
- Autoimmune-related pain
Not all chronic pain is trauma-based, but trauma can increase vulnerability to persistent pain patterns.
EMDR can help when chronic pain is connected to traumatic experiences, medical trauma, or nervous system dysregulation. When appropriate, EMDR is integrated with somatic stabilization to support both trauma processing and pain regulation.
Living with chronic illness can create medical trauma, identity disruption, and nervous system stress. Repeated procedures, dismissal by providers, or unpredictable flare-ups can impact psychological safety. Trauma-informed therapy can help process these experiences.