Amazing! You’ve already done so much work on your healing. 

You’ve likely built a foundation of mindset work and maybe even prayer.

But if you still don’t feel safe or emotionally regulated right now because of chronic stressors, unresolved painful or traumatic past experiences, or current situations that feel threatening, the nervous system and subcortical brain will override the cognitive work.

It’s very different than psychotherapy because they most often only use a top-down approach (because the cognitive brain is their wheelhouse, and ours is your physiology and nervous system and the subsequent impact on the brain). We go into detail on this in The Method page referring to the 3 phases of healing.

We focus on bringing your nervous system into regulation, because your nervous system is where the trauma is stuck and stored. It is what is creating the reflexive behaviors that make you feel stuck in cycles where you logically know what’s wrong but can’t seem to change anything. It is also what is driving the thoughts and beliefs that make up your mental health.

Most everyone we work with has been in traditional talk therapy, counseling or coaching before… and didn’t see the results they were hoping for.

The reason for this is likely because those modalities are not trauma informed or effective for healing trauma. They are primarily focused on working with the cognitive part of your brain (your beliefs) and/or changing your behavior, without discovering and healing the root cause.

We are trauma informed, which means we don't believe anything is wrong with you (and therefore won't pathologize, diagnose you or give you a label).  We believe something happened to you that may be causing dysregulation to your nervous system. Once we help you heal the unresolved trauma or pain your symptoms will subside.

If traditional talk therapy just felt like venting, this will feel very different because it is more experiential and body-oriented.  For instance, when you bring up a life event, while we are deeply interested in hearing what happened to you, one of our priorities is to discover what you might be experiencing in your body (lump in throat, tightness in chest, pit in stomach) when you think of the distressing event. 

Check out the other FAQ "What is Somatic Experiencing?" for more on this.

Other differences are:

We do not treat, diagnose or assess mental health.

We do not give advice or prescribe medication. 

We do not work with clients who are at risk of self harm or harming others.

Pyschotherapists work under a medical model of care. Coaches work under a support model.

It can be hard to create “me” time or invest in yourself as a woman these days, am I right?

Your boss, your children, your partner, your family, and your in-laws all need something, so it’s easy to forget to do things for yourself. It’s hard.

We may be biased, but yes, this time is so worth it (peep what our resilient clients say!).

What we teach is backed by evidence-based research to make your healing journey is one of the most fulfilling things you’ll do for yourself. (Have you seen testimonials from our clients?)

Not to mention the transforming ripple effects that investing in yourself through this program will have on your relationships with your partner and your children.

But you have to do the healing work or the pain and dysfunction will repeat like it has for all the generations before you.

There is so much that you can spend your time doing. If the results weren’t deeply rewarding with far-reaching results, we wouldn’t be passionate about inviting you to consider this journey.

What we use in our approach is a “bottom up” modality called Somatic Experiencing®.  It’s a unique, body-oriented approach to trauma-informed care that unlocks lasting healing. Designed to pinpoint where trauma happened in the stress response cycle, you will discover how to complete that cycle and truly bring healing to trauma.

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-based approach to healing stress, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation. It is rooted in the understanding that trauma isn’t just something that happens to us—it’s something our body holds onto when it didn’t have the chance to fully process an overwhelming experience.

Instead of focusing only on thoughts or talking through the past, Somatic Experiencing gently helps you tune into what’s happening in your body—your sensations, impulses, and nervous system responses. This allows your system to safely release stored survival energy (like fight, flight, or freeze) and return to a state of regulation.

In practice, this might look like:

• Noticing subtle body sensations (tightness, warmth, movement)
• Slowing things down so your system doesn’t feel overwhelmed
• Building a felt sense of safety in your body
• Supporting your nervous system to complete stress responses that previously got “stuck”

The goal isn’t to relive your trauma—it’s to help your body resolve it.

Over time, many people experience:

• Feeling calmer and more grounded
• Less reactivity or shutdown
• Greater emotional resilience
• A deeper sense of safety in their body and relationships

Somatic Experiencing works with your body—not against it—honoring that your symptoms are actually intelligent responses that once helped you survive.

Somatic Experiencing® is the life work of Dr. Peter Levine.

Learn more about Somatic Experiencing ® here.

The stress response cycle is when your body perceives some sort of threat in your environment and initiates the sympathetic nervous system to increase blood pressure and increase heart rate, so that you can fight or flee the situation. It creates a lot of survival energy, so that you can have what you need to get to safety. Once you get to safety, the body will then discharge that stuck and stored energy and bring you back to a state of homeostasis where your blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormones will drop and you feel safe again. 

But if something was interrupted in that cycle, maybe it wasn’t safe for you to flee or fight your way out of that threat, and the threat remains. Your body never actually thinks you’re back to safety, that’s what trauma is. That sympathetic, survival energy is stuck in your body with nowhere to go, and it creates dysregulation in your nervous system. Behaviors that drive you crazy keep repeating, because the body thinks it’s not safe and that it’s back in that situation. 

There are many powerful somatic (body-based) modalities, and each one works with the body in a slightly different way. Somatic Experiencing (SE), developed by Peter A. Levine, is unique in how gentle, precise, and nervous-system–led the process is.

Rather than using intense techniques, catharsis, or pushing for emotional release, SE focuses on working slowly and safely with your nervous system—so your body never feels overwhelmed in the healing process.

Here’s what sets it apart:

It follows your nervous system’s pace
SE is built on the idea that healing happens best in small, manageable pieces (often called “titration”). We don’t force breakthroughs—we support your system in unwinding what it’s ready to process.

It doesn’t require you to relive your trauma
Many approaches focus on revisiting or retelling past experiences. SE focuses more on what’s happening in your body right now, allowing healing to occur without reactivation or overwhelm.

It works with the body’s natural completion of stress responses
When fight, flight, or freeze responses get interrupted, they can stay “stuck” in the body. SE helps your system gently complete those responses so your body can return to a state of safety and regulation.

It prioritizes safety over intensity
Some somatic modalities emphasize deep emotional release. SE emphasizes building safety first—because real, lasting healing happens when your body feels safe enough to let go.

It’s highly attuned and individualized
No two sessions look the same. The work is guided by your unique nervous system, not a fixed protocol or set of exercises.

At its core, Somatic Experiencing isn’t about doing more—it’s about listening more closely to your body and allowing it to lead the way toward healing.

Yes—my work is both trauma-informed and faith-integrated, and my personal foundation is rooted in a relationship with God and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

For clients who share that belief, there is space to intentionally invite the Holy Spirit into our sessions. This might look like prayer, listening for God’s voice, or allowing your faith to guide parts of the healing process. Many clients find that integrating their faith deepens their sense of safety, clarity, and transformation.

At the same time, this work is always led by you. The level of faith integration is completely up to your comfort and desire. Some clients want their sessions to be deeply spiritual, while others prefer to focus primarily on the nervous system and body-based work.

Because Somatic Experiencing® is grounded in physiology and nervous system science, healing is still fully accessible regardless of your beliefs. I work with both believers and non-believers, and the body’s capacity to heal is not dependent on faith—it’s built into how we’re designed.

For those who do share a faith perspective, I see the work as beautifully aligned: your body and your spirit are not separate, and healing can happen in both.

Cortney has been in the trauma-informed space since 2015 and have seen thousands of lives impacted. In 2019, she began to focus on individual coaching and has worked with hundreds of women to see lasting life-change.

The foundation of our work is Somatic Experiencing®.

Cortney is listed in the directory of Somatic Experiencing Practitioners (SEP) at traumahealing.org and she not only has her Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Certificate that requires an extensive 3 years of training, but is also a Somatic Experiencing Assistant to Trainings at the Institute.

Cortney also has hundreds of hours of experience in internal family systems, somatic attachment, and polyvagal theory.

We do not take insurance because we have a trauma-informed approach and therefore do not think anything is wrong with our clients to warrant a diagnosis or label, which is required by insurance for billing. 

Because we are trauma-informed, we believe your symptoms are a result of unresolved trauma which creates a dysregulated nervous system.  We believe (and there's lots of scientific evidence to prove) that once you heal the unresolved trauma bound in the nervous system and body (your physiology), your symptoms (like anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc) will subside.  

Since we are trauma-informed, we believe something happened to you, not that something is wrong with you so you do not need a label or diagnosis to heal.

With that being said, a few of our clients have successfully been reimbursed for our services through their HSA (others have been denied this).  It is your responsibility to obtain approval from your HSA provider for reimbursement prior to using our services.  You are still responsible for payments if your HSA request is denied. We are not liable for the denial of your HSA.