NeuroAffective Touch
A somatic approach designed to help heal developmental trauma and early attachment wounds
Some of the patterns that shape us formed before we had language for them, in infancy and early attachment, in a nervous system that learned how to respond to the world before the thinking mind was fully online. Talk therapy can only go so far. NeuroAffective Touch (NAT) is a body-based approach that works directly with the nervous system, using touch, attunement, and somatic awareness alongside the relational and verbal work I already do.
I'm currently completing my training in NAT and am not yet accepting clients for this specific work. If you'd like to be notified when I am, reach out and I'll let you know.
What Is NeuroAffective Touch?
NAT was developed specifically to address early relational and developmental trauma, the kind that gets stored in the body and nervous system before it's ever put into words. It integrates touch, co-regulation, and body-based attunement into the therapeutic relationship, working with the nervous system directly rather than relying solely on talking through what happened.
This isn't massage or bodywork in the conventional sense. It's a clinical, trauma-informed approach grounded in attachment theory and developmental neuroscience, aimed at helping the nervous system complete responses it wasn't able to complete at the time.
Who Is NAT For?
NAT tends to be most relevant for clients whose difficulties trace back to early attachment experiences, ones that live more in the body and nervous system than in a specific memory or story. You might resonate with some of the following common experiences that NAT can help address:
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You understand your patterns intellectually but still feel them in your body
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You have difficulty feeling safe or settled
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You experience disconnection from your body or emotions
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You notice that certain reactions feel automatic and difficult to shift through conversation alone
How Can NAT Help?
When early developmental experiences didn't include enough safe attunement or touch, the nervous system can carry that absence forward, showing up as chronic dysregulation, difficulty feeling safe in your own body, or relational patterns that don't fully make sense from the story alone. NAT works with the nervous system directly, helping it access a felt sense of safety and completion that talking alone often can't reach on its own.
What Does the Process Look Like?
This work always begins with extensive groundwork around consent, safety, and pacing, nothing about the touch element is generic or assumed, it's built collaboratively and only introduced when it's clinically appropriate and clearly wanted. Sessions integrate verbal processing with body-based attunement, moving at a pace set by your nervous system's readiness, not a fixed protocol.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a substitute for talk therapy?
No, it's integrated alongside the relational and verbal work I already do, not a replacement for it.
Is touch required for this to work?
No. Touch is only ever introduced with explicit consent and when it's clinically appropriate, this work can also involve co-regulation and attunement without physical touch.
Is this the same as massage or bodywork?
No. This is a clinical, trauma-informed psychotherapy approach grounded in attachment theory, not a wellness or relaxation modality.
When will this be available?
I'm currently completing my training and will share an update here once I'm accepting clients for this work.
