Embodied Compassionate Healing
Somatic Therapy for Adults in Montreal and Online Worldwide.
Trauma Healing · Inner Child & Parts Work · Nervous System Regulation
If you're feeling stuck in old patterns, overwhelmed by stress, or disconnected from yourself — you’re not alone.
I offer body-based, trauma-specialized support to help you reconnect with yourself and move through life with more ease, presence, and self-trust.
Whatever brought you here, I’m glad you came.
— Ana Carolina
Why You Might Be Here
You’ve tried conventional talk therapy or other approaches — but felt something was missing
You’re living with chronic stress, anxiety, panic, overwhelm, or often feel on edge
You’re living with depression, you feel numb, disconnected, shut-down, simply going through the motions
You’re living with the effects of unresolved trauma and perhaps you have memories, sensations, flashbacks that are disruptive
You have childhood experiences or recent experiences that you would like to process
You are going through a life transition, or a challenging time and need support
What if your struggles are rooted in unresolved trauma—and you didn’t even know it?
You don’t have to remember ‘what happened’ to feel its effects.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, shut down, anxious, disconnected, or felt like something’s “off” but you can’t explain why—you’re not alone. Sometimes the roots of our struggles are hidden in experiences we didn’t realize were traumatic.
What Trauma Really Is
Trauma is not in the event itself; rather, it is the imprint of what happened—and what didn’t happen—that stays locked inside and can profoundly impact our lives.
Trauma can be any life experience that overwhelms our system and there is not enough support to help us process it. It’s not just what happens to us, but also what’s missing in the aftermath: the presence of someone to support us, to help our body return to safety, and to witness our pain with empathy and care.
Trauma is our emotional, physical, and physiological response to distressing events that overwhelm our nervous system and ability to cope.
It can occur when something happens too fast, too much, or too soon—and the nervous system doesn’t have the capacity to process it, so it automatically activates protective responses to keep us safe.
Trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté explains, “Trauma is not what happens to you but what happens inside you.” It triggers physiological survival responses—such as fight, flight, freeze—that remain stuck in our bodies long after the experience has passed, leaving us dysregulated. This dysregulation is what causes many of the symptoms we experience. Additionally, the survival physiology we remain stuck in continues to drive survival-based behaviors, even outside of a survival context.
Types of Trauma
Shock trauma can arise from single, life-threatening events, such as natural disasters, accidents, falls, invasive medical procedures, violations, assaults, witnessing violence, etc.
It’s important to note that trauma can stem not only from extraordinary events but also from ordinary ones. Why? Because our early life experiences have a profound influence on our overall resilience—that is, our ability to tolerate activation and distress. Without a healthy foundation, even everyday challenges can feel overwhelming because we simply haven’t developed the capacity to respond with ease.
Complex trauma, or developmental trauma, involves repeated, prolonged traumatic experiences during our developmental years—starting in utero and continuing throughout childhood. This can include verbal, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, such as excessive parental criticism or frequent yelling. It can also involve neglect, having one’s reality dismissed, experiencing abandonment or the loss of a parent, witnessing domestic violence, or being affected by parental substance abuse, among others.
Trauma is also what did not happen. It can look like a lack of emotional support or attention, not being seen and heard for who we are, or not having our feelings and inner reality acknowledged and validated. It includes the absence of loving touch, affection, and consistent, caring presence. For many, it also meant growing up in environments where there was no room for the full range of emotional expression—where our feelings weren’t welcomed or understood, and where we had to swallow our tears or silence our anger. We weren’t attuned to, mirrored, or met in our experience. Instead, we were left alone to make sense of overwhelming emotions and inner sensations—without the support of an empathetic other to help us feel safe, regulated, and understood.
This can occur even in stable homes with caregivers who are loving, well-intentioned and physically present but emotionally unavailable or not attuned enough. Perhaps they were often under stress, were carrying unresolved trauma, or grew up with emotionally unavailable caregivers themselves—causing the cycle to repeat.
These early ruptures continue to disrupt our lives in adulthood, affecting our resilience, our capacity to self-regulate and co-regulate, and our sense of connection, self-worth, and trust. Over time, it can also take a tremendous physiological toll on the body.
“One does not have to be a combat soldier, or visit a refugee camp in Syria or the Congo to encounter trauma. Trauma happens to us, our friends, our families, and our neighbors.”
— Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score.
Why the body matters in healing
Trauma isn’t always something we remember — but it is something we carry. What our minds might have forgotten, our bodies have not. Trauma lives in the body, often beneath conscious awareness, shaping how we feel, react, and relate to the world around us.
Even when we understand why we feel a certain way, it’s not always enough to create change — because unresolved trauma doesn’t live in the thinking mind.
It shows up as tension in the body, difficulty relaxing, chronic pain, clenching the jaw, digestive issues, or a nervous system stuck in overdrive or collapse.
It can look like anxiety, panic, depression, fear, emotional numbness, or coping behaviors like addiction, overworking, or withdrawal — among many other behaviors and symptoms.
And it often shows up in how we relate — in our boundaries, our self-worth, our ability to trust, connect, or feel safe with others.
Somatic therapy offers a different path.
By connecting with the body and nervous system, we can begin to unwind the patterns shaped by past overwhelm — and restore a sense of safety, presence, and ease from within.
This approach addresses the roots of the symptoms.
It honors your pace, supports your capacity to feel, and helps you reconnect with the deeper intelligence of your body — with care, curiosity, and compassion.
It’s in our bodies that we find our inner compass, which gives us information about our inner experiences and how the world is affecting us. And it’s in our bodies that we find our sense of vitality and empowerment to affect the world.— Ana Carolina
Hi, I’m Ana Carolina
Welcome — I’m so glad you’re here.
I’m a trained somatic practitioner with a deep passion for supporting others in reconnecting with themselves, healing from trauma, and finding a greater sense of ease, resilience, and self-trust.
My approach is grounded in body-based, trauma-specialized methods that gently support nervous system regulation, attachment repair, and emotional integration.
But more than that — it’s rooted in presence, attunement, and the belief that healing happens in safe, compassionate relationship.
I’ve been there myself. I know what it’s like to feel stuck, to long for something more, and to not quite know how to get there.
It’s this lived experience that allows me to hold space with presence, empathy, and care — and to walk alongside others with humility and heart.
If you’re ready to explore what’s possible, I’m here to support you.
Learn more About Me. Learn more about Somatic Therapy.
Hope. Healing. Possibility.
Every human being has an innate impulse to move towards greater health and well-being, if given the right conditions.
The good news is that since trauma is not in the event itself but in what we hold inside, it is always there available for healing. With the right support, it is possible to increase nervous system regulation, experience more safety, connection and ease. Learn more about why somatic therapy is effective for trauma healing here.
Healing is not about changing the past but about shifting how we relate to it in the present moment. It’s about moving from survival mode into a life where joy, vitality, and a sense of increased well-being are accessible. By expanding our capacity to be with what arises—rather than remaining stuck in cycles of survival—life becomes less overwhelming, and ease, connection, and choice naturally emerge.
“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence. Not only can trauma be healed, but with appropriate guidance and support, it can be transformative.” Dr. Peter Levine.
