Somatic Therapy for trauma healing
Imagine… coming home to yourself
I’m a queer nonbinary therapist.
I work with LGBTQ+ folks and individuals healing relational wounds.
Folks navigating complex family dynamics, including estrangement. Identity work around sexuality and gender. Anxious high-achievers juggling all the things. People who feel chronically stressed, overwhelmed, and stuck.
Hello, I’m CK
Cara Gormally, MSW, LMSW, LGSW
“As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has—or ever will have—something inside that is unique to all time.”
-Fred Rogers
What brings you here?
Are you feeling…
Chronically stressed and overwhelmed?
Stuck?
Disconnected from your body?
Are you longing for something different for yourself?
Coming to therapy is a brave step forward.
MaYbe you’ve gone to therapy Before. Now You want something different
My goal is to learn about what makes you you, what makes you magic.
I listen to the story you hold in your body, the story underneath your words.
This helps me to support you as you…
develop capacity to trust yourself to change what can be changed
build a toolbox of nervous system-supportive practices that work for you to be with the hard stuff that can’t be changed
explore what you need, new ways of being, and cultivate joy
Our work is to cultivate persistent gentleness for ourselves
What’s therapy with me like?
I believe deeply in the power of feeling seen. If you experienced trauma from challenging relationships and chronic invalidation, it is healing to know that your story and feelings matter. I work to create a warm, grounded space so you can show up fully.
You are the expert of your experiences. Therapy is a collaboration to support your healing and growth.
I bring a trauma-informed lens as we explore patterns with curiosity and compassion. I draw from modalities such as DBT, mindfulness practices, and Somatic Experiencing to nurture your strengths through the process. I’m thoughtfully considering how attachment shows up for you today.
WHAT IS Somatic experiencing (SE) & IS it For you?
Somatic experiencing (SE) is a gentle approach to help release trauma held in our nervous systems. Through SE, we build curious, compassionate awareness of sensations and emotions. We’ll notice the ways our environments, systems, and relationships show up in our bodies.
Maybe you’ve done talk therapy—but things haven’t shifted yet. You’re looking for something beyond typical talk therapy.
What’s rad about SE: you’ll develop a toolbox of strategies useful beyond therapy. SE supports greater resilience, embodiment and self-compassion—tuning into our bodies’ wisdom so we can come home to ourselves.
What is Somatic Experiencing like?
Want to try Somatic Therapy for yourself?
I invite you to watch this video.
Try this small practice of Somatic Experiencing for yourself.
Which part of the practice sparked your curiosity the most?
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My current rate is $200/ 50 min. I keep a limited number of sliding scale spots available for clients who lack insurance or make minimum wage. As an out-of-network provider, I offer superbills for you to submit to your insurance.
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I’ve found that starting at weekly therapy gives people the best outcomes. We get the farthest the fastest with weekly time carved out for yourself. With trauma processing, consistency supports safety, connection, and growth.
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Yes. Somatic therapy is backed by research (Kuhfuß et al., 2021; Payne et al., 2015). If you’re wondering “why can’t my body relax?” “how do I get out of survival mode” or “how do I heal trauma stored in my body?”—Somatic Experiencing can help.
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EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing—is a trauma therapy in which a memory is reprocessed so it is no longer distressing, using bilateral stimulus (eye movements, tapping, buzzers). Somatic Experiencing is a body-focused therapy that gently focuses on sensations and emotions to regulate the nervous system and move out of survival mode. CBT—cognitive behavioral therapy—focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns to improve how you feel and act. In my experience, CBT can sometimes feel invalidating to trauma survivors who have worked hard to reframe their thoughts to no avail.
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Frequently Asked Questions
MY training & Credentials
MSW, Gallaudet University
LMSW, MD #34820; LGSW, DC LG200006913
Supervised by Christina Simmons, LCSW-C, LICSW, SEP
Somatic Experiencing International training:
Beginning I, II, III training
Intermediate I, II, III training
Registered for Advanced training, to be completed 2027
Internship at a major LGBTQ+ health & counseling center in Washington, D.C.
> 20 years as a biology professor and nervous system nerd
Learning we are simply human can be deeply healing
Engaging in therapy is brave. I believe that therapy is a place to experience what’s it’s like to feel seen as your most authentic self—to be vulnerable and to feel safe just as you are.
I want to support your own innate wisdom. To create that space with you, I’m thoughtful about my values—compassion, curiosity, community— and my identities. My identities include: white, queer, trans nonbinary; afab; hearing signer. I believe in therapists going to therapy to do our own healing work. My own experience of therapy transformed my life—and continues to offer me a space for reflection, challenge, and tending to my heart.
I’m passionate about nourishing myself as a human. Outside of session, I’m a year-round iced coffee aficionado, yes, brrr, even in December. I’m a parent to an ever-evolving delightful human. I’m a creative research nerd who occasionally indulges in a 3am deep dive on google scholar. I love gardening, swimming, and watching sparrows outside my window.
I believe being a therapist—witnessing your journey—is a deep privilege and delight. I’m honored for you to trust me to support you in this work.
More resources for Trauma healing
Compassion
I’m here to support you and co-create a space to show up authentically.
How my values support our work together
Curiosity
Together, we’ll explore long-held patterns and get curious about what you need.
Creativity
This is your space—we can incorporate creative ways to address your goals.
Community
Uplifting who you are as a whole person is foundational.
The first step is arriving
What does it feel like to arrive?
Maybe you notice where you are—here, in this moment.
Maybe you notice what you bring in your body.
Maybe you notice a deeper breath.
Welcome it: right now, there is nothing to fix or change.
We are simply being.
Therapy in the DMV
Via telehealth in Washington, D.C. & Maryland
In-person conveniently located near Union Market (NOMA/Gallaudet metro station) in Washington, D.C.
Want to learn more?
I offer free 15 minute consults to see if we’d work well together
I see individuals age 18+
Virtual in Maryland & Washington, D.C. | In-person for folks living in D.C.