Somatic Therapist in Virginia

Heal Trauma Without Losing Control

Feel grounded and in control of your emotions
Rebuild self-esteem and trust yourself
Experience safe, fulfilling relationships

You’re Holding It Together—But It’s Taking Everything You’ve Got

On the outside you’re a high-performer. But inside it all feels like too much. One small moment—a look, a tone, a change in someone’s mood—can leave you spiraling. You replay conversations, second-guess your every move, and still feel like you’re not getting it right.

You want to feel calm, confident, and close to others. But you don’t feel safe in your own skin, and you definitely don’t feel safe letting someone else get close. It’s hard not to blame yourself for it. For not being more “together,” more “normal,” more…lovable.

You’ve overcome so much. But your body feels on edge or disconnected. Your shoulders tense at raised voices. Your stomach knots at the thought of being left. Your throat closes at the fear of speaking up.

If this feels true for you, you’re not broken. Your body and brain learned to protect you. But now those patterns are holding you back. Somatic Therapy helps you gently unwind them by listening to what your body has been trying to tell you all along.

Feel Safe in Your Body And Relationships with Somatic Therapy

Imagine waking up without the heaviness that’s been sitting on your chest for years. No more bracing yourself for the next emotional storm. No more dreading the day before it even starts. Just a quiet steady sense that you’re okay being in your own skin.

Your emotions move through you instead of knocking you over. You notice what they are telling you and respond with clarity. You set boundaries with ease, speak up without shame, and let love in without fear.

That voice inside—the one that used to tell you to apologize for existing, shifts into something softer. Stronger. A steady knowing that lives in your body: I am safe. I am worthy. I belong.

This is what healing can feel like. And with Somatic Therapy, it’s possible.

How Somatic Therapy Helps

Trauma lives in the body. Even if you know you’re safe now, your body might not believe it yet. Somatic Therapy helps you gently explore how your body has learned to protect you. And help it recognize when the threat has passed so you can relax without feeling unsafe.

Together, we slow things down so you can start to notice what’s happening inside—where you clench, where you collapse, where you hold your breath or your voice. And then, little by little, we work with those patterns—not to force them to change, but to offer them something they didn’t have before: understanding, choice, and safety.

Heal Old Wounds So You Can Finally Feel Safe, Worthy, and Connected

It’s not about pushing through—it’s about tuning in. When your body starts to feel safe, everything else begins to shift: your emotions, your thoughts, your relationships, your sense of who you are. Healing doesn’t mean forgetting what happened. It means you don’t have to live in reaction to it anymore.

Let's Get Started

Hello. I’m Micah Fleitman, LPC.

Shame and fear were a prison.

For a long time, I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. My emotions felt overwhelming, and I didn’t know how to let people care for me. I questioned my worth and tried to hold it all together, but I never felt good enough.

Healing began when I stopped fighting my feelings and started listening to them.

I learned that even the parts of me I wanted to ignore were trying to help me. And they needed my help too. As I began to trust myself, I was able to let others in—fully, safely, and without shame.

Now I help others do the same. You’re not broken. You’re carrying pain that deserves care. Healing is possible—and you don’t have to do it alone.

I’ve devoted my career to helping people heal trauma and dissociation.

My credentials include:

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with a Master’s in Counseling
Worked with trauma at every level of mental healthcare.
Advanced certification in Complex Trauma and Dissociation.
Advanced training in Somatic Therapy for Complex Trauma and Dissociation

I offer better results than traditional Somatic Therapy by integrating several evidence-based trauma therapies to provide holistic care.

Understand yourself with Psychodynamic therapy.
Connect body and mind with Somatic Therapy and Trauma-Focused CBT.
Care for all of yourself with Internal Family Systems (IFS).
Release trauma with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Clinical Hypnosis.

EMDR Therapy in Virginia

What Somatic Therapy Sessions Look Like

If you’re used to pushing through or shutting down just to get through the day, the idea of turning inward might feel scary. But Somatic Therapy meets you where you are and helps you move forward in a way that feels gentle, grounded, and fully in your control.

Step 1: Create Safety Before Going Deeper

Before we explore anything difficult, we begin by building a foundation of safety. We’ll focus on helping you slow down and learn how to recognize and meet your body’s needs with care and respect.

You’ll learn how to:

Notice when you’re beginning to feel overwhelmed—before it takes over
Use grounding tools like breath, movement, and imagery to feel more steady and present
Build internal resources—small moments or sensations that help you feel comforted, strong, and in control
Pause whenever you need to. Your needs guide everything we do.

This isn’t about forcing your body to “get over it.” It’s about giving your body what it’s been needing all along—safety, choice, and kindness. When your body feels heard and supported, it naturally becomes more open to healing.

Step 2: Work with Trauma Without Getting Stuck in It

Instead of diving into stories from the past, we pay attention to how your body responds in the present. Because trauma isn’t just what happened—it’s what your body still remembers.

You might notice:

A tightness in your chest when you talk about something that feels vulnerable
A frozen feeling in your arms or legs when you remember a time you felt helpless
An urge to turn away, hide, or go silent when we explore something emotionally close

We stay curious about these signals. With compassion and care, we explore them—not to “fix” them, but to understand what they’re trying to protect you from. Then we experiment with small, gentle shifts: a change in posture, a grounding breath, moving your body in a way that helps you feel stronger or more open.

These aren’t just coping tools—they’re new experiences that tell your body: “You’re not stuck anymore. You get to choose. You are safe now.”

Step 3: Strengthen New, Empowering Experiences

As your body begins to trust the safety you’re building, new possibilities open up. Instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop, you start to feel:

More confident speaking up, without the fear of being too much
More open to closeness, without bracing for disappointment
More able to relax—not because nothing hard ever happens, but because you know how to come back to yourself

As you nurture a felt sense of these new beliefs in the body,
you’ll go from this…….to this

🚫 “I’m too much.” → ✅ “I’m allowed to take up space.”

🚫 “I have to be perfect to be loved.” → ✅ “I am worthy exactly as I am.”

🚫 “I’ll always be alone.” → ✅ “I can connect and still protect my heart.”

You Deserve to Feel at Home in Yourself

Somatic Therapy is about gently coming back to who you are, and who you’ve always been underneath the pain. Calm. Connected. Whole.

How Somatic Therapy Helps Self-Esteem, Relationships, and Emotions

When your body feels safe, healing can begin.

With Somatic Therapy, emotions become easier to manage, self-doubt quiets down, and relationships feel safer and more real. You can trust yourself, stay steady through hard moments, and connect with others without losing yourself.

Regain Control: Feel Comfortable in Your Own Skin

When you’ve lived through trauma, emotions can hit like a tidal wave. A small frustration feels unbearable. A minor change in plans feels like the world is crumbling. You might:

These aren’t flaws. They’re your body’s way of protecting you when life doesn’t feel safe. Your nervous system learned to stay on guard because it had to.

How Somatic Therapy Helps

Gently uncovers the survival patterns your body holds onto
Helps you notice emotions earlier—before they overwhelm you
Gives you ways to soothe yourself in real time, without shutting down
Helps you create space between what you feel and what you do, so you can choose your response instead of feeling hijacked by emotion

You’ll still have emotions—but they’ll feel more like waves you can ride, not storms that knock you over.

Rebuild Self-Esteem: Learn to Trust Yourself Again

Trauma teaches you painful lessons about yourself—lessons that were never true to begin with. You might:

How Somatic Therapy Helps

With time, that old voice telling you you’re not enough shifts to recognize:
I’m doing enough. I am enough.

Heal Relationships: Feel Safe Letting People In

When you’ve been hurt before, it’s hard to trust. You might:

How Somatic Therapy Helps

You don’t have to choose between protecting yourself and connecting with others. You can have both. You can feel safe and loved.

Integrating Somatic Therapy with Other Trauma Therapies

A Whole-Person Approach to Healing

Trauma affects more than just your mind—it lives in your body, emotions, relationships, and sense of self. True healing needs to reach all of you.

By combining Somatic Therapy with other powerful trauma therapies, we can gently care for every part of your experience, helping you feel stronger, safer, and more connected.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Releasing Stuck Trauma Gently

EMDR helps your brain process the memories that keep you feeling trapped, while Somatic Therapy helps your body let go of the tension and fear tied to them—so healing feels natural, deep, and lasting.

Internal Family Systems: Caring for Every Part of You

IFS helps you connect with the different parts inside you—those that carry fear, shame, or longing—while Somatic Therapy helps you feel and soothe them safely, building inner wholeness and compassion.

Trauma-Focused CBT: Shifting How You See Yourself

TF-CBT helps you recognize and change painful beliefs like “I’m not enough,” while Somatic Therapy helps your body release the emotional weight behind those thoughts—so real self-trust can grow.

Psychodynamic Therapy: Healing Old Relationship Wounds

Psychodynamic Therapy helps you understand how past relationships shaped your fears and patterns, while Somatic Therapy helps your body learn it’s safe to respond differently now.

Clinical Hypnosis: Soothing Deep Emotional Pain

Hypnosis creates a calm, open state where deeper healing can happen, while Somatic Therapy gently helps shift the stuck body responses tied to old wounds—without feeling overwhelmed or pushed.

You deserve a healing approach that honors all of you.

By integrating the most powerful trauma therapies, we can meet you wherever you are—and walk with you toward where you want to go.

Try These At-Home Practices to Support Your Healing

When you’ve lived with emotional overwhelm, self-doubt, and fear of closeness, it’s easy to feel like your body is working against you. These simple at-home practices are designed to help you gently reconnect with your body—building trust, strength, and a deeper sense of safety inside yourself.

Choosing the Right Practice for You

If you’re wanting to feel closer and safer in relationships, start with the Safe Connection Practice.

If you’re wanting to feel more independent and confident in yourself, try the Steady Self-Belief Exercise.

The Safe Connection Practice (For Feeling Closer in Relationships)

This practice helps you begin to feel what safe connection feels like—not just in your mind, but in your body.

Here’s how:

Find a Quiet Space: Sit or lie down somewhere you won’t be disturbed. Let your body settle.
Imagine a Safe Presence: Think of someone—real, remembered, or imagined—who makes you feel warm, accepted, and supported. It could be a caring person, a beloved pet, or even the feeling of nature holding you.
Engage Your Senses: Notice the details. What would you see? Hear? Feel? Let yourself linger in that sense of safety.
Add Gentle Movement: Try softly tapping your hands against your legs, shifting your weight side to side, or swaying slightly—whatever feels soothing.
Reflect on the Feeling: Notice where you feel warmth, ease, or relaxation in your body. Even if it’s just a little bit, stay with it for a few breaths. Let your body remember what it’s like to feel safely connected.

The Steady Self-Belief Exercise (For Feeling More Independent and Trusting Yourself)

This practice helps you strengthen your inner sense of confidence and self-trust.

Here’s how:

Notice a Limiting Thought: Bring to mind a self-critical belief you often struggle with, like “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t trust myself.”
Find a Different Truth: Think of a time—even a small one—when you made a good decision, stood up for yourself, or handled something well.
Anchor the Feeling: As you remember this moment, notice how your body feels. Maybe your chest feels stronger, or your breath deepens.
Support the Experience with Movement: Try tapping gently from side to side on your shoulders, shifting your feet back and forth, or simply breathing deeply and rhythmically.
Affirm the New Belief: Say to yourself:
“I am capable.”
“I can trust myself.”
“I am strong enough to take care of myself.”
Let these words settle into your body, not just your mind.