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I’m Anna Herman, LPC
Somatic therapist, coach, and a firm believer in healing your nervous system
Somatic therapy blends traditional talk therapy with body-centered techniques, embracing the profound connection between our physical and emotional selves
Through mindful awareness of body sensations we’ll go beyond understanding to true healing. We’ll tap into your body’s inner wisdom to heal past pain, rewrite harmful patterns, and help you build more easeful, freeing ways of connecting with the world.
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MY APPROACH: A Holistic Journey to Healing
In healing, I see a focus either on processing emotions or changing behaviors — but not both. This is where my approach shines. I use methods that help you process deep, hidden emotional pain and patterns while also guiding you through new, supportive experiences and clear action steps. This creates a bridge between understanding yourself and creating changes in your life. As a result, you won’t just feel like you’re healing — you’ll also be growing and stepping into a life that truly reflects who you are and what you want.
Therapeutic Styles:
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
• Gestalt Therapy
• Emotion-Focused Therapy
• Internal Family Systems and Parts Work
• Attachment Theory
• Brainspotting
Somatic Integration:
Rooted in my extensive study of the nervous system, I create body safety through presence, guided imagery, movement, exercises, and brainspotting—using bilateral stimulation to reveal the gap between past and present. I also incorporate new reparative action steps, like asking out your crush, texting your boss for a raise, recording part of a podcast, or rehearsing a difficult conversation with a loved one. With heightened awareness of your body sensations, unconscious patterns emerge and release, paving the way for real transformation.
EDUCATION:
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, in the state of Pennsylvania and hold two Master’s in both Counseling and Mental Health Services and Professional Counseling from the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, I have trained under renowned childhood trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté in the Compassionate Inquiry Method.
MY STORY: Healing from the Root
No matter how many therapy sessions I went to or how much insight I gained, I stayed stuck in the same frustrating patterns. Only now, I had the added joy of being painfully self-aware of just how stuck I was…lol. The real shift didn’t come from more talking, overthinking, or analyzing how I felt. It came when I started working with my body and nervous system. That’s when the magic happened. In one year of working somatically, I healed more than in an entire lifetime of trying everything else: talk therapy, inpatient programs, intensive outpatient, countless therapists, and countless modalities.
Before, my life had transformed in many ways: I physically healed from late-stage Lyme Disease, left behind many harmful coping mechanisms, and found purpose as an Ivy-League clinically trained therapist. On paper my life seemed pretty great: a stable job, dating a great person, had friends, and hobbies – yet deep inside, I was still not free. Many mornings, I woke up with a pit in my stomach and a knot in my chest, comparing myself to everyone else and wondering why I couldn’t just feel happy. Eventually, I couldn’t ignore the truth: I was outgrowing the life I had built, and the only way forward was to let go of everything holding me back. People questioned my decisions, asking why I’d leave something “stable.” But I knew I wasn’t free and wanted so much more than just “good enough.”
When I took the leap into Somatics, it was the first time I experienced real, lasting change. Instead of just understanding my pain, I started healing it.
I learned to respond to life from a place of safety instead of survival, trust my intuition on what was for me, and rebuild my life in alignment with who I truly was. It wasn’t easy, but staying stuck in the same cycles would’ve been infinitely harder.
Everything shifted. I ended things with the person I was dating, met the love of my life on vacation, moved 5,000 miles to Hawaii, created friendships and community that are soul family, mastered my most profound healing superpowers, and built an abundant dream business doing what I love most.
Now, I wake up feeling calm and grounded in my body. I spend my days creating and sharing my wisdom, guiding my amazing clients to come alive in the most magical ways, savoring the simple joys of life, and living a reality that feels like a vacation every day.
Walking away from an unaligned relationship, unhealthy patterns, and distractions wasn’t easy. But it was in those moments of letting go that I found myself again. Whether your dream life means creating a business you’re passionate about, leaving an unaligned draining relationship, or simply waking up at peace in your own skin—whatever that looks like for you—it’s more than possible. And I’d be honored to help you create it.
MY BELIEF: The Power of AUTHENTIC CONNECTION
We’re often hurt in relationships, so it’s through relationships that we must also heal. Research shows that having a strong bond with your therapist—where you feel safe, seen, and truly understood—is the foundation for real growth and change.
In our sessions, how we interact can reflect patterns from your everyday relationships, like avoiding conflict, fearing rejection, or feeling like you have to shrink or hide parts of yourself. But this space is different. It’s free from judgment, where you can share your thoughts, feelings, and fears openly. Together, we’ll gently explore those patterns by practicing new ways of connecting that feel safe and supportive.
I don’t believe in being a “blank slate” therapist (that’s so 1940). I believe therapy works best when it’s human. You deserve a therapist who’s relatable, who shares personal insights and experiences when helpful, and who you can also laugh and be real with.
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GLIMMERS that make my heart soar
Glimmers, a term coined by Polyvagal Theory expert, Deb Dana, are the opposite of triggers. We live in a society that so often disconnects us from others, ourselves, and the world. Our nervous system’s survival mode kicks in and we are attention-biased towards being on high alert for our triggers, not our glimmers.
Glimmers are anything around us that helps regulate our nervous system back into a more ventral state where we are able to access, gratitude, calm, presence, and connection. Specifically using our senses to savor these moments and noticing the touch, taste, smell, sounds, and sights that are around us.
The best co-worker, my Mini-Australian Shepard, Bowie.
The man I love who has allowed me to further heal in relation.
Guava mint iced tea from the little coffee shop in town.
My favorite bougainvillea tree.
Long car rides.
Dancing to EDM or belting Taylor Swift.
