When Words Aren’t Enough: How NeuroAffective Touch® Therapy Helps You Heal Through the Body

Sometimes, healing doesn’t begin with words. It begins with the body.

At CARE Counseling, Inc., we understand that trauma, stress, and disconnection often live in the body—especially when they began before you had the words to explain them. That’s why we offer NeuroAffective Touch® Therapy (NAT), a powerful, gentle approach that reconnects the body, mind, and nervous system through relational touch and somatic awareness.

Whether you feel numb, tense, anxious, or “cut off” from your emotions, NAT provides a safe way to come home to yourself—slowly, gently, and respectfully.

What Is NeuroAffective Touch?

NeuroAffective Touch® (NAT) is a body-based psychotherapy model developed by Dr. Aline LaPierre. It is designed to help people heal from developmental trauma, attachment wounds, and nervous system dysregulation through compassionate, non-invasive touch and somatic co-regulation.

It’s not massage or bodywork. Instead, it uses carefully attuned, clothed touch to support:

• Emotional regulation

• Body awareness

• Attachment repair

• Restoration of safety in the nervous system

In short, NAT helps your body feel safe enough to start letting go of what it’s been holding.

Why Touch Matters in Therapy

Long before we could speak, we communicated through touch, gaze, tone, and rhythm. When those early relational needs weren’t met—or were interrupted by trauma—the body developed ways to survive: shutting down, disconnecting, bracing, or going numb.

Traditional talk therapy often can’t reach these preverbal, body-based memories. That’s where NAT comes in.

Touch—when consensual, attuned, and safe—can:

• Offer co-regulation the nervous system never received

• Help relieve chronic tension and held trauma

• Restore interoception (your ability to feel yourself from the inside)

• Provide emotional nourishment where words fall short

At CARE Counseling, Inc., we integrate NAT into trauma work for clients who feel stuck, shut down, or disconnected in traditional therapy.

What to Expect in a NeuroAffective Touch Session

NAT sessions are guided by your pace, comfort, and consent. They may include:

• Fully clothed, light touch to areas like the back, arms, or shoulders

• Conversations that track bodily sensations and emotional responses

• Somatic resourcing, grounding, and regulation strategies

• Optional integration with other therapies like IFS or Brainspotting

There is no pressure, no manipulation, and no agenda—only a safe space to explore your inner experience, with support.

Who Is NAT For?

NeuroAffective Touch may be right for you if:

• You feel numb or dissociated during therapy

• You struggle to feel emotions or body sensations

• You carry chronic pain or tension without a clear medical cause

• You have a history of attachment trauma, neglect, or abuse

• You want to reconnect with your body in a safe, empowering way

Clients often describe NAT as calming, grounding, and deeply healing—especially when talk therapy alone hasn’t been enough.

A Body-Affirming, Trauma-Informed Approach at CARE Counseling

At CARE Counseling, Inc., we know that healing is not just about talking—it’s about feeling safe enough to feel. NeuroAffective Touch is one way we support clients on that journey, particularly those:

• With complex trauma or early developmental wounds

• Navigating nervous system dysregulation (freeze, shut down, hypervigilance)

• Seeking deeper connection to self and body

• Wanting to feel more “at home” in their own skin

You don’t have to do this alone. Your body has been trying to protect you—and now, it can begin to heal.

Your body carries your story. Let’s help it feel safe enough to let it go.