Work With Chelsea

I offer 60 or 90-minute somatic, trauma-informed bodywork sessions — not psychotherapy. I'm not diagnosing or treating a clinical condition in this space, and it isn't a substitute for the therapy I still offer through Anchored Hope Therapy, where seeing clients under insurance remains part of my commitment to accessible care. This is something different: private-pay, intuitive, body-based work for people who want to explore regulation, story, and embodiment through touch and presence.

I work from the Tao of Trauma Touch Work model, weaving in the Five Element Theory of Chinese Medicine, to meet the nervous system where it is and support what wants to move, settle, or finally be witnessed, rewoven, or released.

A Heartfelt Hello…

I’m Chelsea Haverly, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, somatic therapist, trauma-informed bodyworker, and co-author of Trauma-Informed Bodywork: A Practitioner's Guide to Somatic Awareness, Movement Techniques, and Nervous System Regulation. I have been featured on Beyond Trauma with Lara Land and Therapy Chat with Laura Reagan, and am the co-creator of the Trauma-Informed Personal Training Certification and the Embodied Parts Integration Framework.

I have been a licensed therapist for almost 15 years and work to map where your nervous system holds urgency vs. collapse. My approach integrates evidence-based clinical work (Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems, nervous system science) with body-based traditions that predate modern psychology: Traditional Chinese Medicine's Five-Element Theory, energy medicine, and touch and ritual practices rooted in my own Celtic lineage. I believe healing should never be one-size-fits-all, and that healing is consent-driven and led by the client's own pacing — never pushed through.

The deeper me…

I am a Sagittarius, curious traveler, intuitive processor, life long student of complexity, voracious romantasy reader, and archive of stories. My grandmother used to send me newspaper clippings of “things I should know” for almost 20 years. I was gifted with her teachings in my life and hold tremendous gratitude for her (and still have the newspaper clippings). She was a weaver, artist, a deep feeler, a community elder and her home was a hearth that held gatherings in my hometown. My father is a quarryman, our town calls them “stonecutters”. My mother was a cook and end of life caregiver. I am comfortable sitting with suffering and pain while also celebrating joy, creativity and the power of deep belly laughter. I grew up in the foothills of the Catskill mountains, in a valley on a river. The riverways, rocks, hills, the smell of campfire, and the wind of a backroad are deeply important to me, when I'm in their presence, I feel at home. The natural world is important in my work as are the seasons and the energy each brings and releases with it.

In my somatic work, I weave the Five Element Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, intuitive touch work, walking as a meditative journey, and my Celtic lineage and maternal teachings, that taught me long before graduate school, that the body holds story, and story holds medicine. I call this Movement, Myth, and Medicine — because healing isn't only a nervous system to regulate. It's also a story to understand, and a body that already knows the way home when given the right conditions. I have received training from Linda Thai in Somatic Embodiment, Alaine Duncan in the Tao of Trauma, Sharon Blackie in remembering the myth and story of women and  the importance of fairytales, and Deb Dana in the Rhythm of Regulation® model. I offer joint sessions with Craniosacral Therapist and Trainer, Catherine Whelan CST-D These joint sessions are called Mind-Body Integration - learn more here.

In-Person — Annapolis, MD Hands-on bodywork, offered in 60 or 90-minute sessions. I also offer intensives for 2.5 hours on a case by case basis.

Virtual — Mind-Body Integration Sessions For clients anywhere.  I offer virtual Mind-Body Integration sessions using Tao of Trauma Touch Work theory — an intuitive, guided process that doesn't require in-person touch to support nervous system regulation and embodiment.

We start by gathering information and relationships building- not a diagnosis, but a picture. What's been happening in your body, your life, your nervous system. What would feel helpful today? What needs witnessing or what needs resourcing?

From there, I listen. Deeply, and to more than your words — to what's said, and to what's held just beneath what's said. Together, we find our way to what wants attention: sometimes that's a clear emotional or physical "stuck point," a place the body has been holding onto. Other times, there isn't one obvious point at all, and the work is simply exploring what it feels like to find a resource point or neutral space in the body to get curious around. Sometimes our work can focus around reminding the body of steady, safe, or supported, so the nervous system has somewhere to return to.

Either way, the goal is the same: helping your body find its way back to regulation or a steady rhythm — a place it already knows how to be, even if it's been a while since you've felt it. I believe every body can find it’s way home. Sometimes we just need a guide to travel with for a little while.

Sessions are typically 60 minutes. For more sensitive nervous systems, or when we want to move slowly and without rush, 90 minutes gives us room to work at the pace your body actually needs.

60-minute session — $225

90-minute session — $350

Ahead of our first visit, I'll send over a somatic consent form along with a brief history questionnaire. I don't need to know the details of your trauma to work with you — but I do want to know what feels important for you to name or for me to know. From a nervous system and complex trauma perspective, not a diagnostic one, it helps me understand your history of activation: what tends to overwhelm or shut your system down, and what has helped you feel supported in the past.

You're welcome to fill this out ahead of time, or to share what feels relevant in person when we meet — whichever feels more comfortable for you.

Occasionally, for clients navigating more medically complex presentations, I may recommend a medical evaluation or ongoing collaboration with your medical provider before we begin, or at some point along the way. This isn't a barrier to care — it's part of keeping the work safe and well-supported.

My sessions are offered to clients ages 18 and older.

Attire: Come in casual, cozy clothing — something you feel comfortable and relaxed in. You'll remain fully clothed for the entire session; there is no disrobing at any point in this work.

Positioning: You're welcome to stay seated or lie down on a massage table, whichever feels more supportive to you that day. This can also change moment to moment — you're never locked into one position.

The space: My office is warm, low-lit, and intentionally free of overhead lighting. I share the building with other practitioners, so you may occasionally hear sound from outside the room — the space itself remains confidential, and what's shared with me is confidential.

How I work: I often work barefoot, and I move between eyes open and eyes closed depending on what the moment calls for — both are simply part of how I stay present and attuned with you. I am a neurodivergent person and sometimes get quick moving information in my brain- I may offer options to focus our work and invite you to collaborate with me on what feels most helpful to focus on because oftentimes, there are many paths we can choose from. I always invite feedback throughout the session.

Consent, always: This work is entirely consent-driven. You can pause, adjust, redirect, or stop at any point, for any reason, no explanation needed. You are always in charge of your own body in the room.

For Virtual Sessions: Set yourself up somewhere you can either lie down or sit comfortably and feel genuinely supported — think cozy nook, not a desk chair. Pillows, blankets, a closed door, headphones if that helps you settle in: whatever helps your nervous system know it's safe to arrive or safe enough to arrive. A private, quiet space (even a parked car or a closet with the door shut, if that's what's available) matters more than anything fancy.

I ask for at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule a session. Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, or missed altogether, will be charged the full session fee.

• If you're feeling unwell, please reschedule rather than attend in person — this protects both of us and the other practitioners sharing the space.
• Give yourself a little buffer after your session before jumping back into a demanding task, meeting, or drive — integration can continue to unfold in the hours afterward, and a soft landing helps.
• If you have any scent sensitivities, please let me know in advance so I can plan accordingly.
• All communication and session content is held confidentially.