Natalie (Willey) Hanks- LPC, LAC, RPT

I believe therapy should be more than sitting on a couch and talking about what happened. I specialize in trauma, attachment, ADHD and neurodivergence, and nervous-system healing, working with both adults and children who need a different way to process, regulate, and heal. My work is especially focused on helping people understand the connection between their experiences, their nervous system, and the patterns that continue to show up in everyday life. You may know why you feel the way you do and still find that insight alone hasn’t changed how your body responds. You may feel constantly overwhelmed, shut down, restless, disconnected, stuck in survival mode, or frustrated that strategies that seem to work for everyone else don’t work for you. Therapy with me is designed to meet you there. I integrate EMDR, somatic and nervous-system-based therapy, sensory and expressive interventions, sandtray, movement, and play therapy depending on the needs of each client. My therapy room is intentionally designed with neurodivergent clients in mind, offering opportunities for movement, sensory regulation, creativity, and different ways of engaging rather than expecting everyone to process best by sitting still and talking for an hour. I have a particular interest in working with adults with ADHD and neurodivergent adults, including those who may have spent years feeling misunderstood, overwhelmed, inconsistent, “too much,” or unable to make traditional systems work for their brain. Our work may include understanding your ADHD or neurodivergence, emotional and nervous-system regulation, executive functioning, relationships, identity, shame, masking, and developing strategies that actually fit the way you function. I am also a Registered Play Therapist, but my work with children is intentionally specialized. I do not provide general play therapy for every childhood concern. My child practice focuses primarily on trauma and attachment-related needs, including disruptions in safety, connection, caregiving, foster/adoptive experiences, significant life experiences, and trauma that may be expressed through a child’s emotions, behavior, relationships, or ability to regulate. Because children often communicate what they have experienced differently than adults, I use play, sandtray, expressive approaches, sensory regulation, and caregiver involvement to help children heal in developmentally appropriate ways. My approach is warm, relational, experiential, and individualized. There isn't one “right” way to do therapy. Sometimes healing happens through words. Sometimes it happens through EMDR, movement, noticing what is happening in the body, creating something, using the sandtray, or allowing a child to communicate through play. My goal is not simply to help you manage symptoms. I want to help you better understand your brain, your nervous system, your story, and the ways you've learned to survive—and then build something that feels safer, more connected, and sustainable moving forward. If traditional talk therapy hasn't felt like enough, or you're looking for a therapist who understands that healing can involve the brain, body, relationships, and nervous system, we may be a good fit.