Meet Danielle, Somatic Therapist

The parts of you that struggle are often the parts that have been working the hardest to help you.

Maybe you've spent years trying to understand why you react the way you do. You may know exactly where your patterns came from, yet still find yourself caught in the same cycles. Maybe one part of you wants to move forward while another pulls you back. One part works hard to keep everything under control, while another feels overwhelmed, exhausted, or disconnected.

These parts aren't the problem. They developed for a reason. They learned how to protect you, help you adapt, and get you through experiences that may have once felt too much to hold. And even when those strategies no longer fit the life you're living now, they can continue to show up because, in their own way, they're still trying to help.

This is where we slow down.

Smiling woman in a purple top in her office for IFS therapy.

I'm Danielle Hatem, LICSW, a somatic psychotherapist who works from an IFS, attachment, and nervous system-oriented approach. I work with adults and couples navigating trauma, relational wounds, anxiety, life transitions, and the patterns that can leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves or the people we love.

I don't believe the goal of therapy is to get rid of the parts of you that are struggling. I believe those parts have stories, reasons, and often very good reasons for becoming the way they are. Symptoms can be intelligent adaptations—ways your nervous system learned to protect you when something felt overwhelming, unsafe, or disconnected.

So rather than asking, “How do we get rid of this?” we become curious about a different question:

“What is this part of you trying to communicate?”

Our work is experiential as much as it is conversational.

I pay attention to the subtle things happening beneath the words—the shift in your breath, a tightening in your body, the part that wants to pull away, the part that is working very hard to keep everything under control. We slow down enough to listen without forcing, rushing, or overwhelming your system.

Over time, the work becomes less about getting one part of you to stop and more about helping the different parts of you understand one another. This is where integration can begin—not by forcing anything away, but by creating enough safety and compassion for your internal system to become less polarized and more connected.

I bring extensive training in Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, Somatic IFS, Polyvagal Theory, attachment-based therapy, and Relational Life Therapy, and I weave these approaches together rather than asking you to fit yourself into a particular model.

But ultimately, the most important part of the work is the relationship we create together.

You don't have to perform, have the right words, or know exactly what you need when you walk through the door. We start where you are, move at a pace your system can tolerate, and make room for insight and embodied change to unfold over time.

My hope is that therapy becomes a place where you can begin to feel less at war with yourself and more at home within yourself.

A Little About Me
I’ve always had a soft spot for Broadway, growing up, trips to NYC to see the latest musical were pure joy. Rent, Wicked, and A Chorus Line still hold a special place in my heart.

I’m also a Laughter Yoga Instructor, which feels pretty fitting. Laughter gives my parts permission to play and when they get to play, there’s a little more room for Self energy to show up, too.

Testimonials

"Working with Danielle feels like entering an open, warm, and expansive space where I can get to know myself on a deeper level and therefore access my own Self more readily in a way that also benefits my clients. She has so much presence, compassion, and curiosity that integrating it into my own system becomes seamless. Working with her has increased my skills with creating a truly healing space. I would highly recommend working with her!"

C.C.G - Nurse Practitioner

“I have gone deeper in my work with Danielle than I have ever experienced with another therapist. She has a remarkable ability to track what is happening, slow things down, and help me reconnect with my body and my internal world. Through our relationship, I’ve developed a deeper embodied connection with my parts. In the safety of our work together, my parts have come to trust both Danielle and me in ways that have opened up new possibilities for healing. I am forever grateful.”

— DW

"Danielle has been an exceptional supervisor in my journey with the Internal Family Systems model. Her dedication and deep knowledge of the model are evident in every session. It’s clear that she has extensive experience, which she shares generously, helping us to truly understand and apply IFS in our work. Thanks to her guidance, I now confidently use IFS as my primary therapy model in my private practice. I’m incredibly grateful for her commitment to helping us master this powerful approach."

J.R.- Nurse Practioner

Professional Trainings & Credentials

Education & Licensure

Licensed Independent Social Worker (LICSW)
Licensed since 2003

Simmons College

Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW)

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Somatic & Nervous System

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Relational Life Therapy

I’m less interested in fitting you into a particular model and more interested in understanding your experience, recognizing the strengths you already carry, and discovering together what helps you feel more connected to yourself.