Balancing your nervous system? What does that have to do with counseling?

Balancing your nervous system may not be the first thing you think of when you consider counseling—but it plays a foundational role in emotional health, stress, and connection. Our nervous system influences how we experience anxiety, depression, anger, safety, and even relationships, often before we are consciously aware of it.

In this article, Dr. Judith Allen explores how counseling supports nervous system regulation and why mind–body approaches like somatic psychology are so effective. You’ll learn how stress and trauma affect the nervous system, the science behind fight-or-flight responses, and how integrating body awareness into therapy can lead to deeper healing, resilience, and long-term emotional regulation.