Mara Thomas
(They/Them/Theirs)
Counselor, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC), National Certified Counselor (NCC)
We all need extra support at times. If you're navigating academic, relationship, family, or other life stress, somatic therapy could help!
For the past 20 years, I have been in and around the incredible creative community of the Triangle. I believe in the power of our unique forms of self-expression and that creativity takes many shapes. Drawing from my experience as a musician, theater-maker, and writer I have lead groups focused on overcoming creative blocks. As a helping professional, I am committed to training in and offering healing modalities that honor the inherent divinity of all bodies. Together we can find an approach that affirms your experience and helps you connect with your inner wisdom. I recognize that many healing interventions are appropriated from other wisdom traditions and repackaged as "research-based" by historically oppressive systems. While research can have value, a practice does not need to be "research-based" to be valid or helpful. We can talk about what healing looks like to you and how to incorporate your own practices into our work. This space is unequivocally queer-affirming and anti-racist. I am committed to continual interrogation of the systems that surround us. As a white person, my unlearning will never be complete. As a queer person, it's my mandate to question everything.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
- Anxiety
- Body Image
- Childhood Abuse
- Chronic Illness/Pain
- Eating Concerns
- Gender Identity
- Grief and Loss
- Life Transitions
- Panic
- Perfectionism
- Personal Growth
- Physical Assault
- Physical Stress
- Relationship(s) with Friends/Roommates
- Relationship(s) with Parents/Children/Family
- School Concerns
- Self-Esteem
- Sexual Assault
- Sexual Identity
- Trauma
- Women's Issues
Age groups
- Teens (13-17)
- Young adults (18-30)
- Adults (31-64)
- Seniors (65 or older)
Special groups
- Body positivity
- People who are bisexual
- People who identify as gay
- People who identify as lesbian
- People who identify as non-binary
- People who identify as queer
- Transgender
Treatment specialties
Therapeutic modalities
- Individual Therapy
Treatments
- Somatic Psychotherapy
Remote options
- Voice
- Video
Payment options
Insurance
In-network coverage provided for the following insurance companies
- Aetna – North Carolina
- Blue Cross Blue Shield – North Carolina
- Documentation provided for patient filling
- In-network insurance
- Single case agreement
- Out-of-pocket
- Sliding scale
- I offer a free consultation
Payment methods
- Cash
- Check
- Credit Card
- Debit Card
- Flexible Spending Account
- Health Savings Account
- Paypal
- Venmo
Credentials
Licenses
LCMHC Supervisor
NC Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors
S2337, North Carolina
LCMHC Associate
NC Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors
A18907, North Carolina
Certificates
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner
Somatic Experiencing International
Somatic Experiencing® is a trauma-informed modality geared toward regulating the nervous system. Do you feel like you're perpetually on high alert? Does the weight of life have you feeling immobilized? Somatic Experiencing® helps us shift out of these states where our nervous systems feel stuck in the "on" or "off" position. In our sessions, we'll include the body and work through states that have you feeling frozen or over-activated. Regulation *is* possible.
Certified Brainspotting Practitioner
Brainspotting International
Brainspotting therapy utilizes a client's eye position to bypass the brain's conscious thinking to access the deeper subcortical parts of the brain, where traumatic experiences are stored. Through this "deep brain" work, physical manifestations of psychological symptoms can be reprocessed, resulting in greater capacity to regulate.