Somatic Experiencing Therapist in Training | Columbus, OH
Creating Safety, So You Can Feel Like Yourself Again
Meet a perinatal somatic therapist that honors your experiences, your body, and your parental intuition. For pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond.
It Took Me a While to Adjust to Motherhood, Too
I remember sitting in my empty backyard the week my husband and I moved across Ohio, sick and three months pregnant, sobbing on the phone with my mom, not able to recognize my own life anymore. I felt that way through my entire pregnancy, and even more so after my son was born. Nobody told me the experience of becoming a mother could make me feel so disconnected—not my doctor, not other moms, not even me, and I’d spent years as a mental health professional.
I started The Whole Parent Collective for the version of you who’s in that same place right now, wondering where you went and what happened to you.
You’re still in there. And I’d be honored to help you find your way back.
—Rachael
LISW, PMH-C
Somatic Experiencing Therapist in Training from Somatic Experiencing International
Support That Meets You in the Body, Not Just the Mind
About The Whole Parent Collective
The Whole Parent Collective is a Columbus-based somatic therapy practice for pregnant and postpartum mothers and parents. Founder and therapist Rachael Bardnell is a Licensed Independent Social Worker and Perinatal Mental Health Certified clinician, and also integrates Somatic Experiencing™ techniques into her work as she works toward becoming a somatic experiencing therapist and practitioner through Somatic Experiencing International.
After facing her own perinatal mental health challenges during pregnancy and postpartum, Rachael felt called to create a space where parents feel safe, understood, and supported as whole humans, not just in crisis, but in growth.
Rachael also works full-time as a Staff Support Clinician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she provides trauma-informed care to hospital staff, most of whom are parents themselves. That dual perspective, supporting both parents and the providers who care for them, shapes how she approaches her work. Rachael also recently received an honorable mention from the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare for her work in compassionate care.
The Whole Parent Collective Is for Every Parent
For moms
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For dads
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For birth parents
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For birth parents
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For non-birthing parents
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For expecting parents
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For adoptive parents
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For foster parents
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For step-parents
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For co-parents
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For parents navigating infertility
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For moms • For dads • For birth parents • For birth parents • For non-birthing parents • For expecting parents • For adoptive parents • For foster parents • For step-parents • For co-parents • For parents navigating infertility •
All parents are welcome and held at The Whole Parent Collective. Here it is believed that the spectrum of being a parent is encompassed even before attempts of conception and even if conceiving is not happening in your body. We are here for it all and working to make the perinatal space more inviting and inclusive every day.
A Personal Timeline: Rachael’s Story
My care for parents was born from my own struggles becoming and being a mother.
How Our Somatic Experiencing-Informed Therapy Is Different
Whereas traditional perinatal talk therapy focuses on discussing your past traumatic experience, somatic experiencing works with your body directly, giving it time and space to catch up, whether you’re processing something that already happened or building capacity before it does.
Because parenting and intuition are deeply connected, this work also helps you hear your own instincts again and define what feels safe (a yes) and not safe (a no). In session, we’ll track what’s happening in your body moment to moment, not just talk about what happened.
What does a somatic experiencing therapist do?
A Somatic Experiencing (SE™) therapist provides a body-oriented therapeutic model that aims to resolve symptoms of stress, shock, and trauma that accumulate in our bodies and nervous systems. Trauma, from an SE lens, is focused on how it shows up in the nervous system and how that dysregulation impacts life. When we are stuck in patterns of fight, flight, or freeze, SE helps us release, recover, and become more resilient.
Information adapted from Somatic Experiencing International Website.Why Perinatal Somatic Work Matters
Because feeling safe in your body makes connection & belonging easier.
Both to your child and to your larger ecosystem.
The Ground Our Work Stands On
Safety
Your nervous system deserves to feel safe before it’s asked to process anything else.
Autonomy
You know your own yes and no better than anyone, and we help you tune in and voice that instinct.
Stability
Healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about feeling grounded in who you already are.
Supporting Parents and Perinatal Providers Across Ohio
As a LISW, PMH-C, and somatic experiencing therapist in-training, I provide in-person somatic therapy services at my office in Columbus, or virtual services to patients across Ohio. I also provide Provider Wellness Workshops to perinatal teams in Ohio, and am available for travel.
Ready to start your own story of coming back to yourself?
We move at your pace, grounded in compassion, connection, and hope.
Schedule a time to connect, and we’ll discuss the support that feels right for you.
Searching for a somatic experiencing therapist near me? Let’s talk.
“She Truly Sees the People in Front of Her”
“It has been an absolute privilege to witness Rachael step into her own dreams and potential, leading to the birth of The Whole Parent Co. Her ability to truly witness the individuals and families sitting in front of her for all parts of who they are is an incredibly special trait. We at The Inside Space stand in massive support of Rachael and the ways by which she is here to contribute and create impact in the perinatal space and beyond.”
—Dr. Gab, The Inside Space
Somatic therapy referral in Columbus, OH