NARM® Therapy in Columbus, OH
When insight isn’t enough, there’s another way forward.
“If I know why I do this, why do I keep doing it?”
You've done the reading. You've spent time reflecting. Maybe you've been in therapy before. You know your patterns, recognize where they came from, and can explain why they continue showing up. But despite every effort to make things change, things still feel stuck.
Growing up with emotionally unavailable or emotionally immature caregivers can affect you in subtle but long-lasting ways. You have learned to be the responsible one, keep the peace, or take care of everyone else before yourself. Those strategies made sense then—but now you’re over-functioning, burned out, disconnected from your body, and wondering why close relationships still feel so hard…or why the capable, successful adult you've become can still feel like the scared, insecure kid inside.
Nothing here—especially you—is viewed as a problem to fix.
Your responses become valuable information that helps you understand yourself more deeply.
What is NARM®?
The NeuroAffective Relational Model™ (NARM®) addresses Complex Trauma (C-PTSD), including attachment, relational, and developmental trauma, by working with adaptive patterns that reflect unconscious patterns of disconnection that impact our identity, emotions, physiology, behavior, and relationships.
NARM® integrates a body-centered and psychodynamic approach within a context of interpersonal neurobiology, grounded in mindfulness and a phenomenological approach to addressing identity and consciousness of Self. NARM® offers a comprehensive theoretical and clinical model for the resolution of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and C-PTSD. NARM® offers a framework for post-traumatic growth by supporting increased resiliency, greater health outcomes, healthier relationships, personal growth, and social change.
At its heart, NARM begins with a powerful belief: your patterns make sense.
The ways you've learned to protect yourself aren't signs that something is wrong with you. They're adaptive strategies that once helped you navigate difficult relationships and experiences. While those strategies once served an important purpose, they may now be getting in the way of the life and relationships you want.
We don’t seek to eliminate those patterns—we help you reconnect with yourself instead of running from what’s there.
This work doesn't ask… What's wrong with you?
It asks… How did this way of being serve you?
How NARM Works
Every person's experience is different, so our work begins by honing in on what you most want for yourself.
Maybe you're longing to feel more connected to your emotions and more at ease in your body. You may want to feel more secure in your relationships or freer to be your authentic self. The healing and transformation you're hoping for will become the North Star of our time together.
From there, we'll begin exploring what supports that vision and what gets in the way. Rather than focusing only on the past, we'll work with what's happening in the present moment, where longstanding patterns naturally begin to reveal themselves.
Together, we'll notice the moments that often go overlooked—when your body tightens, you hold your breath, become self-critical, or find it difficult to know or say what you really think or want. We'll also pay attention to what happens in the relationship between you and me, because those moments can reveal familiar ways of disconnecting, protecting yourself, or navigating closeness outside of therapy.
Over time, this work supports greater psychobiological capacities—things like self-awareness, connection, self-regulation, presence, intimacy, empathy, and agency. Agency is the growing sense that you can participate in and influence your own life rather than simply reacting from familiar patterns.
They're called psychobiological because these capacities are experienced on multiple levels—your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions, as well as your body responses and sensations.
In other words, we're not just working toward a different way of thinking—we're working toward a different way of experiencing yourself.
Experience…
greater ease in your body.
more compassion & less self-criticism.
freedom to be yourself in relationships.
greater presence during conflict.
deeper connection to yourself.
being “enough.”
The last thing you need is another explanation.
If you're ready to explore what drives the need for these familiar patterns—and what becomes possible when you no longer have to rely on them in the same way—NARM offers a path toward deep healing.
Questions?
FAQs
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Yes. Conversation is part of our work, but our sessions aren’t focused on talking through what happened during your week, analyzing a problem, or coming up with strategies for managing it. NARM invites us to slow down and notice what’s happening in real time—emotionally, relationally, and in your body—as we talk.
That gives us an opportunity to work directly with the patterns that are active in the moment, rather than relying on insight alone.
This work will feel different from therapy that has primarily been a place to talk, vent, or problem-solve.
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Not at all. Many people who benefit from NARM don't identify with a single traumatic event. Instead, they’re recognizing the lasting impact of experiences like emotional neglect, feeling responsible for others from a young age, growing up with emotionally unavailable caregivers, or learning to prioritize everyone else's needs over their own. NARM helps us explore how those early experiences continue to shape the way you relate to yourself, your emotions, and your relationships today and supports embodied change.
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I'm a NARM® Master Therapist and have completed advanced training in The NeuroAffective Relational Model™ (NARM®). NARM is the primary framework that guides my work with adults navigating developmental trauma, attachment wounds, and longstanding relationship patterns. I also serve on the faculty of the Complex Trauma Training Center, where I teach, assist trainings, and mentor both students and training assistants.
I was drawn to NARM because it integrates the mind and body and reflects the kind of therapy I believe in. Rather than focusing solely on symptom relief, it helps us discover the adaptive patterns that have shaped your life with compassion and curiosity, while creating space for greater connection, ease, and choice.
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Not typically. While I may invite you to notice certain patterns or experiences between sessions, my approach isn't centered around worksheets or homework assignments. I believe the most meaningful work often happens through what we discover together in session, allowing insights and awareness to develop naturally rather than feeling like something you have to ”get right” or adding yet another item on your to-do list.
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Yes. Rather than focusing primarily on symptom reduction, NARM views symptoms as signals and explores what is driving them. Anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and over-functioning can develop as ways of navigating earlier relationships and maintaining connection or attachment. We'll bring compassionate awareness to these patterns so they no longer have to shape your life in the same way.
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I understand how exhausting that can be. When you've invested so much time and energy into working on yourself, it's easy to wonder why the same patterns continue to show up.
NARM offers a different perspective. Instead of seeing your patterns as something to just “get rid of,” we'll become curious about the role they've played in your life. From there, we can explore what keeps those ways of protecting yourself in place—and what becomes possible when they don’t have to anymore.
NARM® Disclaimer: Lisa Gillispie is a NARM® Master Therapist.
NARM® Training Institute is neither a regulatory nor licensing organization and therefore is not sanctioned to certify, license, or otherwise bestow the legal authorization to practice as a mental health professional. A NARM® Therapist is a person who has completed the NARM® Therapist Training Program.