ABOUT Souza Therapy & Wellness

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I am a Licensed Independent Social Worker and Chronic Pain and Mind-Body Therapy Specialist serving clients throughout Ohio and Michigan. I specialize in helping individuals struggling with chronic pain, persistent symptoms, anxiety, OCD, depression, health anxiety, and related mind-body conditions.

My passion for this work is both professional and personal.

My Story & why I feel it’s important to share.

I share this because it fascinates me that no one was aware of the possibilities of healing when I was 22. That all I received as a young vibrant woman was “deal with it”. Ill explain more.  

 I was young, in college, with two small children at home and a single mom. I found myself having chronic abdominal and bladder pain, frequently needing to use the restroom. When I say frequently, I mean I was using the restroom every 10 minutes and contemplated the invention of a portal car potty. Of course, my anxiety escalated, I was so afraid of having an “accident” my brain started to predict that not being near a restroom or just seeing someone go into the only restroom available caused an increase in my anxiety, my fear of losing control and Bam! The symptom feedback loop began. My brain uploading new information, predicting danger of an “accident” and my emotional response as dangerous. So, more anxiety, more fear, more researching because my brain was screaming “what is happening to me”. PS. This was before google! 😊 I talked to people in other countries, different states, and advocacy groups. The research helped because it helped me find the culprit, but it also heightened the symptom feedback look, that fire alarm of safety became highly sensitive. Guess what, that led to more symptoms, go figure, my brain was on fire and so was my gut (hello gut brain connection) and so began the IBS journey. What I did, I controlled everything (another danger prediction added to the fire alarm prediction software), where I went, how many bathrooms, travel stops, and stopped eating because if I ate, I was immediately in the restroom, so embarrassing (more feedback for the fire alarm). I feared going to college every day, I went, but I cried the whole way, every day, hoping I’d make it to the first available bathroom. It was a rural area so there were not many options (more predictive coding). Many tests, many treatments and many invalidating comments from people and providers ( more fear predictions, fire alarm upgraded again…by now I had the top of the line fire alarm, yeah me for having the best right? No I wasn’t the envy of the block). Later, I had surgery to build me a new bladder….how fun! I only hoped that I could be “normal” again, go out without worry, engage my friends…many who left because they were tired of my limitations and my fears. I became fearful of the fear (more information to sensitize that fire alarm). I was depressed, alone and post-surgery in “bleeping” pain for over 6 months. Needless to say, my symptoms improved, but over time decided to show up in other ways (still have a top notch fire alarm): fibromyalgia, migraine, vertigo, feeling outside myself, fog and once I even couldn’t understand the words on a commercial- it came in my brain as if someone was speaking another language (Scary!). All this to say, I had my journey, well I’m still on that journey, teaching my nervous system it can stand down. I love that I have learned that I wasn’t crazy, that my nervous system is an over achiever like me (PS another piece of data to increase my the sensitivity of my fire alarm system). Today, I struggle but not nearly the way I had. I am aware, I know what to do and I’m not afraid the way I used to be (new information to reduce sensitivity of the fire alarm). Because we are constantly uploading new information to our brain which either reinforces old information (increased sensitivity) or provides corrective information that decreases nervous system sensitivity (lowers the volume on that fire alarm). New neural pathways begin to develop with this new informational upload and healing begins; we become less afraid and our nervous system stands down with each corrective experience.

 Today, after more than 13 years as a therapist and experience working in neurology, I find myself returning to the very struggles that shaped my early adulthood—but now through a much broader lens of healing, understanding, and hope to help others build new neural highways and break patterns.

I know firsthand how confusing, frustrating, and isolating chronic symptoms can be. I also know that recovery becomes possible when we stop fighting our bodies and begin understanding them differently. That experience is why I am so passionate about helping others discover that there is another path forward.