Somatic Trauma & Anxiety Therapists in Hoover, AL
EMDR, Brainspotting & Depth Therapy Minutes from Birmingham and Vestavia Hills
When talk therapy hasn’t worked, it’s usually because the problem isn’t in your thoughts. Trauma, panic and burnout live in the nervous system, and that is where we treat them. Taproot Therapy Collective is a group practice of licensed therapists trained in somatic therapy, EMDR, Brainspotting, parts work, Lifespan Integration and Jungian depth therapy, with QEEG brain mapping when you want objective data on how your brain is actually working.
Everyone here works somatically and experientially to get to the root of the trauma instead of managing symptoms, but each therapist brings a different specialty: complex PTSD, perinatal mental health, chronic illness and pain, religious trauma, ADHD and autism, physician and executive burnout, children and teens. Our intake coordinator matches you with the right clinician, not the next open slot. Meet our therapists.
Our office is off I-65 at the Riverchase exit, about ten minutes from Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Pelham, serving the greater Birmingham area in person, with secure teletherapy anywhere in Alabama on the same sliding scale. We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama for most clinicians. Book online or call (205) 598-6471 for a free 15-minute intake call.
Insurance & Fees
We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama for most of our clinicians. Private-pay and out-of-network sessions are $250, with an income-based sliding scale for clients with reduced income, in the office or by teletherapy anywhere in Alabama.
Using out-of-network benefits? We send a monthly superbill with the diagnostic and procedure codes your insurer needs, so you can file for reimbursement yourself.
Not sure what your plan covers or which therapist fits? Your first call is a free 15-minute conversation with our intake coordinator.
Our Hoover Office
Taproot Therapy Collective
2025 Shady Crest Drive, Suite 203
Hoover, AL 35216
(205) 598-6471
Take I-65 to the Riverchase exit and turn toward Highway 31. We’re on the hill next to Full Moon BBQ, with free parking at the door. About 15 minutes from downtown Birmingham and UAB, ten from Vestavia Hills, Homewood and Mountain Brook, and a straight shot up I-65 from Pelham. Full directions ›
Hours
Monday–Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to talk about my trauma in detail?
No. EMDR, Brainspotting and somatic therapy process trauma with very little narration. You don't have to retell the story to reprocess it, and nothing is worked on before you're ready.
How long does this take?
It depends on what you're carrying. Single-incident trauma and panic often shift within a handful of sessions. Complex or developmental trauma is slower work, usually months rather than weeks, and we tell you which you're looking at after the first session.
Can EMDR and Brainspotting be done over video?
Yes. Both work well over secure video and most of our teletherapy clients use them. QEEG brain mapping, neurofeedback and Emotional Transformation Therapy require an office visit in Hoover.
What if I've already done years of therapy?
That's most of our clients. If you understand your history but your body still reacts as if it's happening, the missing piece is usually somatic, not cognitive. Bring what you've learned; we build on it rather than starting over.
Meet Our Therapists
Every therapist at Taproot works somatically and experientially. Nobody here will spend a year asking how that makes you feel; we go into the nervous system, the body and the story underneath it. What differs is what each clinician has lived, studied and trained in, and that's what the intake call is for.
Joel Blackstock, LICSW-S, our clinical director, studied comparative religion before social work and pairs Jungian and existential depth therapy with EMDR, Brainspotting and Emotional Transformation Therapy for complex trauma and religious deconstruction. Marie Danner, LICSW-S, our lead clinician, takes the clients who have already been through years of therapy without relief, using Lifespan Integration and Brainspotting for severe PTSD and traumatic grief. Robin Taylor, LICSW-S, a Tuscaloosa native, specializes in religious and interpersonal trauma, the freeze response and LGBTQ+ affirming care, much of it by teletherapy to rural Alabama. Alice Hawley, LPC, LMFT works with dissociative disorders, spiritual crisis and religious abuse through shadow work, EMDR and Brainspotting.
Dr. Haley Beech, PhD, LMSW, a published maternal-health researcher and neurodivergent herself, treats pregnancy, postpartum and birth trauma and is our specialist for late-diagnosed ADHD and autism in women. Pamela Hayes, LMSW lives with chronic illness and treats chronic pain, POTS, Ehlers-Danlos, fibromyalgia and Pure OCD with Pain Reprocessing Therapy, IFS and Somatic Experiencing. Brittany Gray, LPC-S, a former Vet Center director, treats military sexual trauma, brain injury, grief and healthcare burnout. Kristi Wood, LICSW brings polyvagal therapy and Brainspotting to attachment wounds, addiction recovery and LGBTQ+ and non-monogamous clients. Becky Milstead, LPC has spent twenty years with children, teens and the families around them. On the neuroscience side, Dr. Jason Mishalanie, PhD, BCN, a licensed psychologist with more than two decades in neurotherapy, runs our QEEG brain mapping and neurofeedback for ADHD, autism and brain injury, with Diana Pizarro, an electrical engineer out of UAB's epilepsy research lab, analyzing every map.
Meet Our Therapists
Everyone at Taproot works somatically and experientially; what differs is who each therapist is built for. Marie Danner, LICSW-S: severe PTSD and traumatic grief when years of therapy haven't helped. Joel Blackstock, LICSW-S: complex trauma, religious deconstruction and Jungian depth work. Robin Taylor, LICSW-S: religious trauma and LGBTQ+ affirming somatic therapy, in person or by video to rural Alabama. Dr. Haley Beech, LMSW: postpartum, birth trauma and late-diagnosed ADHD or autism in women. Pamela Hayes, LMSW: chronic pain, POTS and Pure OCD, from lived experience. Brittany Gray, LPC-S: military sexual trauma, brain injury and healthcare burnout. Kristi Wood, LICSW: addiction recovery, attachment and LGBTQ+ and non-monogamous clients. Alice Hawley, LPC, LMFT: dissociation, spiritual crisis and relationships. Becky Milstead, LPC: children, teens and their families. Full bios and credentials ›
“Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going inside ourselves.”
—Bessel A. van der Kolk,
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma