Reclaiming Visibility for Therapists: How Somatic Awareness Transforms the Fear of Being Seen
- Helen Malinowski
- Feb 25
- 5 min read
Many people—especially therapists—struggle with fear of visibility, whether it’s speaking up in meetings, sharing creative work, or stepping into leadership. For some, this hesitation is labeled as self-doubt or lack of confidence, but in reality, it’s often a deeply embodied experience shaped by early life experiences with criticism, rejection, or conditional acceptance.
As children, we learned the rules of visibility through interactions with caregivers, teachers, and authority figures. If being seen brought judgment, shame, or punishment, the nervous system adapted for protection. As therapists, these same protective patterns can follow us into our professional roles, showing up as fear of self-promotion, reluctance to share our voice, or discomfort around marketing and visibility.
Over time, this leads to deeply embedded patterns of fear, hesitation, or avoidance—not because we lack ability, but because the body remembers past experiences as if they are still happening.
The good news? Reclaiming your visibility as a therapist is possible. These patterns can be transformed—not by forcing confidence, but by engaging the body in the healing process. When we tend to our nervous systems, we create safety from within, making it easier to be seen and heard in our work and the world.
The Body Remembers: Visibility and the Freeze Response
Psychologist Peter Levine (2010) describes trauma as an experience that overwhelms the nervous system’s ability to process, leaving individuals in a state of fight, flight, or freeze.
The freeze response occurs when the body perceives threat without an option for escape. In childhood, if visibility led to negative consequences, the nervous system may have learned:
If I stay quiet, I am safe.
If I make myself small, I can avoid criticism.
If I don’t take up space, I won’t be rejected.
In adulthood, these protective responses persist unconsciously, manifesting in situations where we are called to be seen:
The tight throat before speaking.
The chest constriction before posting on social media.
The urge to disappear when receiving attention.
Freeze is not a mindset issue—it is a physiological state, a survival mechanism activated by past experiences. Understanding this can shift how we approach fear of visibility, helping us move from self-judgment to self-compassion.
Beyond Freeze: The Fawn Response and People-Pleasing as a Survival Strategy
While some people respond to visibility fears with freeze, others develop a fawn response—a survival strategy that prioritizes pleasing others to avoid conflict or criticism.
The fawn response originates in environments where children learned that appeasing authority figures or suppressing their needs kept them safe. In adulthood, this can look like:
Perfectionism—over-editing or over-preparing to avoid mistakes.
Downplaying achievements to avoid drawing attention.
Deferring to others’ opinions instead of expressing personal views.
People who struggle with fawn responses may stay invisible not because they want to, but because they fear the consequences of being fully seen.
Like freeze, fawning is not a conscious choice—it is a learned survival mechanism. The key to healing is to restore a sense of choice, allowing visibility to become a space of authenticity rather than a performance for approval.
Somatic Experiencing and Nervous System Healing
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-based approach developed by Peter Levine that helps release stored trauma responses by reconnecting with the body's sensations. Research suggests that fear of visibility is not just psychological but deeply embedded in the nervous system (Levine, 2010).
Somatic practices can help shift the nervous system from a fear state into safety, gradually expanding capacity for visibility.
Somatic Practices to Reclaim Visibility
1.Noticing the Body’s Response to Visibility Before stepping into a moment of visibility, pause and scan for physical cues:
Do you feel tightness in your throat?
A pulling back sensation in your chest?
A freeze-like stillness in your breath?
Simply noticing these responses without judgment begins to build awareness. These sensations are not signs of failure—they are invitations to tend to what has been long held in the body.
Releasing Freeze Through Small, Safe MovementFreeze is a physiological state, not a mental choice. To move out of it, the body needs gentle, titrated movement to signal safety.
Try:
Slow head turns to engage with the environment.
Hand-to-heart touch for grounding.
Standing and swaying gently to reconnect with movement.
These micro-movements help shift the nervous system from immobilization to engagement.
Renaming the Old RulesMany visibility fears are shaped by past narratives. Take a moment to ask:
What did I learn about being seen as a child?
Whose rules am I still following?
Write these down, then consider:
What new rules do I want to create for myself today?
What would it feel like to take up space in a way that feels safe and authentic?
Naming and updating these internalized beliefs helps separate past experiences from present reality.
Building Safety Through Breath and EmbodimentSince the fear of visibility often triggers autonomic nervous system activation, breathwork and body-based awareness exercises can help shift these states.
Diaphragmatic Breathing: Inhale deeply, allowing the belly to expand, then exhale slowly. This engages the parasympathetic nervous system, signaling safety.
Grounding with the Senses: Name five things you see, four things you hear, three things you feel, two things you smell, one thing you taste. This orients you to the present moment.
Expanding the Body's Sense of Space: Try standing with feet hip-width apart, rolling the shoulders back, and allowing the arms to extend slightly. Expanding physical posture can shift internal experiences of constraint.
Changing the Rules of Now
The fear of being seen is not a personal failing—it is a survival strategy that once made sense. But as we grow, we gain the power to change the rules—to renegotiate our relationship with visibility so that it becomes an act of self-trust rather than a source of fear. Now is the time for reclaiming your visibility through somatic approaches.
Healing happens in small, embodied steps:
Noticing the body’s patterns.
Softening around old narratives.
Creating new experiences of safety.
Visibility isn’t about forcing confidence—it’s about allowing presence. It is about stepping forward without abandoning ourselves in the process.
The past may have shaped our instincts, but it does not have to dictate our future.
Join the Conversation & Stay Connected
How has the fear of visibility shown up in your life or in the clients you work with? How have you supported yourself or others in moving through freeze or fawn responses? Share your reflections in the comments or with your community.
If this resonates with you, subscribe to be the first to know about upcoming trainings, workshops, and resources from our somatic-informed practice and Somatic Integration Institute. Our work is dedicated to expanding the capacity of both the individual and the collective, supporting the integration of trauma and stress in a time of deep uncertainty and fear.
As always, with hope and light,
Helen Malinowski, LICSW
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