Glimmer & Bloom
Somatic Coaching for Women

How Did I Get Here?

I’m Allie Treen - a Somatic Coach supporting women with trauma-informed, body-based healing so they can move from surviving to thriving.

I grew up in California, surrounded by redwoods. As a child, I was curious, creative, and full of ideas. But in a home shaped by narcissistic abuse, I learned that my natural vulnerability wasn’t safe. I became the capable one; calm, logical, and endlessly reliable. I learned to fix, to support, to understand, but not to feel. Over time, I became divorced from my own development. I was growing in competence, but not in connection; a pattern common in women recovering from narcissistic abuse and chronic self-abandonment. I always knew who I was; intelligent, intuitive, and driven, but I didn’t feel worthy, loved, or truly known.

My search for meaning led me to study Psychology, then work in counselling and social work. I saw how early patterns of survival can shape a woman’s entire life; especially when chronic stress or coercive control has shaped their nervous system. It helped me see that my trauma wasn’t my fault, but I still couldn’t feel the freedom in that truth. And I still didn’t feel safe in my own skin.

In 2015, I moved to Wales to pursue a Master’s in Songwriting, following a creative pull I’d ignored for years. That move gave me distance, perspective, and a glimmer of that childlike freedom and joy I thought I’d lost. I also met my husband that year, and it forced me to open up and realize just how thick my walls still were.

Even with ongoing therapy and self-work, I often felt like I was managing life rather than living it. I was anxious, overthinking, and stuck in survival mode. I felt like a battery on 1%, and I was unwilling to continue to live that way.

Discovering somatic work was the missing piece for me; a trauma-informed, nervous-system-based approach that finally helped me live in my body again. It gave me space to pause, breathe, and rebuild trust with myself. I realised all the self care in the world could only go so far, because I didn’t truly love myself. I learned to give myself grace, to welcome every part of me, and to listen when my body spoke. I didn’t need to change, just to stop resisting who I already was.

Honestly, it was hard. I didn’t want to do it at all; I thought it was stupid, and it felt far too vulnerable. But it was worth it. That work is a big part of why I live with such freedom and authenticity today, and why I now see emotion and sensitivity as strengths that help guide me, not things to be feared, fixed, or shoved down. 

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I am not “fixed”, I still have a long journey ahead of me, as we all do. But, I’m grateful to be where I am, so much so that I now practice somatic coaching for women who are ready to make the same leap I did. My work helps women to reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems, and gently shift the patterns of self-abandonment that often develop in narcissistic or coercive relationships. 

You deserve a life that feels grounded, calm, and truly your own. You are not the problem. Your struggles are not too much to face. You are worth knowing. There is a path to healing that’s meant for you, and, like it or not, you are worthy of it.

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If you’d like to learn more about working together, you can explore somatic coaching here.