Today we’d like to introduce you to Savannah Carmassi.
Hi Savannah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I think I’ve always had a passion for people, their stories, and how they’re expressed through art and creativity.
I enrolled in Cosmetology school right out of high school. For a lot of people back then, going to beauty school was more of a “back up plan”. For me, it was the thing I wanted to do since I was eight years old and cutting my Barbie’s hair! I loved experimenting with hair color, makeup, and sewing my own clothes (mostly by hand and usually so poorly that they barely survived a school day!) but I also loved listening to my friends and the grown ups talk about life.
Gratefully, I went on to build a successful 17-year career as a hairstylist, a profession that gratefully supported my very young family.
I had my first son at sixteen and my second at eighteen. Becoming a mother so young marked some of my earliest experiences with trauma and, though I didn’t have the language for it at the time, my first awareness of how deeply our experiences shape the nervous system.
Recently, I came across something I had scribbled on an old yellow legal pad while pregnant with my first son. I wrote about how lonely and unrelatable I felt, and how I sought comfort in watching old TLC shows like “Bringing Home Baby”. Even then, I struggled to relate to the families I saw represented on television…they were older, more established, and seemed so far from my own reality. Like parents of any age, I simply fumbled my way through motherhood as best I could. Today, both of my sons are grown, thankfully well-adjusted young men, and I look back on that young version of myself with a great deal of compassion.
Hairdressers, much like bartenders, have a reputation for being good listeners. “I’m sure you’ve heard it all,” is something I get often. About ten years into my career, I began to deeply appreciate this aspect of the profession. The bond that forms between a client and their stylist can be incredibly special!
I have walked through so much life alongside my clients: graduations, marriages, the birth of children, cancer treatments, devastating losses, divorces, new love…and they have witnessed many chapters of my life as well.
Although hairdressing and somatic work may seem like very different professions, I now see them as deeply connected. The salon chair became an unexpected classroom in human connection. I realized how natural it felt to hold space for others and how supported and understood my clients seemed to feel in my presence, not to mention the creative and imaginary piece that is so naturally embedded in both types of work.
Looking back, I was practicing many of the foundations of my work long before I had the language for it. My transition into trauma-informed and somatic work felt less like a career change and more like a natural evolution of what I had already been doing for years!
My hope is to help others discover that there is nothing inherently wrong with them. More often than not, their minds and bodies have adapted brilliantly to difficult circumstances. With support, curiosity, creativity and compassion, new ways of being become possible. I am so thankful to my own Somatic therapist and mentor for introducing me to this work and inspiring me to pursue a career in serving others in a whole new way.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Balancing a business and single parenthood was massively difficult and stressful.
My boys spent a lot of their after school time doing homework under our Esthetician’s spa bed while I finished up work.
It was long days and a lot of feeling like I wasn’t quite “making it” or doing things “right”. I now have two more beautiful children and during my trauma certification I was still nursing my daughter and had to sneak in bites of banana between sessions!
Today I still struggle with “imposter syndrome” and have to remind myself to practice the tools I share with my clients; like tracking body sensation when I’m feeling activated and trying to orient towards gratitude and what is “going right” in any situation. Believe me I practice what I teach and still very much lean on my own therapist for support!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Certified Integrative Trauma and Somatic Practitioner and the founder of Gamut Somatics. My work centers around helping people reconnect with themselves through a trauma-informed, body-based approach to healing.
Many of my clients are not new to therapy and have spent years working with brilliant, experienced, and compassionate mental health professionals. They’ve often done a lot of unpacking and have a good understanding of their “story.”
And sometimes, I think we can hit a wall with traditional talk therapy. It can start to feel like, “Okay, I understand how this experience from my childhood is influencing my life today… but how do I actually move forward? How do I feel more settled and safe in my body?”
Here’s where turning our attention inward can become really clarifying and helpful.
When I work with clients, they often have their eyes closed. This creates an opportunity to tune out some of the external distractions and tune into what is happening internally—to notice sensations, emotions, impulses, and subtle shifts within the body.
We may revisit stories they’ve explored many times before in other therapeutic settings, but adding this new layer of awareness can sometimes reveal pieces that were previously overlooked. It may open the door to greater compassion for a younger version of themselves or uncover what that part of them may have truly needed to hear, see, or experience.
Honestly, it’s one of the things that keeps me so passionate about this work. It is endlessly fascinating to see where someone’s body, imagination, memories, and “inner wisdom” can take a session. Again and again, I’m reminded that people often already hold so much of the insight and healing capacity within themselves…I simply have the privilege of helping create the space for it to emerge.
Our minds and bodies are incredibly intelligent and adapt in amazing ways to help us survive difficult experiences. One of my favorite parts of this work is helping people realize that there is nothing inherently wrong with them. Often, they are carrying strategies that once served an important purpose but may no longer be serving the person they want to become.
I think what sets me apart is the unique path that brought me here. After spending seventeen years as a hairstylist, I had the privilege of walking alongside people through some of the most meaningful and difficult moments of their lives. I learned how healing it can be to simply feel seen, heard, and accepted.
Above all, I strive to offer a space where people can reconnect with their most authentic selves. I hope to be a warm and non-judgmental place where clients can explore the parts of their stories that may feel too tender, complex, or difficult to share elsewhere.
I am deeply grateful for the trust my clients have placed in me. It is an incredible privilege!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I really think we are going to see more of a trend towards creative-intuitive approaches to mental health treatment.
Quite a few of my “Conventionally” trained therapist friends are beginning to incorporate more holistic and intuitive exercises into their practices, and finding great results.
Turns out, mental health practitioners are human too! And each of us have different skills, gifts and life experiences that influence how we care for our clients and patients.
It seems counterintuitive to be overly prescriptive or structured since the the nature of life is always changing and in flux.
I hope we continue moving toward a model that leaves room for collaboration, curiosity, and authenticity. One that allows both the practitioner and client to show up as real people and creates space for the “weird,” the creative, and even the countercultural.
Sometimes that’s where the most profound healing happens!
If we all follow the exact same conventional path, we may miss opportunities for deeper understanding, innovation, and a future of mental health care that is more integrated, inclusive, and reflective of the many different ways people heal and make meaning of their lives.
Pricing:
- $150- 60 minute session
- $225- 90 minute session
- $840- 6x 60 minute session package
- $1,440- 12x 60 minutes session package
- $75- Group events held bi-monthly
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gamutsomatics.com
