Hi, I'm Diana. I Know What It Feels Like To Be Stuck

Trauma therapist, somatic practitioner, and lifelong student of what actually helps people heal

Hey, I'm Diana!

I grew up in the corn and soybean fields of Central Illinois, moved to Chicago after college, and spent years working in business. In my early twenties I wasn't confident, had some difficult work experiences, and found myself having panic attacks. I didn't have the language for what was happening at the time — I just knew something needed to change.

That search for change led me down a long and winding path. Graduate school at the University of Alabama. A PhD in geology. Thirteen years teaching geology at the university level. An internship at a domestic violence shelter in Montgomery. And throughout all of it, a persistent fascination with one question: why can some people move forward and others stay stuck?

I discovered tapping in my years working in science and began offering it as a coach. People kept coming to me with bigger and more complex problems — trauma, dissociation, anxiety that had been there for decades. It became clear that I needed clinical training to meet them where they were. So I went back to school for mental health counseling. It has been one of the best decisions of my life.

Today I specialize in working with women who are carrying what talk therapy hasn't been able to reach — trauma stored in the body, anxiety wired into the nervous system, patterns that feel impossible to change no matter how much insight they've gained. I use somatic tapping, brainspotting, and hypnosis because these are the approaches that work at the level where the pain actually lives.

I am a moderately gifted polymath with a lot of interests. When I'm not in session you'll find me outside in nature, baking bread, reading about biology or physics, watching Star Trek, or spending time with dogs — who remain, in my view, the very definition of unconditional love. I relate deeply to Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, which is perhaps not surprising given the path my own life has taken.

If you've found your way here, you're probably on a journey of your own. I'd be honored to be part of it.

Diana Sturm, LPC
Diana Sturm, Licensed Professional Counselor

My Approach

What I Believe About Moving Forward

I approach every client from a fundamental conviction: people can get better. Anxiety can lift. Trauma can be processed and released. Depression doesn't have to be permanent. This isn't wishful thinking — it's what I've witnessed in my practice, often in people who had given up hope that change was possible.

I work somatically, meaning I work with the body and nervous system alongside the mind. Talk therapy is valuable, but many of the patterns that bring people to my office are stored below the level of conscious thought — in the body, in the brain stem, in nervous system responses that were formed long before language. Somatic tapping, brainspotting, and hypnosis allow us to access and process what words alone cannot reach.

My work is solution-focused and collaborative. I will not tell you what to do or who to be. But I will work alongside you with every tool I have to help you find your way forward.

Ready To Take The Next Step?

Reach out at [email protected] (preferred) or call 251-283-2112. I look forward to hearing from you.

My Credentials

Licensed Professional Counselor

Alabama #4426 | Florida TPMC 1055

Educational Specialist in Counseling (Ed.S.)

Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

PhD in Geology (yes, really)

Certified in the Emotional Freedom Technique, 2010 by Gary Craig

EFT Universe Certification, 2011

Guild of Energists Energy Trainer, 2019

Somatic Tapping Trainer, 2022

Brainspotting Training Phase 1 & 2, 2021

Hypnosis Training, Dr. Gary Elkins 2026

Star Behavioral Health Military Training, 2025

Provider for Wounded Warrior Project through Centerstone

Diana Sturm, LPC

Diana Sturm, Licensed Professional Counselor

Alabama #4426; Florida TPMC 1055

Preferred contact: [email protected]

251-283-2112 (please leave a message)

Sessions are by appointment only.

LGBTQ+ Ally All are Welcome.

Online Sessions with secure HIPAA- compliant video platforms

Mail: PO Box 850053, Mobile, AL 36685-0053

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© 2026. All Rights Reserved.

The Mobile, Alabama location for in-person sessions is near Old Shell and Hillcrest. The address will be provided to current clients.

Florida residents – only online sessions are available. There are no in-person sessions available for Florida residents.

Florida Department of Health https://flhealthsource.gov/telehealth