a soft place to land

Welcome, You're not TOO MUCH Here!

If you’re here, you’re likely someone who feels deeply, understands your patterns, and still struggles when your nervous system takes over in real life.

Mental Nesting is a therapy-informed space offering nervous system support for sensitive, therapy-experienced women who don’t need more information, but do need grounded guidance for the moments between sessions.

I built this space from both my clinical work as a therapist and my own healing journey, so you have access to clear tools, honest language, and gentle structure without pressure to perform or fix yourself.

Here, your sensitivity isn’t something to overcome.
It’s something to support, regulate, and work with.

You don’t have to hold it all together here.

You just get to be human and supported at the same time.

As Featured in..

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NICE NEWS

MEET THE FOUNDER & CEO

i'm barb

I’m Barbara Guimarães – a licensed therapist (LMSW) and nervous-system nerd who’s personally lived through the “I know it but I can’t do it” cycle.

Everything I teach and build comes from two places: my clinical training and the real-life tools I had to develop when my own body kept shutting down faster than my mind could keep up. Especially between therapy sessions.

I’ve been where you are, and I’m proof that with the right support, it does get better.

Barbara Guimarães sitting in a sunlit field, wearing a soft cream blouse and looking gently at the camera; warm, serene portrait reflecting Mental Nesting’s gentle healing aesthetic.
Barbara Guimarães standing in natural light with eyes closed and hands on hips, wearing a white blouse; peaceful, grounded expression representing nervous system regulation and inner healing.

Licensed Master Social Worker specializing in trauma + nervous-system responses

Advanced training in Polyvagal Theory (nervous system-based care) and trauma-informed care

Developed the Homecoming framework for real-time nervous system support

Supported hundreds of women through high-intensity emotional patterns

get to know me more

Barbara Guimarães sitting on a bench outside a coffee shop, wearing a denim jacket and holding a cup of coffee while looking off to the side with a soft smile.

Some FUN facts about ME

English is my second language, but feelings are my first.

Born and raised in Brazil, I brought my whole heart with me to New York. My accent still slips out when I’m excited, and I see that as a strength. Some things are too big to translate, like how we hold space for each other’s stories or how healing lives in the body, not just in words, and that belief shapes how I listen, work, and support people who feel deeply.

I probably have 47 tabs open RIGHT NOW!

As a neurodivergent girlie and a recovering perfectionist streak, I’ve learned to embrace my version of organized chaos. Those tabs are usually research rabbit holes about nervous system regulation, healing tools, cozy productivity ideas, and yes, probably a few forgotten online shopping carts. It’s just my brain doing what it does best: connecting patterns and gathering support tools.

I'm low-key a techie (and proud of it)

While most people experience tech as cold or overwhelming, I use it to make healing more accessible and supportive. I love building systems that feel grounding instead of draining, using technology to create more ease, nervous system safety, and real human connection. For me, tech is never the point, it’s simply a way to make support fit real life.

a clearer way to understand your healing

what guides the work i do

My work is rooted in therapy-informed nervous system support, blending clinical training, lived experience, and nervous system science to help people navigate real-life emotional overwhelm. I don’t offer vague advice or one-size-fits-all coping strategies. I help you understand your emotional patterns, stay regulated when your nervous system takes over, and build self-trust that actually holds under pressure. Everything inside Mental Nesting is guided by these principles.


Nervous-system support you can use in the moment.

Your body often reacts before your mind can catch up, which is why I focus on simple, science-backed nervous system tools you can use in real time. This work supports emotional regulation during stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, so you’re not left trying to recover hours later.

Clarity that cuts through overwhelm.

Most people don’t need more information. They need clear language for what’s actually happening in their nervous system. I help you name patterns without shame or self-blame, creating clarity that feels grounding instead of confusing or overwhelming.

Healing that doesn’t require you to be a different person.

I don’t teach you to fix your sensitivity. I show you how to work with your nervous system instead of against it. Your emotional depth is not the problem. The lack of support around it has been, and this work is about building safety, regulation, and self-trust without asking you to perform, harden, or become someone else.

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