About the Founder
Dr. Reyna Aday, PhD
PhD · LMHC · LPC · NCC · CST · MCAP · CHt · CFMHE · RYT-500 · EMDRIA-Approved Consultant
Dr. Reyna Aday is a licensed mental health counselor and board-certified sex therapist who provides trauma therapy and EMDR for adults in Coral Gables, FL and via telehealth across Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Mexico. She is the founder and clinical director of SOMA Trauma Healing Center, an EMDRIA-Approved Consultant, and the originator of the Emotional Colonization and Emotional Sovereignty frameworks for understanding and recovering from narcissistic abuse.
Dr. Aday specializes in helping individuals navigate the lasting effects of trauma, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. As a healthcare executive and board-certified sex therapist with over a decade of leadership in behavioral health and integrative wellness, her practice reflects a commitment to whole-person healing.
She holds a Doctorate in Clinical Sexology from the International Institute of Clinical Sexology, an MS in Mental Health Counseling (Summa Cum Laude, 4.0 GPA) from Capella University, and a BS in Business Administration (Cum Laude) from American Intercontinental University.
Dr. Aday's work draws heavily from her original theoretical contributions to the field: Emotional Colonization, a framework for understanding systematic psychological subjugation in narcissistic abuse, and Decentering / Emotional Sovereignty, a neuroscience-informed path to reclaiming psychological autonomy.
Her additional research areas include Embodied Cognition in Trauma Work and the Perimenopause and Menopause-Trauma Intersection, investigating how hormonal transitions interact with unresolved trauma and therapeutic outcomes.
Dr. Aday sees clients in person at our Coral Gables office and virtually for residents of Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Mexico.
Original Theoretical Contributions
Frameworks That Redefine the Field
Emotional Colonization
A proprietary clinical framework for understanding the systematic psychological subjugation that occurs within narcissistic abuse dynamics. This model explains how an individual's internal emotional landscape becomes colonized by the abuser's needs, beliefs, and reality, and provides a roadmap for reclamation.
Decentering / Emotional Sovereignty
A neuroscience-informed clinical path toward the reclamation of full psychological autonomy. This framework operationalizes the process of decentering from an abuser's constructed reality and re-anchoring in one's own sovereign emotional and cognitive experience.
A Teaching Practice
Committed to the Development of the Trauma Field
SOMA operates a dedicated training and supervision pipeline for graduate trainees from NOVA Southeastern University, as well as providing qualified supervision for pre-licensed clinicians. Dr. Aday serves as clinical supervisor for approximately eight interns per year and is a guest lecturer at Florida International University.
She is also a Subject Matter Expert for the NBCC NCMHCE, contributing to the national standards that shape the next generation of mental health professionals. This institutional commitment to training reflects SOMA's belief that the advancement of trauma care is a collective responsibility.