Individual Therapy
In therapy, we can explore the entrenched patterns that have made it difficult for you to recognize and express the emotions and needs that have felt too overwhelming to explore and manage by yourself.
Through a gentle approach that involves mind and body, I will support you in slowing down in order to pay attention to your emotions and check in with how your nervous system is responding. This practice of learning how to stay present with both the pleasant and unpleasant emotions and sensations will help you develop the confidence of knowing that you can handle the big sensations connected with your emotional experiences. You’ll find that your capacity to feel joy, spontaneity, and creative freedom will expand as anger, grief, and healthy aggression are progressively recognized and integrated.
Cultivating a dual awareness of the past and present—while staying anchored in the physical experience of the present moment—can help you move away from reactionary responses and towards agency and choice. When we stop burying pain and discomfort, we free ourselves to pursue a life that isn’t about avoiding suffering, but rather about seeking fulfillment and connection, awakening creativity, and expanding our capacity to love and be loved.
Art Therapy
In addition to talk therapy, I offer art therapy as a way of deepening connection to self. Art therapy allows for your feelings to be seen visually and felt tangibly through the creation of images and objects. As you make art in a session, you may call forth memories, emotions, and thoughts that were previously unspoken or pushed away. Together, we can explore the feelings and insights that emerge as you tap into your creative wisdom and form new meanings.
Somatic Experiencing®
How does Somatic Experiencing® Work?
Somatic Experiencing® (SE) understands that while trauma is predominately experienced, stored, and relived through the body, the body also possesses an innate wisdom and ability to counter trauma’s effects in order to restore balance and well-being. SE helps create the conditions and provides support for the body’s natural healing processes to unfold.
In SE sessions, we can explore the following to help with trauma resolution:
- Resourcing – Identify positive and calming memories of a place, person, or something you love to serve as your resource. As your capacity to stay present with a resource increases, so does your capacity to be with difficult emotions or content.
- Titration – Gradually explore difficult memories, sensations, or emotions at a pace that feels safe for you. New neural pathways form as you practice staying embodied during difficult memories.
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Pendulation – Gently develop the capacity to have a fluid experience of going between difficult memories to resources that are soothing and settling. This process supports the nervous system’s capacity to integrate highly charged material.
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Tracking Sensation – Pay attention to bodily sensations as a way to help you regulate difficult emotions and notice where there are pleasant experiences in the body.
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Boundary Setting – You can use sensation tracking to help your mind and body attune to your needs, values, and your embodied “yes” and embodied “no”.
I have completed up to Intermediate III training in Somatic Experiencing® and am on track to become a Somatic Experiencing® practitioner by Spring of 2025.
You can learn more about SE here.