The Soft Body of Your Calling
"The healing relationship has always been a crucible for mutual transformation. The bare willingness of human beings to encounter one another in the midst of our weaknesses and strengths is the quintessential transformative agent. Mindfulness is not simply a technique. It is an act of love. Our willingness to see, to hold ourselves closely just as we are, while being this way with another, is a revealing and deeply healing expression of care. An embodiment of compassion. Compassion begins at home, with ourselves. Whether offering or seeking help, we are all wounded and we are all whole. For the most part, we have lost sight of this interdependent actuality. Our willingness to recognize and hold such vision is an unfolding of intimacy and healing."
Saki Santorelli
My Stance
Change, although inevitable, can be difficult and feel ruthless especially when life takes a turn you don't expect. We can start feeling lost, alone and out of touch with ourselves and those around us. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, entrepreneurs, healthcare workers, students, parents, and store clerks - we will all experience stress on different levels. Stress does not play favorites. Life happens to all of us! Each of us are vulnerable to the pain, grief and the uncertainty of the human condition. In this way, I believe we can each benefit from a safe and non-judgmental space that allows us to put our guard down and encourages us to find our own pace, be flexible and rest more fully into the process of simply being ourselves and listening to our own wounds. In this honesty and increased self-awareness, we can let go to rediscover our full potential, reignite the creative spark that drives passion and resilience and learn to create a rich and meaningful life for ourselves and our communities.
Mission
I believe in a person’s natural ability to transform and heal given the proper environment where they can feel safe to explore what's going on in their internal and external world. My stance as a therapist is compassionate and respectful, honoring each client's unique strengths and resources to move forward in a process toward positive change and growth. I will come along side of you wherever you are to be a safe place where you can freely process what you are going through. I consider therapy to be a collaborative effort and flexibly meet my clients on their unique path to help them find their own meaning and take ownership of their story and their personal journey. Together we can explore the underlying roots of your issue(s) which will enable us to identify what is needed for healing and growth! Counseling becomes a creative process and you are the artist, author and best expert of your life and healing process.
My Approach
My psychological services are aimed to promote a sense of empowerment and agency by encouraging the feeling of being in charge of your life: knowing where you stand, knowing that you have a say in what happens to you and knowing that you have some ability to shape your circumstances.
My education and training have provided me with the tools to support my client's revitalization toward wholeness (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) by helping the person come into contact with their own sense of wisdom and power. By restoring our natural capacity for balance and rhythm, we can develop a comfortable connection with our inner world and can begin to trust ourselves and our own gut feelings. Standing in our own sovereignty we can learn to come back into relationship and connection with our families and communities while bringing more opportunities for pleasure, curiosity, whole-heartedness and a sense of play and lightness in life.
Training
My approach is informed by current research and training in trauma, attachment theory, the contextual and behavioral sciences, neuroscience, and polyvagal theory. I have received 216 hours of post-graduate training in body-oriented trauma resolution therapy and I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and have received the SEP certificate. (https://traumahealing.org)
Through my work in Somatic Experiencing I have been learning practical and effective skills that help resolve trauma without re-traumatization. These gentle, powerful interventions will catalyze meaningful growth, inspiration and empowerment by restoring resilience and encouraging a greater capacity to be present and enjoy life.