Are We A Match?
My professional offering sits at the intersection of somatic practice, trauma-informed nervous system regulation, developmental psychology, and spiritual formation, while remaining distinct from licensed psychotherapy.
My Approach is Client Led
My primary orientation is somatic and client-led. Unlike psychologists who are licensed in mental health, I am not primarily diagnosing, treating mental disorders, or applying a predetermined therapeutic agenda. Instead, I am tracking with you your experience in the present moment and following what emerges organically. Your nervous system’s capacity, embodied experience, and inner wisdom largely guide the process.
I Support Nervous System Regulation and Resilience
Drawing from my training as a massage therapist, bodyworker, and SEP, I support you in developing greater capacity for self-regulation and co-regulation. This includes working with stress activation, overwhelm, the residue of shock or developmental trauma, autonomic nervous system patterns, and increasing your ability to stay connected to yourself during challenging experiences.
I Work with Developmental and Attachment Wounds
Through my NARM training and background in somatic depth psychology, I’m here to explore with you how early relational experiences and attachment adaptations continue to shape your current life. Rather than focusing only on reducing pain in general, I help you understand the strategies you developed for survival and how those strategies may now interfere with authenticity, connection, agency, or fulfillment.
I Facilitate Deeper Processes of Individuation and Self-Actualization
Beyond stabilization and trauma healing, I am interested in the larger developmental question: “Who am I beneath my adaptations?” My work supports you in becoming more fully yourself, uncovering what constrains your authentic expression, and moving toward a more integrated and meaningful life.
I Include the Spiritual Dimension When Relevant
As a certified spiritual director, I recognize that healing is not only psychological and physiological but can also involve meaning, purpose, calling, relationship with the sacred, and existential questions. I can accompany you through these dimensions without imposing a particular spiritual framework.
Touch Is Available but Not Required
One distinctive feature of my practice is that touch can be incorporated intentionally when it is wanted and serves your process process. This is not massage therapy but rather supportive, co-regulating, and somatically-attuned touch. When touch is not desired or indicated, the work can look much more like a seated, relational, exploratory conversation.
The Relationship Itself is an Essential Healing Resource
Whether through conversation, somatic tracking, co-regulation, touch, or spiritual inquiry, the client-practitioner relationship is a place where you can experience yourself, notice patterns, experiment with new ways of being, and deepen connection to your authentic self.
What I’ve Been Up to Lately
This could be the most boring blog entry ever. Why? Because you’re about to read about the continuing education courses I took last year. Boh-ring. But I’m going to do it anyway. Why? For two reasons: 1) if you’re thinking about scheduling a session with me, this could help you decide if we’re a fit. 2) it’s important that my clients know my level of commitment to my profession. As I’ve shared before, there is no licensure tract to become a somatic therapist. Only licensed professions require continuing education credits, but I complete them anyway. This is in part because I’m a naturally curious human and love learning. More importantly, it’s to stay current in my field and to keep my skillset fresh and relevant. Here we go…
Learn MoreWhat is Spiritual Direction?
When I first heard the term “spiritual direction”, I felt put off. It sounds like agreeing to a relationship in which someone tells you what to do with your spirituality. Isn’t there enough of that in the world? And haven’t such systems faltered under the weight of hierarchical power structures? Even in their absence we find far too many examples of individuals gone rogue, posing as teachers, gurus or worse. No thanks. That’s why, much to my surprise, I am currently enrolled in a Spiritual Direction program. Halfway through, in fact. How did this happen? It was a convergence of three different paths. Let me explain.
What it is Not
Some brief clarification: Most spiritual directors share my disdain for that term. “It’s more like ‘spiritual companioning’”, I’ve heard them say. What this means (in its ideal form) is a professional who holds space for spiritual questing, suffering, loss and growth without an agenda, script or dogmatic protocol. It is not confession, repentance, supervision, or sermonizing. Now that sounds more like it. So how does that apply to my professional work at Salt City Bodyworks?
Not All Suffering Comes from Trauma
First, I’m increasingly aware that not all suffering comes from unresolved trauma. This isn’t news. In recent years, however, I have seen it more and “more in my private practice. Many of my clients suffer loss, isolation, betrayal or sudden growth and there isn’t anything to be “done” about it. In other words, the pain inherent in these experiences is simply because they are painful. What makes the suffering bearable (or even meaningful) is when it’s presenced by another individual. Historically, clergy have filled that role. But in an ever more secular world, people turn to professionals for this support. Spiritual directors are chief among them.
Post Traumatic Growth
Second, a good portion of my clients are in the “post traumatic growth” stage of their trauma healing. What is that? Post traumatic growth is “positive psychological changes experienced as a result of the struggle with trauma or highly challenging situations”. These changes aren’t just psychological—they are social, physiological and spiritual, too. With training in spiritual direction, I can offer better support where spiritual growth is concerned.
Limitations of a Purely Somatic Approach
Finally, I recently experienced some traumatic events for which somatic support was only partially helpful. Admitting this brought me to an uncomfortable edge for obvious reasons. Part of that realization included a sense that returning to my spiritual roots would bring additional healing. But with a personal history marked by religious trauma, this would be no small undertaking. Spiritual direction training is in part for professional reasons, to be sure. It is also clear that I am hoping for personal benefit as well. With another year left in my training, I await to see the opportunities it brings to both.
Is Spiritual Support for Everyone?
What about atheist or agnostic clients? Is spiritual direction optional in somatic trauma healing? Is it non-denominational? Salt City Bodyworks offers services to people along a broad spectrum of worldviews and spiritual orientation. Spiritual support and exploration are available for those clients who choose it. To learn more about which approach is right for you, click here to schedule a consultation
How I Got Into Somatics
Most “helping professionals” come into their careers by searching for answers to their own issues. I’m no exception. I grew up in a religious culture that put me at odds with my body. So when I had my first massage, a new world opened to me. I connected to my physical self through touch in a way that felt safe, healthy, and nourishing. From then on I was hooked. I enrolled in massage therapy school but through life’s twists and turns, I didn’t actually get licensed for ten more years.
Massage Therapy
As a massage therapist, it wasn’t long before I became aware of the different kinds of pain my clients experienced in their bodies. Some of it was straight forward. I could link it to things like repetitive use, postural misalignment or injury rehabilitation. Quite often, however, my clients had physical pain with no apparent cause. Moreover, they reported feeling the pain in their muscles yet it remained elusive to pinpoint. I believed their experiences were real, so then where was this pain coming from?
I didn’t know it then, but that question ultimately led me into the field of somatic (or “body”) psychology. Its focus is on how psychological, emotional or spiritual experience manifests in the physical body. A common example that showed up on my massage table were tight shoulders from chronic stress.
Somatic Psychology
I started Pacifica Graduate Institute’s graduate program in somatic psychology in the fall of 2012. I chose this unique program because I wouldn’t come out on the other side as a licensed mental health care professional. This was perfect for me. I didn’t want to become a psychotherapist—I wanted to be a somatic practitioner. That meant I could keep the emphasis of my work on the body, not the mind. I knew I was taking a chance because (as is true today) there is no licensure tract to become a somatic therapist. There would be no guaranteed work placement come graduation. I followed my heart anyway and graduated in 2014.
To make a long story short, it was during my studies that I figured out the most likely source of my massage clients’ pain: accumulated stress and unresolved trauma. Both cause dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system. Dysregulation generates all sorts of physical issues—chronic muscle tension being just one.
Somatic Trauma Healing
After grad school, I decided to get more specific training in somatic trauma healing. In 2017 I became a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and in 2019, a professional in the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM). My private practice slowly grew from offering only massage therapy to what I do today: somatic trauma healing. To learn more or to find out if a somatic approach is right for you, click here to schedule a consultation.
Creating Lasting Change: Part Two
4 Ways to Create and Examine Lasting Change, Continued.
Certain types of change cannot be efforted
As New Year’s Day draws closer, I’m sitting down again to consider more aspects of creating personal change. In the post Creating Lasting Change: Part One, I explored how lasting change happens incrementally. It’s also more likely to occur when motivated by authentic desire as opposed to an external agenda.
Part Two looks more closely at the difference between change that relies on effort and the kind that doesn’t . Knowing the difference can spare you from unnecessary shame or disappointment if your goals meet with frustration.
Task-oriented goals are based in a step-by step effort.
Consider the nature of a task-oriented New Year’s goal. These include taking guitar lessons, organizing the garage, or planning a trip to Paris. Achieving this kind of goal depends on completing a series of tasks that lead to a final outcome. Take organizing the garage, for example. You might need to schedule time to do it, purge unwanted items or purchase shelves to store what’s left. I’m not saying it’s necessarily easy. My point is that achieving this kind of goal is a matter of completing steps that can be efforted.
Personal transformation cannot be efforted.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a New Year’s resolution focused on personal transformation. This might include letting go of a grudge, being less judgmental or loving with an open heart. Contrary to some self-help philosophies, these kinds of changes do not come about from positive thinking, daily affirmations or exerting will power. These may support the change but when it comes to the actual shift, they don’t play an active part. “Emotional, spiritual and physiological processes are not subject to human will.” This powerful statement came from NARM founder Dr. Larry Heller at a symposium in Berkeley, CA I attended this past summer that explored the interplay of psychology and spirituality.
Approaching change from a NARM perspective assumes that these internal states are possible, of course, but they may be inaccessible due to a variety of reasons. These include environmental factors, the biorhythms of our timing, misinformation or a diminished awareness around the issue to begin with. Furthermore, because of the somatic nature of each of the processes Dr. Heller named, efforting is the wrong tool for the job. The part of the brain that’s responsible for rational, controlled action has no direct influence over the part that runs the autonomic functions of the body (including emotional experience). When we consider the variety of complex contributing factors of our inner experience, it makes sense that any simple approach will fall short.
Then why try to make lasting changes?
When you understand the complexity of these contributing factors you can avoid unnecessary self-blame or discouragement that might show up if you’re not able to effort your way into states like forgiveness, joy or compassion. It doesn’t mean it’s pointless to desire them. It means it’s helpful to be clear on what parts of those experiences you have influence on or not. This kind of clarity comes from patience, non-judgment and acknowledging you have the right to change or not (and that this choice matters).
NARM is a powerful clinical model that supports these kinds of complex processes, but this isn’t a plug for NARM. The kind of support that facilitates personal transformation comes from a variety of sources like a trusted spiritual leader, a true friend, communication with the divine or from your own intuition.
When you know the difference between short term, task-oriented goals and the delicate, nuanced path to inner transformation you can approach the new year from a wiser perspective when it comes to personal growth.
Learn MoreCreating Lasting Change: Part One
4 Ways to Create and Examine Lasting Change
Dietary supplements, self-help books promising lasting change, gym memberships, storage containers… the list could go on and on. These products grab for our attention each January and with good reason. If it isn’t the excess of the holidays that creates a momentum toward change, then it’s the turn of the calendar to a new year that prompts you to consider areas of your life that could stand a bit of improvement. I’m not opposed to taking personal inventory, setting goals, or cultivating personal growth. After all, the hallmark of my professional field is change and transformation. However, I do think it’s worth pausing to reflect on the dynamics and motivation for change. Doing so helps you proceed in a more deliberate and therefore satisfying fashion. In making change, here are some thoughts on what to watch for and consider.
Lasting change happens incrementally and often at a subtle level.
One of the critical facets of the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM)—the modality I use when working with developmental trauma—is to reflect back to my clients when change is happening. For example, a client may share an exchange with a friend in which they’ve set and held a good boundary. We pause to reflect on how that’s different from a month ago, six months ago, a year ago, etc. We do so to allow the difference to marinate at an emotional, somatic and intellectual level. Why take the time? The reality is that when it comes to our own process, we may be too deep in the forest to see the trees. In other words, we’re not likely to notice subtle shifts when they occur. Add to that the common cultural expectation for instant or dramatic gratification and we’re even less likely to register the difference as change.
Just as we use tools like a scale or a ruler to measure small fluctuations, objective observations from a therapist, friends or family can help us internalize the sense that we’re achieving what it is we say we want.
When a desire for change is genuinely our own, motivation goes up and the likelihood of success improves.
Consider one of the goals you may have for 2020 and then look at what’s driving the desire. The more honest you can be, the better. Is it social trends? Parental expectations? Job demands? If so, the motivation is coming from an external agenda. You’re probably familiar with the somatic characteristics of these kinds of pressures. They may show up as a headache, a weight in the stomach or tightness in the shoulders. If you give them some mindful attention, you may even notice the sensations carry a “rule” you learned growing up. Some examples are “authority knows best”, “trusting your instincts is bad” or “beauty guarantees acceptance.” To make it more complicated, these introjects (ideas and attitudes unconsciously adopted from others) may have been at work for so long, you might simply take them for truth and not see them for what they are—outgrown identifications subject to change.
The bottom line is that outside agendas aren’t well received by our authentic Self and tend to garnish some resistance. On the other hand, if our motivation stems from an inner-sanctioned source—a place within us we know we can trust—then the outlook for lasting change is better.