If you didn’t think or talk your way into your current struggle, it is possible you are not going to be able to think or talk your way out of it. As a somatic therapist, my role is to walk with you as you get in touch with the root causes of what is hurting, connecting with the stories of experience held in your body, prioritizing working with your body sensations, nervous system state, and emotions as the path to recovery and connection. Our bodies hold the narrative of what has happened to us from an individual to a cultural level. When events occur that overwhelm our body’s ability to process and cope, we can get stuck in patterns that may cause harm to ourselves or to others. Our difficult life experiences, especially those from early developmental years, can impact our functioning on a mental, emotional, relational, creative, and physical level. Many of us don’t realize that the state of our nervous system determines the story we tell ourselves, and addressing our internal state has a downstream effect on the ways we think, feel, and behave. If you feel resonance with the idea of getting out of your mind and into your body to reconnect with the roots of your functioning and the innate healing capacity of your system, we may be a good match to walk together along the path to healing.

My approach to therapy is centered on the idea that you are the expert in the room on your experience. Somatic therapy includes three primary phases, first of which is establishing safety. We will work to establish a safe, non-judgmental therapeutic relationship while learning to create stability and safety within your body and in your external environment. This might look like using tools like breathwork, grounding, boundaries, or gently building tolerance for feeling your feelings as they arise. We will then follow the pace set by your body to process any traumatic material, allowing you to move through the imprint of difficult events of the past. The third phase is integrating your new experiences and lessons learned, writing a new story for yourself based on your inner truth, trust in yourself, and your deepest values.

Somatic work is a great fit not only for folks with a history of trauma, but also for those who struggle to set boundaries, who identify as “people pleasers”, have difficulties regulating or connecting with their emotions, overthinkers, overachievers, perfectionists, those who struggle with self-esteem or chronic shame, neurodiverse individuals, people exploring their identity or purpose in the world, and folks looking to explore or improve their experiences of sexual intimacy. Your body holds the keys to a sense of self-compassion, acceptance, transformation, ease, and flow in your life. If you are someone who can analyze and articulate yourself but who struggles to see lasting change, somatic therapy is likely to be a helpful path for you.

I am a trauma-focused, relational, mind-body therapist utilizing Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Therapy, Interpersonal Process Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and I also integrate Polyvagal Theory, Nonviolent Communication, and Interpersonal Neurobiology into my work. I work to center a holistic, neurodiversity-affirming, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, sex-positive, fat-positive lens, and looking at how the identities you hold have impacted your functioning is an essential part of the therapeutic process. Your body and your nervous system have always been fighting for you, trying to protect you, and my goal as your therapist is to help you feel safe enough to reconnect with yourself and the people around you using strategies that come from love and ease, rather than from fear and constriction.

“Organicity - The inner wisdom of the individual is self-directing, self- correcting, and helps us unfold toward wholeness.” – Ron Kurtz

Experience

I have previous experience working with adults in community mental health, private practice, residential hospitalization, and outpatient settings. I’ve worked with folks with a history of trauma, ADHD, autism, personality disorders, depression, anxiety, gender dysphoria, dissociative disorders, sexual concerns, and substance use disorders. I’ve also completed additional training in breathwork, meditation, decolonizing nonviolent communication, and psychedelic harm reduction and integration.

Licensure

I am a postdoctoral resident at Balanced Awakening. I have several years of clinical experience, yet require additional supervised practice before being eligible for licensure in the state of Illinois. I am supervised by Dr. Hannah Yang outside of appointment times.