therapy is a guide back home to yourself.
I believe that you have the inherent wisdom and ability to heal already within you. As humans, we are all striving toward growth, belonging, and love in our own ways. But too often, we get lost in perfectionism, people-pleasing, or self-destruction in our attempts to belong and survive. Somatic therapy can support us in learning to deeply listen to our bodies and our nervous systems and begin to work with—instead of against—ourselves.
I have sat in the client chair for many years and have walked through the fire of my own struggles with my body, my queerness, and my sense of belonging in the world. These lived experiences—and my own extensive therapeutic work as a client—taught me the most about therapy and made me the therapist I am today.
My Approach
Relational and attachment-based
Humans heal and grow in relationship. Research shows over and over again that the strength of the therapeutic relationship is the most profound catalyst for change. Being a relationally based therapist means that I deeply value the connection between therapist and client and, as your therapist, I will often check in on our relationship and process it with you as needed.
My orientation as a therapist is also rooted in the understanding that our earliest relationships with our caregivers not only shape how we relate to others as adults but also how we understand and navigate the world. Therefore, we will likely explore how your early experiences of attachment and (dis)connections still may be influencing you today.
Somatic and body-centered
As a somatically trained therapist and dance/movement therapist, I believe the body is the most useful and important tool in therapy. I look for the story that your body may be telling alongside your words. I may guide you (with your permission) to explore different movements or sense into different parts of the body in order to begin connecting to the story your body is holding. This may include addressing and releasing trauma in the body as well as learning to create safety and grounding through body-based practices.
Through befriending and working with our bodies in therapy, we can process more holistically, which means that healing is more thoroughly integrated.
Trauma and social justice-oriented
Being a therapist focused on social justice as a core value means that I will always guide you to consider yourself within your own context including the socio-cultural identities you (and I) hold and how they intersect with power, privilege, and oppression.
Moving through this culture with any form of oppressed identity can be—and often is—traumatic, meaning that these experiences impact our sense of safety in the world.
As a somatic therapist, I am trained in multiple body-based modalities to address the impacts of trauma on our bodies. We will work together to understand how your nervous system and body adapted in order to help you process and survive your unique context.
Education and credentials
licensed professional counselor
Colorado, LPC. 0015451
M.A. Somatic Counseling Psychology
Naropa University 2017
B.A. Psychology
Smith College 2012