Specializing in Creative Integrative Embodied Help for Humans
Narrative
Narrative therapy, as I practice it, is rooted in a justice-doing, non-pathologizing worldview that speaks truth to power, recognizing how the structures and systems we are raised in contribute to or limit the stories we tell about ourselves. Our work is to stand up to influential problems and treasure what you want for your life, while helping you re-author your problem stories. Through our work together you will learn to tell your story in ways that make you stronger, more resilient, connected, and supported. We can do this through words, images and other art forms and through embodied story. I can help.
Creative
My work is inherently creative because I am an artist, always have been. I invite you to reconnect with your creativity, which to say: your curiosity, your sense of play, your visions and dreams, your desire and willingness to get messy in order to make something really good. I am also an Art Therapist. Does that mean you have to be an artist or make art to work with me? Nope. Together we will draw out your inherent capacities for creation in a variety of ways. If you are interested in art or art therapy, but aren't sure you have what it takes to do it, try me! Know that this work can take many forms and you choose the approaches that work best for you.
Embodied
We've all heard it: The body keeps the score. And it's true. As much as I adore words and stories, there are limits to the cognitive. There are stories that are beyond words. I use somatic narrative approaches, grounded in Somatic Experiencing® and Buddhist mindfulness to enrich the work and deepen it. Embodied healing is integrative, lasting healing. Working with me, you can expect to get to know your embodied experience more and more through things like art, mindfulness, sound, touch and breath work, even EMDR. You decide what fits for you and we move at the speed of trust.
Relational
Trauma
Attachment
My work is always relational, looking at systemic structures and influences and affirming the Narrative Therapy (NT) truism that identity is relational, that we are always shifting and changing, becoming. I also do relational work, meaning I work with couples, poly relationships, families, and friends. I hold, deeply, the idea that life is multi-storied and help people in relationships learn how to be curious through challenges, listen deeply, respect and honor each others' stories and humanity, and repair when needed. My work supports secure attachment and strengthening preferred ways of being in relationships, no matter what form they take. I am developing NT Outsider Witness practices to support financial accessibility and community care.
Trauma can arise in any number of experiences. There are shock traumas like accidents, natural disasters, violence. Trauma can arise from chronic stress and overwhelming life circumstances. Developmental and attachment trauma can occur when there are any number of adverse childhood experiences. Peter A. Levine, the developer of Somatic Experiencing® says that trauma is not what happens to us, it's what our bodies do to survive it. I have years of experience helping people come home to themselves after the separation of trauma through loving, creative care and attention to the ways we have been hurt and the effects of those hurts. Through a unique combination of Narrative and/or Art Therapies, and a range of embodied helping practices, I can accompany you home to yourself.
Attachment refers to the relationships we have with the primary people in our lives. As children, this is usually a parent or parents, as adults it could be a partner, partners, or best friend. How we have been loved affects how we are in the world and in ourselves. The embodied foundation of my work is unconditional love and a belief in your worthiness and wholeness. I will support you in learning how to know, embodied, that you are never a failure, even when you feel like one. Integrating Narrative and/or Art Therapies, and a range of embodied helping practices, I can help you learn how to create and sustain a secure attachment with yourself and aiding creating relational boundaries that support and sustain living in preferred ways.