Welcome!

MISSION/PURPOSE:
The mission and purpose of my practice at SomaticWise is to support the well being of life on this planet.

One of the ways I do this, is by helping people heal from stress, overwhelm and trauma.

SOMATIC PSYCHOTHERAPY:
Somatic Psychotherapy is effective for helping clients learn to:
*  Reduce or eliminate symptoms;
*  Function better: at work, home, and play;
*  Increase their sense of vitality and liveliness;
*  Feel more comfortable in their own skin, and more confident in the world.

The primary therapeutic method I practice is called Somatic Experiencing, or SE. I am also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). With these tools, I help people learn the language of their unconscious minds and bodies. Then we can work in partnership with the body, to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of traumatic stress. 

I firmly believe it’s essential to include the body’s feelings and reactions in therapy. Why is that? Because that’s the primary place where the trauma lives.  That’s why it’s nearly impossible to “think” trauma away! The body’s survival responses are much more powerful than the thought process. 

Our physical bodies contain incredibly powerful energy! For some people, it’s nearly explosive. We are talking about survival energy here, and that is our most potent. Survival energy is what enables someone to lift a car off of their child.  

These survival states can have a very profound impact, and it is often very tricky to unwind them. Therefore, I believe it’s very important to work with an experienced practitioner to help restore a good state of self-regulation in the mind, body and spirit.
  

Here are issues I frequently work with:
*  Depression and anxiety
*  Low motivation
*  Eating problems and substance abuse
*  Anger/irritability
*  Eco-anxiety, stress, despair about the state of the world/environment
*  Trauma and post-traumatic stress/PTSD
*  Racism, oppression, bullying, economic or other systemic stressors
*  Relationship difficulties, difficulty relating to others; being quirky, creative, or different; feeling disconnected or alone
*  Difficulty in sensing or managing emotions (numbing, flooding)
*  Childhoods that might have seemed okay, but were actually kind of rough in subtle ways
*  Childhoods that were clearly difficult.

ECOPSYCHOLOGY:

Ecopsychology involves healing the relationships between humans, and the rest of the natural world. Since our biosphere and ecosystems are what makes life possible on this planet, this work is extremely important.

Photo credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

People and ecosystems both thrive when people deepen our connections with the natural world. The scientific literature clearly demonstrates that connection with nature supports people’s health, self-regulation, and well being. This is one of the most robust findings across social science research. Connection with nature also restores a sense of wonder and awe that is so vital to our quality of life. 

The natural world is far more than a commodity for humans. It’s an incredibly complex and beautiful tangle of interwoven systems, biogeochemical cycles, fantastic biodiversity, great and varied terrains and cooperative life forms.  The living systems on this planet are exquisitely valuable and precious in their own right, outside of human economic systems. We all know this–and it’s why ecologically related stress, depression, anxiety, anger (etc) are so prevalent today. It’s entirely normal to be devastated when our home is being destroyed for profit. 

I believe that the most pressing issue of our time is for us people to reconstruct the ways we engage with the planet and its nonhuman life. It can be overwhelming and paralyzing to even think about how to go about this. Here in my practice at SomaticWise, I support people in exploring their relationships to these issues, how to address them and live a meaningful life according to their own values. 

Please do read my Disclaimer/Privacy (terms and conditions) page. 

Writings, Social Media, Contacting Me

You’re welcome to contact me to discuss therapy for stress, trauma, anxiety, or depression, and other issues. My contact information is at the bottom of the “About Me” page on this website. 

For a more in depth sense of how I work, please feel free to look at my writings about stress, trauma, trauma healing, and ecopsychology.
These articles are all linked at the bottom of my GoodTherapy.org page.

You can follow me on Twitter: @somaticwise or tune in to my YouTube channel: SomaticWise

Here is a video in which I explain what I do here at my practice, and why: