My Pillars
It is our birthright to feel safe, alive and free. I have developed my own holistic approach to , Transformational Growth Therapies. My method focuses on foundational tools that lead to a more joyous, connected existence by processing old trauma, realigning the nervous system, integrating the shadow and ultimately coming into deeper communion with pleasure.
Pleasure
One of the most profound gifts of human consciousness is the ability to consciously experience pleasure.
I work with sexuality and our relationship to pleasure (in its full spectrum of enjoyment, not just the sexual kind) because they reflect how we show up in life.
I define pleasure as that which feels good. We are hardwired to pursue pleasure because it shows us what is good and meaningful. Pleasure is the only thing strong enough to rewire trauma and there is tremendous healing and happiness to be found by learning to tune into it more deeply.
Trauma
We all hold trauma in our bodies. I define trauma as a large spectrum containing any undigested experience (too much, too fast, too soon) that is stuck in the body because it didn’t get fully met with loving presence and therefore wasn’t properly metabolized. Over time, it metastasizes and is deeply ingrained into our ways of being.
All trauma, regardless of the severity, affects our nervous system responses and therefore our daily wellbeing. When our nervous system is dysregulated we feel disconnected and “stuck in our head” because it feels unsafe to be present in our bodies.To heal, we need a safe space to go back into these experiences and allow them to complete. As a trauma informed therapist, I offer not only methods to resolve old trauma, but also somatic techniques to process new stimuli and avoid more trauma accumulation.
Somatic Therapy
In addition to talk therapy, somatic therapists address pent up emotions, anxiety and trauma stored in the body and aid in the process of moving through and releasing them. For example, an anxiety attack can be best de-escalated by using somatic techniques to regulate the nervous system, while simultaneously it is important to work on a cognitive level to understand the root cause and avoid the triggers via lifestyle conditions and psychological orientations.
I work with somatic tools because without a regulated nervous system and conscious connection to our body it is impossible to heal and expand to our fullest potential. Whether we are aware of it or not, our nervous system is responding all the time. By learning to read our body’s signals we can rewire our relationship to the world and our cognitive behavioral patterns from the inside out.
As a somatic therapist, I address the illusion of a split between the body and mind and believe that the mind and body are always intimately connected, even if it's not always obvious how. Thought, emotions, and sensations are all interconnected and in constant influence of one another (ever felt butterflies in your stomach due to nervousness or excitement?) Since painful feelings often show up in the body in debilitating ways, somatic therapy aims to drain those emotions of their power, relieving pain and other manifestations of physical and emotional distress.
The Shadow
Shadow work is a method of personal development that originates from the work of Carl Jung. According to Jung, we all have a “shadow self” — and therein lie the parts of our personality that we repress or deny, which in turn rule our perception of reality. Shadow Work involves reclaiming the disowned and darker parts of our personalities and ultimately befriending these unconscious parts of ourselves that have been shaping our perception of reality and motivating many of our decisions.
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
― Carl Gustav Jung
We can often see our shadow most easily in what we notice about others. The traits and behaviors that we adore in other people reflect back to us traits in ourselves that we’ve learned to embody, love and celebrate (our golden shadow). On the flip side, the aspects of others that frustrate, anger, or otherwise trigger us reflect traits that we’re afraid to look at in ourselves (our dark shadow).
From this point of view, triggers are a gift. They show us our shadow aspects and guide us to take a closer look. The solution isn't to try to rid oneself of triggers, but to up-level the way we relate to them; to take ownership and integrate their lessons.
