Challenges early in life, including: strained or misattuned relationships with parents and/or community; physical challenges such as early illness and injury; and also living as a marginalized identity within this ableist, neurotypical, white cis-heteropatriarchy affects one’s ability to show up authentically in the world. The messages that can be internalized include, “I am broken, I am bad, I am not enough” and these false beliefs have the tendency to permeate everything.

Much of that experience is nonverbal and held in the body. This is where I am able to guide you through art therapy and somatic-oriented techniques to support the releasing of internalized oppression. Though long-held, these messages are not part of the Self and can be replaced with messages of love and empowerment.

Out of self-protection, many folx live in a disembodied reality; we function as if we were floating heads separate from our bodies. While this functioning has without a doubt helped us survive oppressive environments, over time this chronic disconnection is a breeding ground for dis-ease because this is not how humans are designed. Your body is in constant communication with the external environment. Your body is foundational to understanding your experience with distress, trauma, relationality and joy. I provide a space where you can safely begin to reconnect with your body through creative, movement and breathing practices - which I often call “experiments.” When we can experiment with new ways of relating and responding to stimuli, we build capacity for new ways of showing up in the world.

Art Therapy offers a unique way to explore and address issues that are sometimes too painful or difficult to express with words. As an artist and trained art therapist, I am uniquely qualified to use the arts for mental health healing. Humans are innately creative, but unfortunately many have lost connection to their creative part(s). In sessions, I gently encourage clients through prompts and materials to befriend their creativity. You do not need any previous art skills or training to receive the benefits of art therapy. I personally view art therapy as a vehicle to meet new (and old!) parts of ourselves.

Art therapy is evidence-based. Click Here to review resources that support the efficacy and outcomes of art therapy.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is an evidenced-based trauma therapy. The therapy calls on what we know about the brain and how it processes experiences and memories. Humans have the intrinsic ability to process, and heal from, painful events and feelings. In optimal circumstances, the brain processes, and reprocesses, a painful event over time. It is then stored in our normal memory system so we can access the memory when we want to, without becoming distressed.

But sometimes, after a traumatic experience for example, our brain can become completely overwhelmed: the way our brain processes these events does not work the way it should. Problems seem to become "frozen" in our minds, and the painful images, thoughts and feelings associated with the event seem to get "locked" in the nervous system. These stuck memories then have a lasting negative effect on our emotional and social functioning, unless those memories can be reprocessed.

The bilateral stimulation in EMDR, such as eye movements, sounds or body tapping, seems to “unlock” the nervous system and allow the brain to process the experience. I will guide you through the reprocessing of these memories in a held environment in order to make the disturbing memories less distressing so that you may live a more adaptable life.

More information on EMDR Therapy can be found here.