Traditional talk therapy involves talking to a therapist, exploring thoughts and feelings with words and stays in the realm of the “mind”. This is referred to as “top down” treatment and includes popular modalities such as CBTand DBT. The majority of therapists are trained in this way. Somatic therapy, or “bottom up” treatment, comes out of the chatter or content of the mind and moves into the realm of the “soma” or body.

In somatic psychotherapy, we bring the body along in our work together. Instead of just talking about a problem, we slow down and notice what is happening inside and allow that to guide our work. Clients will be taught and invited to notice their bodies, sensations and feelings on an experiential level. This helps immensely with chronic mind/body disconnect, which is very common in our modern, Western culture. To do this, clients are instructed in how to become mindful of their internal experience. For example, anxiety may show up for someone as a feeling of pressure in the chest. We would work together to learn to “be with” this feeling and use this as the entry point. This, in and of itself is therapeutic! Clients are able to learn to listen to what lives inside of them on a deeper level; both the held pain and deep knowing/wisdom. Check out my blog on somatic psychotherapy to learn more.

I offer 60 minute individual psychotherapy to teenagers and adults, ages 13 and over.

Yes! Treating eating disorders is a passion of mine and many clients seek me out for this specialty.

I am trained and influenced by the Embodied Recovery model of eating disorders, which is a somatic orientation. It weaves together trauma, attachment and sensory processing work into treatment. I serve clients with a wide range of food behaviors, including anorexia, ARFID, bulimia and binge-eating disorder.

Clients seeking support for eating disorders benefit from coming to weekly therapy sessions where I seek to meet you right where you are at. Sometimes, it is beneficial to work with a nutritionist and I often refer to a beloved colleague in these instances. There are also times when we will form a team of support including me as the therapist, a nutritionist and a primary care provider.

Recovery is a process and often, non linear! Anita Johnston uses the archetype of a labyrinth to describe the healing journey. Circular movements, spiraling in and out, revisiting the same places…perhaps, again and again.

I love supporting clients with finding safety in their bodies from the very beginning of our work together. Sometimes this looks like a hot water bottle held on the belly or a weighted lap pad. The experience of body safety (or just feeling good/relaxed physically) creates pathways to embodiment practices such as belly breathing, regulating self-massage and also finding your unique ways of regulating that are perhaps outside of your awareness. This word “regulation” really just refers to safety, or more simply, feeling good in your body.

Slowly, we will explore food behaviors and during the course of therapy your insight into the “why” will grow immensely. Seasoned clients get so good at understanding and identifying triggers around an increase in food behaviors. For example, feeling “binge energy”, being aware of when it comes in and perhaps recalling the exact thing that happened yesterday that felt triggering. Or perhaps a deeper awareness of how during the binge, you finally can have exactly what you want, in just the way you want it.

Recovery involves shining the light of awareness on yourself and really caring (with a capital C!) about your feelings, your internal experience, your needs and wants. It’s often a journey not just of embodiment but of becoming. Becoming more of yourself, or perhaps returning to yourself. It’s such an honor to witness clients heal from self-harm behaviors, make space for the pain harbored inside, embody safety within themselves and truly have the experience of self-love. Recovery from an eating disorder is not easy or fast. But when it’s done with attunement, attention and care, it is liberating.

Yes! I welcome clients with all forms of sexual identity and gender identity/expression including folks who are in a process of exploring this for themselves. I consider myself an enthusiastic ally for this community and have familiarity with issues particular to this population.

I am in the process of being paneled with a couple of insurance companies and I’m happy to talk with you more about the possibility of using insurance.

I also accept private pay with a sliding scale.

I am also an out-of-network provider for insurance companies. I can offer you a super bill with a CPT code and administered services to submit to your insurance provider. This would essentially use your out of network benefits to receive reimbursement for therapy. Some clients are reimbursed up to 80% this way.

Interested clients generally start with a free consult, which I do through zoom. This is a time for you to ask me any questions, share what brings you to therapy and get a feel for me. We can also talk about logistics such as scheduling, fees, forms, etc. Choosing the right therapist for you is an important choice! I encourage you to notice how you feel with a therapist during a consult. Ideally, you will find someone who can attune to you and who you feel safe to share with.