“Embodiment reveals our bodies as central to change and transformation. It awakens our felt sense of choice, and awakens us to our connection to ourselves, each other, and the world around us” - Prentis Hemphill, Founder of The Embodiment Institute

Our bodies hold the tools, wisdom, and resources we need to heal and thrive. In session, somatic work often means slowing way down, noticing what's happening at the level of sensation, energy, or impulse, and then bringing attention, breath, movement, or care to whatever turns up there.

For a lot of people, turning toward the body feels strange at first, or scary, so we go gradually, building resources along the way, and let comfort in the body grow at its pace.

“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.” ― Audre Lorde

Talking about our problems isn't usually enough to heal. So much of what brings people to therapy, whether that's addiction, dissociation, depression, or anxiety, works as a way of managing emotions that feel too painful to feel. So in our sessions, we build enough safety to feel them, rather than moving past it.

Our emotions are wise messengers that carry important information about our needs. When we can allow feelings to move through us, what often waits on the other side is relief, joy, or clarity, and a sense of aliveness.

“Our parts can sometimes be disruptive or harmful, but once they're unburdened, they return to their essential goodness. When we learn to love all our parts, we can learn to love all people — and that will contribute to healing the world…” Richard Schwartz, Founder of Internal Family Systems

Drawing from ego-state therapy, often termed as "parts work" or “inner child work", I recognize the diverse 'parts' or 'states' within all of us. Each part has its origin, some emerging from past wounds, especially those formed in early life. Some parts might be protective or wounded, and some might even be hidden from your conscious awareness. We'll invite curiosity about these parts, understanding them and meeting their needs, so they can work harmoniously.

"Without inner change there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters.” - Angel Kyodo Williams

I'm dedicated to addressing the deep-rooted impacts of oppression, colonialism, and structural violence on individual and collective well-being. I walk alongside my clients as a companion in healing, while also advocating for transformative justice to address systemic oppressions that contribute to personal suffering.

I also recognize the power dynamics embedded in therapeutic relationships and actively work to dismantle them. I remain open to critique, ready to repair harm and adapt my approach. I hold my own intentions and actions with a healthy skepticism, always reflecting on and assessing my alignment with ethical and just practices.

“What if we honestly assessed what we have come to believe about ourselves and each other, and how those beliefs shape our lives? And what if we did it with generosity and forgiveness? What if we did it with mercy?” - Ross Gay

I'm interested in the whole web of experience that shapes a person: family history, intergenerational wounds and ancestral wisdom, and the systems and structures that shape how any of us relate to ourselves and the world. Approached with honesty and curiosity, that context refuses an individualistic and pathologizing account of a life, so that we understand struggle not as personal failing, but rather as a reasonable response to their environment and history.