It is bodywork designed to meet the needs of clients who have things they want to work on, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. It is a combination of all and any modalities in my toolbox, but most especially craniosacral therapy, somatic emotional release, visceral work, myofascial release, and lymph drainage. It can even incorporate art, play, breath, & movement therapies - all with a body- centered focus. The intent is to allow the body to heal itself. We work with the premise that the body is an intelligent body that knows how to self-heal and self-regulate to seek homeostasis. It is not something “done”, nor is it a method of “fixing”. Our goal is to remove barriers that interfere with the self-healing processes. Secondary to this, we can gain insights, heal from past trauma or injury, explore healthy touch, investigate sensation and feeling in the body, learn to sense and feel without dissociating, and encourage self empowerment. Of prime importance is the degree to which you remain present with the touch because dissociation can lead to re-traumatization.
I try to encourage and engage our collective inner wisdom to navigate your complex interconnected fascial system. I let your body speak to my hands. Together we collaborate on the healing process. My work, as therapist, is to form an equal partnership with you, the client, to discover a place that wants attention in the body and to simply be with that area and wait until something presents itself and trust that something will happen. The client has complete control to the degree that any area is explored. We are both there to hold the space, to witness, to use insight, and to track what’s happening in body. This aids you in accessing your somatic issues in a safe and nurturing environment.
In my typical session I start with a general or a local listening to see if anything jumps out at us as the place to start. Or I may take us through a progressive body scan until something emerges. Or I start with craniosacral therapy which is a good interface to this kind of work. Then, using a simple touch and hold we listen to your body. For clients with trauma self- empowerment and choice is key, so you would then direct me as to whether we need to do massage, continue to touch, breathe, withdraw, move to another area, etc. For others, I may go where I hear a call, but you still have control to redirect me as needed. We progress like this until our time is up or until we feel a sense of completion for the session.
The work is done on a very individual basis and almost always interfaces with the psychotherapeutic process. Clients need to be willing and open to connect deeply with themselves and take responsibility for their own experience and healing.
