SOMATIC THERAPY SEBASTOPOL

We all hear that you ‘just need to love yourself more.’

Something easy to understand intellectually, but very difficult in practice. How do you actually do that?

For those of us navigating the world as queer, trans, neurodivergent, polyamorous, fat, or otherwise outside the expectations of a cisheteronormative, neurotypical, and monogamous society, that question can be especially complicated. When the world isn't always built to accommodate our ways of being, developing a loving relationship with ourselves can take more than simply changing how we think.

I don't have a singular answer to that question, but we can explore together what gets in the way of loving yourself and living as your most authentic self. My work isn't just about eradicating symptoms, but developing a deeper understanding of our unique brains, nervous systems, needs, relationships, and support systems. We can explore how we've learned to adapt to trauma, overwhelm, neurodivergent burnout, and loss, and how strategies and patterns that once helped us navigate the world may no longer serve us.

I offer psychotherapy and Ketamine assisted psychotherapy for individuals, dyads, triads, families, and polycules. My approach is collaborative and aims to cultivate an inner sense of safety, empowerment, and peace. I believe therapy is about creating enough safety to stretch beyond what is familiar and move toward a life that feels more authentic, connected, and fulfilling.

A space where you don't have to explain yourself

Therapy should be a place where you don't have to explain or defend who you are. My practice centers fat, 2SLGBTQIA+, BIPOC, disabled, neurodivergent, polyamorous, and kink communities. I bring a health-at-every-size, sex-positive, gender-affirming, and neurodiversity-affirming perspective to our work.

I believe that understanding ourselves means getting curious about how we uniquely experience the world. That includes exploring our sensory and emotional needs, the ways our brains work, the relationships and support systems that nourish us, and the conditions that allow us to thrive. Rather than trying to fit ourselves into someone else's idea of what a healthy or fulfilling life should look like, we can discover what that looks like for you.

A somatic approach to healing

My somatic approach isn't about forcing you into a body that doesn't feel safe. It's about helping you create the conditions for your body to become a safer place to inhabit, while exploring the obstacles that get in the way. I strive to make somatic embodiment work accessible to all bodies, honoring each person's unique relationship with their body, nervous system, and lived experience.

My work is primarily informed by NARM (the NeuroAffective Relational Model), a somatic, depth-oriented approach to addressing complex developmental trauma (more about NARM), and Somatic Experiencing®,  a body-oriented approach developed by Peter Levine that explores how trauma and stress affect the nervous system (more about somatic psychotherapy).

 I specialize in working with:

• 2SLGBTQIA+, gender non-conforming, neurodivergent, ethically non-monogamous, kinky, and fat populations.

• Survivors of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse

• Other forms of trauma/PTSD, including those stemming from childhood, or a history of feeling unseen, misunderstood, or misattuned to

• Body image issues in all body types

• Gender and body dysphoria

• Autistic/AuDHD/ADHD burnout, shutdown, sensory overwhelm, and masking/unmasking

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Shame

• Life transitions

• Family and couples relationships (including Polyamory/CNM)

I can assist you in:

• Developing a deeper connection with yourself and your deepest desires

• Learning Mindful Self Compassion and Radical Self Love

• Ditching diet culture

• Exploring sexuality and gender

• Exploring queer identity (especially as a late bloomer to queerness)

• Creating a more positive, kind, and non-violent relationship with yourself and your body