I’m a Registered Massage Therapist who helps people release tension related to pain and trauma so they can feel a greater sense of safety, resilience and freedom.
PLEASE NOTE: RETIREMENT DATE OCT 31, 2024
Through gentle hands-on sessions, I help people befriend their bodies and release symptoms of trauma, such as:
- Pain from a recent car or bicycle accident, or a fall
- Distress after dental work or surgery (even “successful” medical procedures can traumatize the body)
- Chronic pain, including fibromyalgia and “mystery” pain
- Lack of comfort with physical touch
- Dissociation or a sense of not being present in your body
- Long-term effects of emotional, sexual and physical childhood abuse
- Post-traumatic stress (PTSD)
In these sessions, you do not re-experience past trauma or injury in a cathartic way. Instead, I guide you to revisit past “survival” reactions, such as fight, flight, freeze and collapse, without becoming overwhelmed.
My approach allows you to experience that “the danger has passed,” as trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk puts it. You are now safe to live in present reality. This is what I call “befriending your body,” and it is what Dr. van der Kolk is pointing to when he says:
“Physical self-awareness is the first step in releasing the tyranny of the past.”
I find my work is most effective for people who:
- Want gentle, effective ways to come back into their body
- Feel curious about the hidden meaning of their body’s messages
- Would like to learn how to catch, and release, early signs of tension and anxiety
- Want to explore the connection between their body and mind
- Value the gradual unfolding of the healing process over a “quick fix”
- Are open to seeking support from a psychotherapist or counselor, if helpful to their healing journey