Waaaay back in 1997, I started my career as a Somatherapist after graduating from Heartwood Institute in Northern California. My training gave me the skills to see the clues to people’s pain in their physiology and to facilitate trauma processing using bodywork that incorporated acupressure, massage, and hypnotherapy. In 2027 (30 years from the start of my journey!), I’ll complete my Somatic Experiencing Practitioner’s certification through Somatic Experiencing International.
Somatic Experiencing is a therapy that’s grounded in the work I learned back in the day at Heartwood plus 3 decades of scientific research to determine the specifics of how people can safely and sustainably process their trauma.
Like other mammals on Earth, we know that humans are neurologically wired for survival in ways that naturally process trauma.
However, factors in social development interrupt healthy ways of dealing with our experiences and may leave us spinning in what’s known as a “trauma vortex.” At Merry Hearts, we work on building up your connection to resources that strengthen more regulated ways of being. We call this the “counter vortex.”
To be specific, the goal is not to try to live a life entirely in the counter vortex… in fact, that would be nearly impossible if you’re living a life with risks like riding in traffic and being in relationships with other humans! The reality is that each new day has the potential to turn on our trauma vortex. Our goal in therapy together is to facilitate movement between these states of being so that you don’t get stuck there and can access healthy channels of connection that give you access to your innate wisdom, so you can make wise decisions for your health and well-being.