Queer Somatic Psychotherapy
I offer individual psychotherapy for people who are looking for a thoughtful, collaborative space to better understand themselves, work through difficult experiences, and make meaningful changes in their lives.
My approach is grounded in somatic, relational, trauma-informed, and person-centred psychotherapy. I work with the connections between body, mind, emotions, relationships, identity, spirituality, and the systems we live within. Rather than approaching therapy as something that happens only through talking, we can also pay attention to what your body is communicating and the ways your experiences live in your nervous system.
I work with adults and young people navigating a range of concerns, including trauma, anxiety, grief, relationships, life transitions, gender and sexuality, religious and spiritual trauma, and questions of identity and belonging.
Is Therapy a Good Fit for You?
My approach to psychotherapy is a good fit for people looking for a collaborative therapeutic relationship and wanting support with meaningful changes in their lives. You don’t need to know exactly what needs to change before beginning therapy. Together, we can get curious about what is happening, understand the patterns that may have helped you survive difficult experiences, and explore new ways of responding.
Therapy works best when there is enough day-to-day stability and capacity to engage in this kind of work. If you are experiencing an acute mental health crisis, significant instability, or need a higher level of care, we may need to consider additional or different supports.
You are welcome to bring your whole self into therapy. This includes talking openly about mental health, substance use, self-harm, suicidality, relationships, identity, spirituality, and the things that may feel hardest to say out loud. My role is not to judge you or tell you who you should become. Instead, I offer a supportive space to understand yourself more fully and move toward the life, relationships, and sense of self that feel meaningful to you.
What Is Somatic Psychotherapy?
Somatic psychotherapy recognizes the relationship between the body (soma), mind (psyche), spirit (breath), and emotions. Our bodies can carry experiences that are difficult to put into words, including patterns of tension, activation, numbness, or disconnection.
In therapy, we might use grounding practices, movement, artistic expression, nervous-system supports, emotional regulation practices, or other embodied approaches to become more aware of what your body is communicating. Together, we can develop ways of relating to those sensations with curiosity rather than judgment, and work toward greater choice, connection, and relief from long-held patterns of tension.
Queer Somatic Psychotherapy
I use the term queer somatic psychotherapy to describe an approach that fully affirms the diversity of gender, sexuality, relationships, and ways of living.
As a queer, non-binary therapist, I understand how important it can be to work with someone who doesn’t require you to explain or defend your identity before you can begin the work of therapy. I welcome clients who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, questioning, trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, agender, intersex, kinky, polyamorous, ethically non-monogamous, or exploring other ways of understanding gender, sexuality, and relationships.
I also recognize that gender and sexuality don’t exist separately from the rest of our lives. Our experiences are shaped by culture, family, race, disability, class, religion, relationships, and other systems of power and privilege. Therapy can be a place to explore those intersections while staying connected to your own embodied experience and sense of what feels right for you.
Religious and Spiritual Trauma
Trauma can create a disconnection between our mind, body, spirit, and emotions—especially when we have been overwhelmed by experiences we did not have the freedom, safety, or support to process at the time.
I specialize in working with the effects of high-control and authoritarian religious environments, including what is often described as Religious Trauma Syndrome. In these environments, fear, shame, love, belonging, obedience, and safety can become deeply intertwined. These connections can continue to shape how we understand ourselves, our relationships, our bodies, and our sense of what is safe or possible, even after we have left.
In therapy, we can begin to untangle these experiences and make sense of patterns that may once have helped you belong or stay safe, but no longer fit the life you are trying to build. My approach makes room for your whole experience—including your body, relationships, values, spirituality, sexuality, gender, and sense of self—as you discover what you want to carry forward and what you are ready to leave behind.
A Collaborative Approach to Change
I don’t believe there is one therapeutic model or definition of healing that works for everyone. My practice draws from somatic therapy, trauma therapy, EMDR, attachment-based and relational approaches, emotion-focused work, parts work, expressive practices, and other evidence-informed approaches.
We can think of therapy as a kind of collaborative troubleshooting: What isn’t working right now? What have you already tried? What is actually helping? What does your body seem to know that your mind hasn’t quite put into words yet? And what might be worth experimenting with next?
You remain the expert on your own experience. My role is to bring clinical knowledge, curiosity, and another perspective to the process while helping you develop greater access to your own capacity, choices, and embodied wisdom.