“I’ve had this issue for a long time (e.g. months or years) and not much else I’ve tried has helped.”
Here are my general answers:
For Massage & BodyworkIf after the first session you have a good feeling about me, and you experience noticeable improvement, plan to do at least 3-5 more sessions within 2-3 months. This gives you ample time to experience my approach, assimilate changes, and notice how your body responds. It also gives us time to try different ways of working and to build a strong rapport, which is a KEY (and often undervalued) element of effective therapeutic work.
More frequent sessions in the beginning also helps build healing momentum. While monthly bodywork is awesome for promoting general well-being, there are roughly 720hrs in a month. Seeing you for just one of those hours usually isn’t enough to help you change the patterns that are keeping you in pain and feeling limited. And I want to help you feel more free and empowered!
Early Trauma Resolution & Nervous System Regulation
Healing and transformation rests in the therapeutic alliance we develop over time. Change happens when your body feels safe enough and trusts enough to begin to shift.
I have seen the best results in my clients when they commit to seeing me at least every other week for the first 4-12 months and to treat this work much like you’d treat traditional talk therapy. I will sometimes recommend weekly sessions, which give us more opportunities to connect and create continuity from session to session.
If coming to my office once a week creates a hardship, we can discuss experimenting with a hybrid approach (in-person and online sessions).
“Ortho-Bionomy is a comprehensive system that includes positional release, postural re-education, subtle touch and energy work.”
—Barry Kapke
Developed by osteopath, Dr. Arthur Lincoln Pauls, Ortho-Bionomy® (OB) is a gentle and effective hands-on technique based on Osteopathic and martial arts principles.
OB runs on the Golden Rule of “create no pain.”
I use my hands to accentuate the pathways of ease in your body, and work with you to create positions of comfort so your body feels safe enough to relax and release stress and discomfort.
Comfort = Safety = Ability to Relax = Pain Relief
From there, traction and/or compression is applied to activate your body’s naturally occuring, self-correcting reflexes within the muscles and nerves.
Along the way, I may ask for your feedback as to what feels more comfortable, less restricted, or better so we can move things in that direction. OB is collaborative in nature.
OB does not impose change. It does not rely on asserting change from the outside to “fix” you, but rather seeks to open up the pathways for internal change that best fit YOU.
With all the hype about trauma-informed, nervous system focused, hands-on approaches to the body, Ortho-Bionomy was doing it before it was cool 😉
Somatic Experiencing® (often referred to as ‘SE™’) is a body-based method of working with trauma and accumulated stress developed by Dr. Peter Levine (once a Berkeley resident) in the 1970s. It is based on a multidisciplinary intersection of physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics.
SE™ helps restore our body’s own natural ability to heal itself and gives us more capacity to enjoy life fully, in the present. It not only reduces symptoms, it also helps repair physiological injuries associated with trauma and accumulated stress.
Whereas psychotherapy and counseling methods often focus more on mental cognition (what’s considered a ‘top down’ approach), SE™ focuses more on someone’s physiological, somatic experience as the source material (what’s considered a ‘bottom up’ approach). Both approaches have their place and their strengths (and there is often cross-over).
Often, though, the rest of the body goes a bit missing in traditional talk therapies or counseling. People will commonly say they have rehashed the same difficult material over and over again with no meaningful change or insight. Or, they have made wonderful gains in talk therapy, but have hit a healing plateau or have a sense that something is missing.
Working with an SE™ or body-based practitioner can offer a bridge and be an excellent addition to psychotherapeutic work. I enjoy working with clients who are combining the two and am open to collaborating with your therapist, with everyone’s expressed agreement.
Learn more about what SE™ is, how it works, and how it can help you.
I do not. However, I am happy to create an itemized receipt for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. Some clients have also had luck paying for my services with their FSA debit cards.
Before
During
After
I’ve always been fascinated and inspired by the body, and I’ve always liked helping people feel better and more empowered when it comes to taking care of themselves. I could talk about the body forever! Massage and bodywork bring those passions together.
Being a massage therapist and bodyworker felt like a very natural transition from being a professional dancer. My dance experience and training imbue everything I do, including bodywork.
I’ve been in practice since March 2011, seeing private clients as well as working at some of the best wellness places in San Francisco, such as Integral Body, In-Symmetry Wellness Spa, and East-West Integrative Medicine. For several years prior, I had friends who served as my willing guinea pigs to let me experiment with Reiki and gentle, intuitive touch based on work I’d received from other practitioners.
I began my massage studies at the San Francisco School for Massage and Bodywork in January 2011, and am a Certified Massage Practitioner in the State of California. I have studied Ortho-Bionomy® with Jim Berns and Sara Sunstein (two of Dr. Paul’s students) since 2011, and the Trager Approach with Gail Stewart (one of Milton Trager’s first students) since 2013. I began my study of NeuroKinetic Therapy® in 2014 with its creator, David Weinstock.
I am developing my knowledge of how trauma (from car accidents and falls to surgery to early childhood trauma) impacts the body and how to work intelligently with trauma and chronic stress physiology with Kathy Kain, SEP. I completed her 96 hrs Touch Skills for Trauma training in September 2017. I have also studied the impacts of early/childhood trauma through Kathy Kain and Stephen Terrell’s Somatic Resilience and Regulation training (two of three modules completed).
I am currently enrolled in the Somatic Experiencing® practitioner training program, a comprehensive three year program which I expect to complete in 2025-26. Developed by Dr. Peter Levine (author of the bestseller, Waking the Tiger), the SE training is the gold standard in trauma recovery from a somatic perspective, and I feel honored to be on this path.
I have a huge well of gratitude for Susan Hefner, my Neuromuscular Trainer in New York City, for teaching me tons about anatomy and functional kinesiology, the benefits of receiving intelligent, gentle care infused with humor, and for helping me take ownership of my body.
The wilds of New York City (Manhattan, to be precise). I went to Smith College in Northampton, MA and got my degree in Psychology, moved back to home to pursue my dance career, and moved to the Bay Area in 2010. I am a pretty even east coast/west coast hybrid at this point (interpret as you will).
