Somatic Therapy & EMDR for Trauma, Grief, and Perinatal Mental Health in Denver, CO
How I Work
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker trained in Somatic Experiencing and EMDR, and I draw from psychodynamic therapy, Internal Family Systems (parts work), and relational approaches.
Sessions with me don’t look like traditional talk therapy. At the core of what I do is helping people explore their emotions and thoughts through body awareness and a slowed down process. Rather than only analyzing or talking about an experience, we also learn to be with it. Befriending the body and nervous system, following what’s there with curiosity, and letting something shift from the inside out.
Sometimes what comes up is grief, fear, or loneliness. Sometimes it’s a pattern you’ve carried since childhood. Sometimes it’s something subtler… a sensation, an image, a felt sense that’s been waiting for space. Whatever it is, my job is to create the conditions for your nervous system to do what it already knows how to do.
There are no big releases I’m promising you. What I can offer is a consistent, supported space to make contact with what’s actually there. Over time, people find themselves with more capacity for difficult emotions, more compassion for themselves, more ease in their bodies and relationships, and a deeper connection to life itself.
“Know all the theories. Master all the techniques. But as you touch a human soul be just another human soul.” -Carl Jung
Services
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Somatic Experiencing® is a body-based approach that supports nervous system regulation and helps you develop new ways of responding to stress and trauma. Instead of focusing on retelling your story, sessions gently explore present-moment sensations like tension, bracing, or activation, and create space for greater ease, flexibility, and regulation in the mind and body. It can be especially supportive for anxiety, trauma, and stress responses that continue to show up even after working through them cognitively. Learn more here.
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based therapy that uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess distressing memories. It's widely used to treat PTSD, trauma, anxiety, and grief, helping experiences that still feel emotionally "stuck" settle into the past where they belong. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR works directly with how the brain stores memory, often creating relief without requiring you to retell the story in detail. Learn more here.
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Perinatal mental health refers to emotional wellbeing during pregnancy and the first year postpartum, including postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, and birth-related trauma. Many new parents are surprised when anxiety or low mood shows up in unfamiliar, often physical ways - racing thoughts, panic, disconnection, a body that doesn't quite feel like their own - even when life looks stable on the outside. Through somatic therapy, we work with both the emotional and physical layers of this transition, helping your nervous system catch up to one of the biggest identity shifts a person can go through.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach to healing that recognizes the deep connection between mind and body in processing emotional experiences. Rather than focusing solely on talk-based reflection, this approach incorporates body awareness, breath, and movement to help you notice and work with physical sensations as they arise, supporting your nervous system in finding greater balance and ease. This integrative method can be especially supportive for those navigating trauma, anxiety, and chronic stress, offering a path toward healing that honors both your thoughts and your lived, embodied experience.
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EMDR uses guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation to support the brain and body in reprocessing traumatic memories so that your nervous system can recognize "that was then, this is now". Somatic Experiencing works more broadly with bodily sensation and the nervous system’s stress responses, helping you develop greater flexibility and ease around patterns of fight, flight, or freeze by supporting the completion of the stress response cycle in the body and mind. I draw on both approaches, along with psychodynamic and relational perspectives, depending on what feels most supportive for you.
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This is one of the most honest questions to ask, and the answer is: it depends. Some people notice shifts like more ease in their body or more space between a trigger and their reaction within the first few sessions. Deeper patterns, especially those rooted in early childhood or complex trauma, tend to take longer. What I find is that somatic work often moves differently than talk therapy, less linear, more layered. People don't always notice change session to session, but over time they look back and realize something fundamental has shifted. I'd rather be honest with you about that than promise a timeline I can't keep.
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Both can be effective, and it depends on your preference and comfort. Virtual sessions are available anywhere in Colorado, while in-person sessions are held at my office in Denver's Highlands neighborhood.
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Yes. I don't work with active psychosis, active addiction, active eating disorders, or people who need a higher level of care than weekly outpatient therapy can provide. I don't work with court-ordered clients, children or couples. If you're in acute crisis, I'd want to make sure you have the appropriate level of support in place before we begin working together.
If you're unsure whether what you're navigating is a good fit for my practice, the best thing to do is schedule a free consultation. I'll always be honest with you about whether I think I'm the right person, and if I'm not, I'll do my best to point you in a direction that is.