Professional Background
Degrees
Master of Arts in Somatic Counseling Psychology, Naropa University (2015),
concentrations in Body Psychotherapy and Dance/Movement Therapy
Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, Boston University (2000)
Credentials and Affiliations
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Massachusetts # 12143-MH-CC since December 2020
- Master Somatic Movement Therapist (MSMT) through the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA) since 2014
Pre and Post-Graduate Supervision
I completed three internships as part of my master’s degree. You can view more about that here. Between graduating in 2015 and June of 2020, I worked under the supervision of licensed masters level psychologist Karin Bleeker and then Psy. D Barbara Belcher-Timme. This supported me to grow and develop into an effective therapist within my own style and was a critical component of good, ethical preparation for private practice. I am now a part of a peer supervision group with like-minded therapists.
Embodiment Practices
Contemplative movement, presencing, and creative inquiry practices are central to my orientation as a therapist. Below is a list of my primary practices
- Shintaido (since 2000)
- Astanga Yoga (2002-2012)
- Meditation: Zazen, Shambala, & Insight (since 1997)
- Authentic Movement (since 2010)
- Expressive and Extended Voice Techniques
- Dance/Movement in performance and healing
- Nature connection
- Threshold Singing (2012-2015)
Trainings and Certificates
EMDR Training: Integrating EMDR into your Clinical Practice, 5-Day Intensive (40 hours) 2024, EMDR Consulting, Northampton, MA, Nancy Simons (Certification in progress)
Sensorimotor Expressive Arts Therapy, EMDR, and Bilateral Stimulation (15 hours) 2024, Trauma-informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute, Dr. Cathy Malchiodi, Dr. Elizabeth Warson
In Vulnerability and Delight: An Integrated Model of Dance Movement Therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) for the Closing Stages of Therapy (3 hours) 2022, American Dance/Movement Therapy Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, Megan English, Miriam Schacter
Trauma-Informed Care for Dance/Movement Therapists: Transforming the Well-Intentioned Therapist with Effective Skills and Tools (3 hours) 2022, American Dance/Movement Therapy Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, Ryan Kennedy, PsyD, LP, BC-DMT, CLMA, RSME/T
Watery Embodiment – The Watery Therapist; Posthuman Feminist Phenomenology Informed Therapeutic and Care Practice (1.5 hours) 2022, American Dance/Movement Therapy Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, Janka Kormos, PhD
Clinical Supervision as a Restorative Practice During a Time of Collective Stress (3 hours) 2022, American Dance/Movement Therapy Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, Christina Devereaux, PhD, LCAT, LMHC, BC-DMT, NCC, Lauren Harrison, MA, LMHC, R-DMT
Psychodrama Intensive (35 hours) 2021, Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute
Hakomi: 8 Basic Character Patterns That Shape Our Lives (72 hours) 2019, Hakomi Institute, Melissa Grace, RI
Using the Trauma Induced Countertransference Dynamic (8 hours) 2017, Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro, VT
Threshold Choir Intensive Retreat (How the body dies, end-of-life needs), Boulder Threshold Singers (8 hrs) 2014, Boulder, CO
Treating Trauma Clients at the Edge (8 hours) 2017, Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro, VT
Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy (18 hours) 2016, Synergetic Play Therapy Institute, Boulder, CO
Pragmatic/Experiential Therapy for Couples (PET-C): Facilitating Emotional Intelligence in Relationships (15 hours) 2015, Noeticus Counseling Center and Training Institute, Denver, CO
Motivational Interviewing: Guiding Therapeutic Change with a Client-Centered Approach to Transforming Ambivalence (15 hours) 2015, Noeticus Counseling Center and Training Institute
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Shame and Self-Loathing in the Treatment of Trauma (9 hours) 2015, PESI | Janina Fisher, PhD
Transforming the Well-Intentioned Therapist: Understanding Trauma-Informed Counseling Practice (15 hours) 2015, Noeticus Counseling Center & Training Institute, Denver CO
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – Facilitator Training (15 hours) 2015 Noeticus Counseling Center and Training Institute, Denver CO
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training (20 hours) 2014, Behavioral Tech, LLC, Seattle WA
Collaborations with the Natural World: Nature Based Wilderness Therapy Intensive Training (44 hours) 2014; Somatic Wilderness Therapy Institute, Boulder CO
Applied Suicide Skills Intervention Training (ASIST) (15 hours) 2014, LivingWorks Education, Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Presentation and Facilitation Experience
Shintaido (2010 – present)
I teach a expressive movement form based on the traditional Japanese martial arts
Embodying Brave Space as a Therapist in White Supremacy Culture
A trauma-informed, participatory workshop for somatic psychotherapists using the Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture as defined by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun in Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups. Collaboratively developed and facilitated with Susan Oetgen
Thresholds
Embodied exploration of Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development, Rocky Mountain American Dance/Therapy Association Annual Conference
Creativity and the Therapeutic Process
In-service integrating Creative Systems Theory and the relationship between client and therapist, Noeticus Counseling Center and Training Institute
Movement and Voice Workshops Western, MA and Boulder, CO
Vocal Heresy, Western, MA Moving Arts Festival
EMERGE Multidisciplinary Artists Residency, Earthdance Retreat Center
Movement Lab Northampton
Publications
Contributing author for Natur in Psychotherapie und Künstlerischer Therapie. A two-volume German published anthology on the use of natural world in the expressive arts therapies. My chapter is “A Model for Aquatic Dance/Movement Therapy Intervention Conceptualization.”
There is also a video that goes along with the model you are welcome to view here.