My Story
As a child I could spend hours engaged with the secret mysteries of the wind and the birds. I loved butterflies and ladybugs, snails, and spiders just the same. I was one of those kids that made up stories in my head, had imaginary friends, and created potions out of dirt and water.
I was open, I trusted, and I believed that anything was possible. Because of this, I had a connection with spirit from an early age.
At the same time I was being introduced to the skills and practices that would open the path to healing, I was experiencing the deep traumas of sexual, physical, and emotional violence. Living in this paradox shaped me and has made my journey as a healer a sort of inevitability.
After graduating from high school, I knew I wanted to go into the healing arts, so I went to massage school. I loved doing hands-on healing work, but after 10+ years, my body couldn’t sustain it. I also knew that I needed to develop more skills if I was going to be able to work with what came up on the table and help guide people through the deeper layers of their healing process. Meanwhile, I was engaged in my own healing journey of recovering from childhood trauma. Diving deep into my yoga and dance practice, receiving trauma informed bodywork, and studying with spiritual teachers from Yogic, Buddhist, Tantric, and Sufi paths allowed me to regain a sense of safety and presence in my own body.
I learned that with spacious awareness all aspects of experience could be reintegrated into a sense of wholeness and that this process of integration is really what healing is all about. This made becoming a holistic therapist an easy choice for me, so I chose to attend the Somatic Psychology program at JFKU’s School of Holistic Studies.
As I began to practice as a psychotherapist I knew I needed to continue to deepen my own internal and practical resources as a healer. I saw a flier for a training in ecotherapy and I decided to take the leap of faith and deepen my exploration of healing in relationship with the natural world.
Working outdoors opened up new dimensions in my practice of somatic psychotherapy and made me feel vibrantly alive.
At the same time, I was exploring the integration of Yogic, Tantric, and Buddhist philosophy, as well as the energetics of the subtle body in my somatic psychotherapy practice. This prompted me to deepen my study of integrative energy healing and I embarked on the two year journey to become a practitioner and teacher of an energy awareness and healing modality known as Syntara System.
I currently work as a holistic psychotherapist and energy healer in my private practice and teach other healing arts practitioners about embodied spirituality as affiliate faculty in the Spiritual and Depth Psychology Specialization at Antioch University. I’ve also developed a BIPOC Ecotherapy course and train practitioners in ecotherapy with The Earth Body Institute.
