About me and what shapes my philosophy...
I have been working in the field of mental health and wellness for the last 30 years, focusing on the individual within a cultural context. I bring to our work the skills I have honed as a psychotherapist trained in both Western/European and Buddhist psychotherapy, as a somatic therapist with 10 years engaged as a massage therapist and yoga practitioner, as a mindfulness informed contemplative coach, as a biologist interested in language, communication, cognition and animal behavior, through the ability to lead groups and individuals in tending to the night dream as a way to engage in a deeper conversation with the world around us, and now as an Ancestral Lineage Repair Practitioner teaching people to connect directly with their own well ancestors and developed their intuitive knowing.
I currently live in The United States on the ancestral lands of the S'klallam people of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. My own people are from Central, Northern and Eastern Europe. Some of them come from German speaking countries. Some are Scandinavians, Celts, Slavs and Pontic Steppe horse people. Most were recent immigrants to the United States from the mid 1800's to the 1950's, including my own mother who emigrated to the US in 1954. Growing up in a bi-cultural and bi-lingual household as an immigrant's daughter, my physiology and psychology were immeasurably affected by the history she and my grandmother grew up through in war zones in Europe. Due to the effect of epigenetics, or the inter-generational effect of trauma on gene expression through multiple generations, I inherited my mother’s anxiety and predisposition to depression. For the last 30 years, I have studied and learned to work with this legacy in my family of origin, in my relationships and within myself. Learning how to heal those ancestral wounds in myself was a big part of wanting to help others in the same way I was guided by my therapists, teachers and practitioners to heal.
My early studies in biology and ecology also had a profound impact on me as a young adult as well. The foundational perspective I walk in this work is one informed by the fragile and tentative relationship humans have with the world which we are miraculously embedded in. Today I come to this work foundationally as an animist, someone who sees all the natural world as alive and sovereign. This perspective is vitally important in addressing the underlying and devastating loneliness I see in many people in the modern world. I find the guiding principles of kindness, connection and awareness of all beings, human and other-than-humans, show up in dreams, ancestral work and are highlighted in my coaching practice equally.
About you…or,
How do I know if we are a good fit?
If you are someone who has done some personal work, been in group or individual therapy, or are interested in not only healing yourself but also how to be a more responsive human being in the world, then we might be a good fit to work together. If you are interested in work that is beyond the boundaries of traditional psychotherapy, or are looking for a mentor to develop your inner knowing beyond survival, into thriving and proactively living in a world you want to leave the children of the future, then we may be a good fit. If you have always been a seeker of things beyond what the world has told you is acceptable or understandable, then we might be a good fit.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if this work would be supportive of your journey:
Do you want to feel more empowered to speak your truth?
Do you want an internal voice that is kind and supportive and not filled with self-aggression?
Do you want to develop clear and healthy boundaries?
Are you looking for your superpowers and how best to create work in the world that resonates deeply with your soul?
Are you someone who wants to explore expanded states of consciousness such as in dreams, intuition and liminal realms?
Are you interested in complex social histories and healing from intergenerational cultural burdens?
Are you integrating a large shift in life, an identity or a role change, navigating loss or grief, or going through a major life transition or challenge?
I help people build skills to feel more connected to themselves, the earth and their communities. I work with people to be kinder to themselves and each other. I work to help you build emotional resilience. I work with clients who are looking toward how to inhabit the lives they chose more fully and who want to find meaning and purpose in the simple ordinary life of being a human. I work with illness, death, dying, and the dead, both as clients in this transformational process. I help those who care for others, learn to care for themselves.
There is no "perfect", no "done", and no "finish line". There is nothing to "complete". We are all a work in progress. I have walked a few challenging roads and found my way back to some kind of ground, peace and resource, and because of that, I know you can too. I look forward to listening deeply to your struggles, celebrating your successes and sharing resources to bring you home to yourself.
Some of my Education, Teachers, Mentors, and Ongoing Inspirations
Masters in Contemplative Psychology ~ Naropa University, Boulder Colorado
Bachelors Degree in Biology, Behavior and Language in Marine Mammals ~ University of California, Santa Cruz
Therapeutic Uses of Dream Work ~ Pacifica Graduate Institute. California
Healing the Brain through Self Resonance ~ Sarah Peyton
Ancestral Lineage Healing ~ Dr. Daniel Foor, The Ancestral Medicine Network Practitioner
Understanding Power Dynamics ~ Dr. Cedar Barstow, The Right Use of Power Institute
Remembering Forgotten Histories ~ Martin Prechtel's Bolad's Kitchen
Intrinsic Coaching for Health and Wellness ~ Totally Coached, Inc.
International Association for the Study of Dreams ~ Member
Deep Ecology, Earth Honoring Ritual and Animist Values
30+ years of Mediation Practices/Retreats in Tibetan Buddhism, India, Nepal and USA
Somatic Body Work Practices/Massage (CMT)/Yoga Teacher Training
National Certification for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCTMB)
Year and a Day Apprenticeship ~Cerridwen Fallingstar
Additional trainings within the Ancestral Medicine Network:
Care for the Dead and Dying
Initiations: A Life of Ritual, year long course
Practical Animism
Animist Psychology
Foundations of Ritual
Kindling the Need Fire: Ritual Support for Pandemic Times
Listings:
Psychology Today Practitioner Directory
Ancestral Medicine Practitioner Directory
I have been working in the field of mental health and wellness for the last 30 years, focusing on the individual within a cultural context. I bring to our work the skills I have honed as a psychotherapist trained in both Western/European and Buddhist psychotherapy, as a somatic therapist with 10 years engaged as a massage therapist and yoga practitioner, as a mindfulness informed contemplative coach, as a biologist interested in language, communication, cognition and animal behavior, through the ability to lead groups and individuals in tending to the night dream as a way to engage in a deeper conversation with the world around us, and now as an Ancestral Lineage Repair Practitioner teaching people to connect directly with their own well ancestors and developed their intuitive knowing.
I currently live in The United States on the ancestral lands of the S'klallam people of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. My own people are from Central, Northern and Eastern Europe. Some of them come from German speaking countries. Some are Scandinavians, Celts, Slavs and Pontic Steppe horse people. Most were recent immigrants to the United States from the mid 1800's to the 1950's, including my own mother who emigrated to the US in 1954. Growing up in a bi-cultural and bi-lingual household as an immigrant's daughter, my physiology and psychology were immeasurably affected by the history she and my grandmother grew up through in war zones in Europe. Due to the effect of epigenetics, or the inter-generational effect of trauma on gene expression through multiple generations, I inherited my mother’s anxiety and predisposition to depression. For the last 30 years, I have studied and learned to work with this legacy in my family of origin, in my relationships and within myself. Learning how to heal those ancestral wounds in myself was a big part of wanting to help others in the same way I was guided by my therapists, teachers and practitioners to heal.
My early studies in biology and ecology also had a profound impact on me as a young adult as well. The foundational perspective I walk in this work is one informed by the fragile and tentative relationship humans have with the world which we are miraculously embedded in. Today I come to this work foundationally as an animist, someone who sees all the natural world as alive and sovereign. This perspective is vitally important in addressing the underlying and devastating loneliness I see in many people in the modern world. I find the guiding principles of kindness, connection and awareness of all beings, human and other-than-humans, show up in dreams, ancestral work and are highlighted in my coaching practice equally.
About you…or,
How do I know if we are a good fit?
If you are someone who has done some personal work, been in group or individual therapy, or are interested in not only healing yourself but also how to be a more responsive human being in the world, then we might be a good fit to work together. If you are interested in work that is beyond the boundaries of traditional psychotherapy, or are looking for a mentor to develop your inner knowing beyond survival, into thriving and proactively living in a world you want to leave the children of the future, then we may be a good fit. If you have always been a seeker of things beyond what the world has told you is acceptable or understandable, then we might be a good fit.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if this work would be supportive of your journey:
Do you want to feel more empowered to speak your truth?
Do you want an internal voice that is kind and supportive and not filled with self-aggression?
Do you want to develop clear and healthy boundaries?
Are you looking for your superpowers and how best to create work in the world that resonates deeply with your soul?
Are you someone who wants to explore expanded states of consciousness such as in dreams, intuition and liminal realms?
Are you interested in complex social histories and healing from intergenerational cultural burdens?
Are you integrating a large shift in life, an identity or a role change, navigating loss or grief, or going through a major life transition or challenge?
I help people build skills to feel more connected to themselves, the earth and their communities. I work with people to be kinder to themselves and each other. I work to help you build emotional resilience. I work with clients who are looking toward how to inhabit the lives they chose more fully and who want to find meaning and purpose in the simple ordinary life of being a human. I work with illness, death, dying, and the dead, both as clients in this transformational process. I help those who care for others, learn to care for themselves.
There is no "perfect", no "done", and no "finish line". There is nothing to "complete". We are all a work in progress. I have walked a few challenging roads and found my way back to some kind of ground, peace and resource, and because of that, I know you can too. I look forward to listening deeply to your struggles, celebrating your successes and sharing resources to bring you home to yourself.
Some of my Education, Teachers, Mentors, and Ongoing Inspirations
Masters in Contemplative Psychology ~ Naropa University, Boulder Colorado
Bachelors Degree in Biology, Behavior and Language in Marine Mammals ~ University of California, Santa Cruz
Therapeutic Uses of Dream Work ~ Pacifica Graduate Institute. California
Healing the Brain through Self Resonance ~ Sarah Peyton
Ancestral Lineage Healing ~ Dr. Daniel Foor, The Ancestral Medicine Network Practitioner
Understanding Power Dynamics ~ Dr. Cedar Barstow, The Right Use of Power Institute
Remembering Forgotten Histories ~ Martin Prechtel's Bolad's Kitchen
Intrinsic Coaching for Health and Wellness ~ Totally Coached, Inc.
International Association for the Study of Dreams ~ Member
Deep Ecology, Earth Honoring Ritual and Animist Values
30+ years of Mediation Practices/Retreats in Tibetan Buddhism, India, Nepal and USA
Somatic Body Work Practices/Massage (CMT)/Yoga Teacher Training
National Certification for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCTMB)
Year and a Day Apprenticeship ~Cerridwen Fallingstar
Additional trainings within the Ancestral Medicine Network:
Care for the Dead and Dying
Initiations: A Life of Ritual, year long course
Practical Animism
Animist Psychology
Foundations of Ritual
Kindling the Need Fire: Ritual Support for Pandemic Times
Listings:
Psychology Today Practitioner Directory
Ancestral Medicine Practitioner Directory
