For a therapist, I make a lot of faces.

There’s a long, and arguably harmful, tradition of therapists being trained to be “blank slates.” This is the style of therapy we still see sometimes in TV and film: the client talks, struggles to express feelings, maybe even blows up in frustration. And the therapist, sitting back in the chair, takes notes, looks up blandly,

My presentation is Wednesday night – here’s how to join us

The second Massachusetts Holistic Practitioners Roundtable is coming Wednesday night, November 18, from 7pm to 8:30pm. Join me, Chris Burgan of Full Heart Tarot, therapist Jill Briansky, holistic educator Lori Walsh, and Reiki Master Louise London-Choate as we discuss ways we can help you through your life stresses, along with those of this extraordinary year.

Owning yourself fully: Bessel van der Kolk and healing trauma through the body

The big issue for traumatized people is that they don’t own themselves anymore. Any loud sound, anybody insulting them, hurting them, saying bad things, can hijack them away from themselves. And so what we have learned is that what makes you resilient to trauma is to own yourself fully. -Bessel van der Kolk In the

Working with sexuality

It doesn’t take a bodyworker to tell you that sexuality is a touchy topic in modern life.  Sex is one of the driving forces of our human existence, and its prominence in what drives us is evident equally in the suggestive images and messages that bombard us daily, and in the repressive messages we still

People into BDSM no longer considered mentally ill. Well it’s about time.

As reported by The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, the makers of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, commonly known as the DSM, has released its new edition (DSM-5).  In previous editions, paraphilias – a catch-all term for “unusual” sexual desires falling under the umbrella of fetishes, BDSM, or kink – were basically considered

A safe space to speak your truth: how do we cultivate safety?

Many of my readers will likely have heard the term “safe space.”  This phrase is sometimes used as a term of art in therapeutic circles, referring to a place where people can speak freely and honestly without fear of judgment or ridicule, but it is also often used in communities organized around oppression – i.e.,

The four powers of the Synergist

A colleague responded recently to my post on finding my ideal clients by talking about the four needs of attachment theory.  In short, a client needs the same things from a therapist or Synergist that a child needs from a caregiver – or an adult from a loving relationship.  I’ll simply quote my friend here:

Not Actually A Psychotherapist

Earlier this month, I made a post about finding my ideal clients in which I implied, near the end, that I’m a body psychotherapist.  (The exact quotation was, “If you were looking for help from a body psychotherapist, what would you hope they could do for you?”  Which admittedly was more about finding out what

Finding my ideal clients

I’m currently taking a course with my mentor, Joan Brooks, on marketing.  It was something of a struggle for me to begin it, I’ll admit, and I’m finding myself dragging my feet, too, in getting the homework assignments done.  Let’s face it: marketing just isn’t all that sexy.  It’s not the thing that we go