Dance / Movement Therapy

We experience life with our bodies & eating disorders, while definitely mental disorders are also a fight between the body, mind, and soul. To only focus on the mind leaves much out of the recovery equation. Don’t get me wrong, I love talk therapy (I better since I'm a therapist), but I also believe there are times talking can only go so far. Yoga is a unique healing modality, offering individuals safe, supported, healing practices & tools to navigate the challenges of recovery.

DMT is the therapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of the individual, based on the empirically supported premise that the body, mind and spirit are interconnected. Movement is used as a catalyst, and a means into the person's inner feelings and a way to express, cope, interact with others, and integrate their experiences. Is it fancy? No! Movement&dance can be anything from breathing, posture, communicating, the way we hold ourselves.

This is a creative and somatic method that invites in body awareness as well as expressive movement. Movement signifies vitality, change, adaptability, and is the opposite of stuckness and stagnation. When we mindfully allow thoughts and emotions to move, we can ride the waves of life with grace.

Throughout my life, I have held countless positions in the field of dance and movement. I have been a conscious dance facilitator for over a decade. Before I attended graduate school, I had a private somatic practice in which I engaged clients in embodiment sessions in a dance studio setting, often accompanied by music. I love incorporating movement into my somatic sessions with therapy clients.

I trained as a Dance/Movement Therapist at Lesley University. Additionally, I completed an intensive 2 year training in the practice of Authentic Movement. I always offer my clients the option of movement during sessions. My approach to therapy is heavily inspired by the theoretical foundations of DMT: I recognize and celebrate strengths, meet each client in the present moment, and inherently trust in the wisdom of the body.

Together we use the dance movement therapy, traditional talk therapy, and holistic healing modalities to process and release things we no longer need to hold onto, becoming free, healed, and more in tune with our most divine self. As a creative arts therapist, I work with individuals who enjoy art-making(dancing, creative writing, drawing, painting, etc) to heal. I support clients in low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, body image, life purpose, spirituality, among other things.

When I decided to become a Creative Arts Therapist, I was not sure what modality to focus on. I decided to pursue Dance/Movement because I felt an urgency and curiosity about deepening my connection with my own physical body. As I have studied and practiced this work, I have been honored and humbled to witness and support folx in exploring and relishing in this connection. Our bodies hold so much feeling for us, but only when we are aware of its capacity and expansiveness can we utilize it.

As a board-certified dance/movement therapist, I strongly believe in the healing power of the mind/body connection. Because we experience the world through our body, every emotion, thought and interaction impacts us on a physical level. By increasing awareness of our thoughts and physical sensations in relation to our inner and outer world, we can more readily access ways of feeling grounded and empowered in our lives.

In my dance/movement therapy work, I use body awareness and movement to help my clients get out of their heads and into their bodies as a whole, furthering the body/mind connection. Movement is our first language and it can express what may be too difficult to express with words alone. Overall, I am passionate about helping my clients expand their movement life (whatever way that may be) as a way of self expression, healing, and empowerment.

With a certificate in movement studies, my bachelors in dance, and a masters in occupational therapy, I have an extensive background and rich history in the therapeutic power of movement. I utilize breath, yoga, pilates, hula, chi gong and deep core activation, strengthening and relaxation-as well as encouraging my clients to get in touch with how their own body wants to move.

I am a registered dance/movement therapist offering video dance/movement therapy for the state of Oregon.

Life is challenging, at best. For many, our bodies have become functional vessels to just carry us through our busy and often overwhelmed lives. Most people are not aware of how much our bodies reflect the challenges within and without. Women and girls especially are taught to disconnect from their bodies, often manifesting shame, low self esteem, and poor body image.Our bodies carry and hold our life stories from birth on.

Dance-Movement Therapy is an embodied psychotherapy where we resource into the body to explore, experience, discover and celebrate our deepest truths. Every experience we’ve ever had is recorded and held in the body. When we tap into the body’s wisdom through body-based exercises, movement explorations, breathing techniques and meditation, materials stored deep within can surface to be witnessed, learned from, and integrated, leading to profound insights, healing, growth and change.

I use Dance/movement therapy alongside psychodynamic and humanistic approaches. I use kinesthetic empathy to help give me more information about the client and how they are showing up that day. Our movement and body tells us so much that words alone cannot. This is why I find it to be an extra layer of being able to see clients and help them create healing. DMT helps create somatic healing. I will help you learn to regulate your nervous system which I find to be great for anxiety and PTSD.