I understand that unexpected things happen in our lives sometimes. To be fair to all clients and myself, I hold the following policies:

Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy:

• 48 hours advance notice is required to reschedule or cancel an appointment without charge. You will be expected to pay one half of the regular appointment rate (see rates above) for changing your appointment with less than 48 hours notice, and to pay in full for 12 hours or less notice. If you have a package, you can either forfeit the session in your package, or keep your package session and pay the 1/2 full rate cancellation fee out of pocket. Thank you for understanding.
  
• If you have been directly exposed to covid-19 or have any symptoms of any illness develop within the 48 hour window, that payment expectation is waived. PLEASE do not come for bodywork if you may get myself or others sick. Thank you.

Missed Appointments:

Full payment expected, or forfeit the package in your session.

Late Policy:

Your booked appointment time is your time. In order to honor my and other client's time and appointments, late arrivals will shorten your session time accordingly.

Scroll to bottom for covid/sick policy.

I work with trauma and stress in the sense of Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory (read my "Nervous System & Polyvagal Theory 101" article here), which applies to all animals who experience stress.

When we are not able to process and release stress from our body-mind system, the body often holds onto the stress physically (a simple example is having tense shoulders after a long or stressful drive). Trauma can occur from sudden events, such as from being in a bike or car accident, or build gradually over time, such as from the prolonged stress of being in an abusive/unsafe feeling relationship, or burnout/anxiety from chronically stressful work.

Somatic Therapist and author Resmaa Menakem describes it well:

"Trauma is a response to anything that’s overwhelming, that happens too much, too fast, too soon, or too long — coupled with a lack of protection or support. It lives in the body, stored as sensation: pain, or tension — or lack of sensation, like numbness.

[If the] flight, [or fight] reflex gets overridden [or the body repeatedly goes into freeze mode without completing the cycle to fully release]... it doesn’t just disappear; it gets embedded in the body. As time goes by, the unconscious, reflexive trauma response can show up in all kinds of situations, including extreme reactions to things, irrational fears, avoidance strategies. There’s nothing wrong with this — it’s not some kind of personal failure. It is the body protecting itself from [some perceived bad thing] happening again in the future.

In our culture, we tend to believe logic trumps everything, but logic can’t even get its shoes on before the body is starting to protect itself."

The nervous system can get stuck on "high alert". New pain science shows us that most chronic pain starts with an over-sensitized nervous system. Bodywork is a key way we can help our nervous system, body and mind get more practiced with switching into a "rest and digest" state and start to increase our window of tolerance (what I like to call our "window of aliveness" - where we get to stay present and feel alive - rather than feeling like we are freaking out or shutting down).

I work with trauma as it manifests in the physical body and nervous system according to Polyvagal Theory. When we've experienced too much stress of any kind, our body can shut down and then get stuck, not able to fully "come out of" the stress response, and so we hold in a state of tension and elevated stress response, even when the stressor has gone away.

In an urban, modern world full of stressors and potential triggers, if we are stuck in an activated nervous system state, it's almost impossible not to get easily overwhelmed, anxious, irritable, and to feel ungrounded and dis-regulated. This is not a personal failure, it's your nervous system doing what it's designed to do, in a world that doesn't generally teach or support us around how to reset and calm down.

My work, at its core, is about re-grounding and down-shifting the nervous system. It's about being with physical sensation, and facillitating a sense of safety, relaxation and release. (It's not about processing emotions/feelings/thoughts - I am not a trained somatic or psycho-therapist, but I highly suggest doing this work in conjunction with one!)

If emotions, thoughts and feelings arise, that is completely okay and you are welcome to express them, and, most importantly, practice being with the sensations in your body as emotion moves through. In this way, you can begin to develop more capacity to stay present, have choice, self-regulate and experience life in full color and flow.

I am trained in techniques for practicing consent and control/empowerment, feeling and releasing charge slowly and gently, safe-porting with touch and words, etc. I also strive to create a safe, welcoming, comfortable office space, and clear boundaries with time, touch, money and communication.

I've worked with people with a variety of trauma, including complex and developmental trauma, childhood head injuries, acute whiplash after car accidents, and debilitating anxiety following violent crime. If you're unsure whether working together would be a good fit, please reach out, and also please consult with your therapist or doctor.

• Masking is optional some, all, or none of the time. I am more than happy to wear a mask (N95 is my default) if you prefer, please just ask!
• Please consider wearing a mask (or letting me know so I may mask) if you've recently traveled, been to large events, or otherwise had large public group exposure.
• Asking for full disclosure (goes both ways between me/clients) of any symptoms of illness, or direct exposure to someone who is sick, and checking in about rescheduling if so.
• I stay up-to-date on vaccinations.
• I disinfect the table, equipment, and all touch surfaces between clients.
• I run a HEPA air filter, as well as an HVAC system for air flow and quality, and I always open the screen door to the balcony between sessions, and am happy to leave it open if requested during session.
• Hand sanitizer offered and lots of standard thorough hand washing :)
• I'm always open to requests to help you feel more comfortable, please just reach out.