About Me
Hi, I am Laurel (she/her)
I love being a therapist. I see my role as a witness and guide in bringing awareness to the wisdom and wholeness within people, their communities, and ancestral lineages. We are never alone. Despite how isolated we may feel at times, in each breath, we are in relationship with the earth. My job is to help you remember how connected we are to each other and to the earth.
I bring warmth, humor, patience to our work and the belief that transformation happens when we have honest connections with ourselves and those around us. I work best with people who are ready and willing to go deep and are open to exploring new ways of engaging with themselves and others.The relationship you and I build - between client and therapist - is powerful and something I honor in our work together.
My Approach
I primarily use Internal Family Systems (IFS), a trauma -informed model that invites us to make room for all parts of us to be cared for and witnessed. Instead of avoiding, fighting, or trying to fix painful parts, we will use curiosity to learn how these parts are trying to help. When parts learn to trust the Self, we can face situations with more calmness, clarity, creativity, courage, and compassion. It is by showing compassion to all parts of you, even the parts you wish to “get rid of” or “fix,” that allows for transformation and healing—moving you towards the empowerment and acceptance you long to feel.
My training in Somatic Archaeology© also informs my therapeutic approach. The practice of Somatic Archaeology© was created by Dr. Ruby Gibson (Lakota). Somatic Archeology helps you ‘unearth’ feelings, sensations, thoughts, and unhelpful generational patterns stuck in your mind, body, and Spiritual self. Somatic Archeology is a bottom-up approach meaning, first, we focus on areas of your body that make you feel stuck or disconnected.
Mindfulness, somatic awareness, and art will support our work and are the foundation of my embodied, experiential therapy approach.
Areas of Emphasis include:
-
Self-Integration / parts work
-
Trauma
-
Anxiety
-
Depression
-
Setting boundaries and building communication skills
-
Grief and loss (including pregnancy loss)
-
Self-esteem / Self-love
-
Building healthy relationships
-
LGBTQIA+ -affirming care
​
I identify as a white, queer cis woman. I was born on the traditional homelands of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho in Colorado. I live and practice on the traditional homelands of the Squaxin, Nisqually, and Chehalis tribes, who have stewarded this land since time immemorial and continue to do so today. I acknowledge this land I am a settler on as a commitment to supporting tribal sovereignty and my own responsibility for caring for this land. I raise my hands and offer gratitude to the many indigenous people who have educated me and helped me understand my connection, place, and responsibility as a guest on this land.
​
Outside of work, I’m dancing, making playlists for friends, creating art, seeking joy and wonder, spending time outside with my dogs, listening to podcasts, and moving towards a world where everyone is free. I am grateful to the many people, animals, and plants who have guided me in my own healing.
papercut art by me
Somatic Archaeology
The five steps are:
1) I Notice : What is out of balance, what conflicts, struggles, memories or patters are ready to transform
2) I Sense: Explore body sensations – where is there tension or pain, what feels stuck in your body.
3) I Feel: Expression of emotions, encourage movement of repressed and charged emotions through breathing, crying, sound, movement.
4) I Interpret: Integrate “ah ha moment” shift negative thought patterns and recognize somatic wisdom.
5) I Reconcile: Dream forward, remember where one belongs and the freedom to create a new paradigm (higher purpose/spiritual self)
What does a session look like?
We will start with helping you feel grounded and resourced. This means practicing breathing exercises and using guided imagery exercises to help you connect with resources or helpers who are ready to support you on your healing journey. These helpers can be ancestors, plants, animals and other helpers from nature.
When you feel ready we will move through the five steps of Somatic Archaeology.
Education and Experience
I've been honored to be in community and work with the Squaxin Island Tribe from 2013- 2023.
I have a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Prescott College. I completed my internship and supervision hours working at Squaxin Island Tribe’s Behavioral Health Outpatient.
I have taken the following trainings
-
Historical Trauma Master Class, Dr. Ruby Gibson and Kara Big Crow, 2021
-
Treating Complex Trauma with Internal Family Systems, Frank Anderson, 2019
-
Cultural Competence in Witnessing Resistance to Trauma and Interpersonal and Political Violence Dr. Pilar Hernandez-Wolfe, 2019