Your wholeness is inherent.
Hakomi-informed Somatic Coaching
An embodied approach to self discovery.
Hakomi-informed somatic coaching will support you to access deeper, unconscious aspects of yourself through embodiment, present moment awareness, and assisted self-study.
This body-based approach will support you to shift the perception that your personal struggles are problems to be solved, and invite you to welcome aspects of yourself and your life with an attitude of curiosity and care.
With this awareness, you can experience your body as a resource, and trust the inherent wholeness that is already within you.
You have likely had the experience of going to a therapist or mentor in which you sit and talk about what is going on in your life for an hour, and then you leave feeling like the state of your emotions and your felt experience has not shifted in a way that feels clarifying, nourishing, or satisfying.
While the listening ear of someone is always helpful to some degree, talk therapy or coaching that does not address what is happening in the body in the present moment leaves out the most potent avenue for insight and transformation.
Schedule a free 30 minute call here.
Schedule a single session or package of sessions here.
Transformation happens when we FEEL and process our core wounding from a place of safety, compassion, and support.
The somatic approach differs from talk therapy, because instead of attempting to solve what is challenging with the rational mind, you will instead be guided into state of present moment awareness in order to visit the inner terrain that is underneath the surface of the mind.
Listening to the cues that your body is providing in a moment-by-moment basis is a compass toward gently deepening into and processing your core emotional and somatic material, and gaining insight into the automatic and unconscious impulses that are more challenging to access in ordinary states of awareness.
Rather than trying fix or simply “let go” of your internal barriers, limiting habits and behaviors, chronic pain, anxiety, sensitivity, or other struggles, we instead lean into and support these inner experiences with an attitude of curiosity, acceptance, and nonviolence, knowing that they are protective responses that deserve to be honored and understood.
Your body and nervous system are working to keep you safe, even if the internal protections are now more limiting than helpful.
Your body has a lot to say about what happened to you growing up, how those experiences shaped you, and what your present needs are. You may already have some of this information from past talk therapy or memories that your rational mind understands as being the cause of your current struggles.
However, the body is where we carry implicit memory which is the deeply held patterning of your nervous system, that the conscious mind often does not have direct access to.
This is why Hakomi sessions occur in a state of present moment awareness, or mindfulness, for both client and practitioner alike, so that this core material is more accessible through the felt sense of the body.
Introducing…
Inherently Whole
Embody the inherent wholeness that is already within you.
Together we will get to know the link between the impulses that arise in your body in the present moment, and the life experiences you have had that are still impacting your present day reality.
We will collaborate in gaining insight on how this has shaped you, and what your present needs are now.
“Catherine is a wonderful space holder and companion in deep soul-work. She has the beautiful skill of following threads of spoken language and body language to incredible wellsprings of healing. My sessions with her always leave me feeling held, witnessed, and like a more expansive version of myself.”
It is possible to see yourself and the world through a new lens of truth and clarity.
Imagine looking back at the darkest valley you have walked through with the profound recognition that what once felt like an impossible liability is now a gift.
The level of suffering you have endured is equal to the level of wisdom, presence, and joy available to you now.
You can have a wholesome, confident sense of self. You can feel grounded in your integrity and sincerity of your heart.
You can carry your sensitivity with strength and confidence while in relationship with other people in your life, with your work, responsibilities, and play.
Arriving at insight and clarity does not necessarily mean that you will not internally struggle again, or that you will be completely free from suffering.
But it does mean that you can bring loving awareness to your anxiety, protective parts, and old patterns when they arise, and then have choice and self-agency in how to respond.
When we can show up for ourselves with compassionate curiosity, we are no longer completely driven by our unconscious wounds.
Rather, we can rediscover the inherent wholeness within us, and relate with ourselves and others in a new way.
All sessions will take place on Zoom, and in the comfort of your own home. Each session lasts one hour.
It’s suggested that you schedule your sessions approximately one week apart so that you have enough time in between sessions to integrate your experience.
“The sessions I’ve had with Catherine are some of the most effective and powerful therapy sessions I’ve ever had – and I’ve had many.
I found the structure of Hakomi, and Catherine’s work in particular, quite healing and supportive, very safe and deeply human. The sessions felt mutually created and balanced.
The process of slowing-down, tuning in, and recognizing some deep currents/energies/signs within me felt revolutionary and surprising– a needed shortcut and revelation of the self.
This is work that is hard to do on one’s own – so being guided with such professionalism, insight, and care was very helpful.
Thank you!”
Hi, I'm Catherine.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
I support people who desire to gain self-insight who struggle with nervous system overwhelm, sensitivity, chronic pain and illness, and anxiety to rediscover their inherent wholeness.
When it comes to holding a container for others, my strength lies in attunement. I hold deep care, reverence, and humility for each person who puts their trust into my hands to witness and support them in places of vulnerability.
I take this responsibility seriously, and I want each person to feel safe as we work together, even if it means visiting internal terrain that is uncomfortable.
My number one intention is to be collaborative with you in that I will wait for your consent prior to any experiential somatic work we do that may potentially uncover painful material for the sake of supporting whatever kind of transformation you are ready for.
My own process of healing from chronic pain and complex trauma stems from a deep longing to feel more at ease in my body. I have always been an experiential learner, and a practitioner of the movement healing arts since I was a child.
Struggling with a 15-year cycle of chronic pain and fatigue, anxiety, and a 6-year long eating disorder, I have been on a long personal journey deep inner processing.
The immense amount of inner work required to heal the root of these externalized expressions of inner wounding is an ongoing process that I am deeply and passionately committed to, especially now as I serve others to do the same.
My intention is to help you discover the inherent wholeness that is already within you, and to have an embodied understanding that your emotional and physical symptoms are not a problem to be fixed, instead they are wise somatic responses to be understood and honored.
Somatic coaching, bodywork, and therapeutic movement practices have been my medicine that I choose to share with others who seek a body/mind approach to healing.
My intention is to hold what we discover together with loving presence, curiosity, and willingness to support you with whatever arises, whether that is supporting you to deepen further or to help you lean toward resourcing if the material we uncover is overwhelming.
My job is to keep you safe inside of the window of tolerance so that you can effectively process your core material in a way that is supportive for integration.
All sessions will take place on Zoom, and in the comfort of your own home. Each session lasts one hour.
It’s suggested that you schedule your sessions approximately one week apart so that you have enough time in between sessions to integrate your experience.
“Catherine was my entryway into Hakomi practice. She was skillful at bringing me back into my body so that I could access material at a deeper level.
I felt so supported by the methods she
used to support me and facilitate a situation unfolding and illuminating an old memory or pattern.
It is beautiful to work with her and I look forward to our next series together.”
I am not a licensed clinical therapist, and therefore I will refer you out if you have any of the following diagnoses or challenges so that you can be safely supported:
An active addiction
An active eating disorder that's not being addressed
Personality disorder
Severe unresolved trauma
Severe clinical depression
Schizoaffective disorder
Bipolar disorder
This is NOT a comprehensive list of contra-indications to working together.
Prior to working together, I will ask you questions to see if we are a good fit.
I encourage you to ask me questions as well, and to get a sense of whether or not I will be a good fit for you. If you sign up for this program without scheduling a 30 minute call, and we don't know each other, I will reach out to you to schedule one.
This is not for you if …
you want someone to fix you or tell you what to do.
you want someone to do the inner work FOR you.
I am not here to give specific advice for challenging situations happening in your life.
I am here to support your own internal awareness of what your needs are, and to communicate your needs nonviolently and effectively.
You deserve support, and I’m glad you are here!
“My time with Catherine in our Hakomi sessions continues to be absolutely transformative. Catherine creates a safe, warm, and welcoming space where I never feel rushed, judged, or pushed beyond my comfort zone.
She approaches our sessions with genuine care, compassion, and curiosity, making me feel truly seen and understood.
Catherine has a down-to-earth energy and creates a beautiful balance between being in a position of a professional coach and fostering a genuine, personal connection.
Catherine’s skillful navigation between my present moment experiences and thoughtful inner exploration continues to provide me with deep insights and a newfound understanding of myself.
Our sessions feel like a friendly exchange, where vulnerability is met with acceptance, leading to profound self-discovery.
I am immensely grateful for the enriching and transformative experience, and I enthusiastically recommend Catherine to anyone seeking a therapeutic journey filled with love, insight and warmth.”
FAQs
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At the beginning of a session, we will almost always begin in mindfulness. You will be supported to go inward into the felt experience of your body, underneath the surface layer of the mind.
From there, based on what feels most alive and important to you, you will be gently supported to bring the practitioner along. It could be some content around something you are experiencing in your life, or something you are presently experiencing internally such as a physical or emotional sensation.
Once we have contacted something that’s alive and important for you to tend, you will be supported make space to gently lean into that experience in mindfulness. From here, together we will deepen into that experience, always with your consent.
Once we have some information into this experience that has been evoked through your body’s internal cues, you may be prompted to participate in a somatic experiment so that we can get to know more about how your system is oriented.
For example, you may be supported to repeat a movement or some words that the practitioner sees as potentially holding some significant clues into your subconscious terrain, with the intention of bringing unconscious material to your conscious awareness.
While you repeat the movement (for example, tightening a fist) or the words (usually word with emotional tone to them), you will be encouraged to slow down, repeat, and study the experience in mindfulness to learn more about that impulse.
The practitioner may take over the words or movements for you so that you can hear or see them outside of yourself. Props may be used to support certain impulses, for example using a pillow to support your inclination to hide, or wrapping a blanket around you tightly to support the impulse to contract.
Another experiment may be doing the opposite of the impulse, for example, opening your arms while you speak instead of crossing them. Together, we notice what happens next and deepen further into your experience from there.
When these natural impulses are studied in a state of mindfulness, always with your permission, and with a sense of safety and trust in the therapeutic relationship, you can begin to feel what core material is underneath these impulses.
This is where the potential for deepening and processing occurs, within which lies the potential for a transformative experience.
Transformation is nothing that can be hurried or forced, which is why nonviolence is one of the key principles in the Hakomi method. The practitioner’s job is to balance the delicacy of your desire for change, while simultaneously honoring the organic timing of your unfolding process.
While having a big, transformative experience may be a level of profundity that you desire, and certainly can happen in this kind of container, often mini-transformations are likely to occur where smaller bite-sized nourishments are taken in one bit at a time.
Transformation occurs when you not only gain insight into what your unconscious core material is, but you also get a sense of what the missing nourishment is, and you have a felt experience of that nourishment.
Once you have a felt experience of the missing nourishment, you will be supported to linger in that experience to give your system some time to adjust to the feeling of a new potential way of being. This will evoke neuroplasticity, and support you to integrate this experience into your daily life.
Transformation occurs when our center of gravity shifts from unconsciously protecting the wound to consciously trusting a new possibility.
Integration is key for long term change, and therefore, you will be supported to take a few minutes together at the end of each session to debrief what just happened, and collaborate on how you can take what you just experienced or learned to infiltrate into your life.
To note, the above stated sequence of a session is a general guideline for the Hakomi method. Not every session will be transformative, and no two sessions will be the same. With the principle of organicity in mind, the therapist or coach will not hold any agenda, other than to keep you safe inside of the window of tolerance, and to allow for the organic unfolding of your process.
My intention is to hold what we discover together with loving presence, curiosity, and willingness to support you with whatever arises, whether that is supporting you to deepen further or to help you lean toward resourcing if the material we uncover is overwhelming.
My job is to keep you safe inside of the window of tolerance so that you can effectively process your core material in a way that is supportive for integration.
For a more detailed explanation of Hakomi, click here.
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No.
If we have not worked together before, I suggest you schedule a free 30-minute call for us to get to know each other.
Together, we can decide if we want to do 2-3 sessions first to see if we are a good fit prior to an 6-session package commitment.
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No. Please contact me if you would like to work together, and the pricing is inaccessible. I may have a lower fee available for those in need.