HOLISTIC THERAPY

Navigating life’s difficulties alone can feel incredibly daunting. I support people with a variety of challenges such anxiety, depression, overwhelm, unprocessed grief, unresolved trauma (personal and ancestral). loss of a loved one, insomnia, attachment wounding, perfectionism, inner critics, people-pleasing, creative blocks, relationship challenges, life transitions (divorce, parenthood, career change, moving), finding meaning and purpose, low self-esteem, and illness.

MY APPROACH

My sessions offer a nurturing space filled with warmth, compassion, and curiosity. This is the environment I foster, where we embark on a journey of healing and soulful inquiry together. As a therapist, I am committed to being your steadfast ally, advocate, and greatest supporter. I believe wholeheartedly in your inherent capacity to heal and thrive, and that within you lives a wellspring of deep wisdom and joy that is waiting to be embodied. Whether you carry the weight of a deep pain or yearn to reawaken dormant gifts, my approach empowers you to explore and reconnect with your most authentic self and live a life filled with meaning, vitality, and beauty.

—MORE AREAS TO EXPLORE—

  • Release limiting beliefs and outdated protective strategies.

  • Support strenthening self-confidence and self-worth.

  • Sacred Wound Work—working with your core wound to find the gifts that live inside of it.

  • Release self-sabotaging blocks that are keeping you from living your fullest life.

  • Restore your connection to pleasure and eros.

  • Find your authentic voice and unique gifts.

  • Repair your nervous system and restore connection to safety, ease, and calm.

  • Support with neurodiversity, autism, ADHD, and high sensitivity.

  • Reparent your inner child and teenager.

  • Support through spiritual crisis or a powerful spiritual experience.

  • Psychedelic integration support.

  • Support with medical trauma and narcissistic abuse.

  • Attachment style education.

  • Support creating healthy boundaries.

  • Learn tools for healthy communication in relationships.

  • Guidance finding belonging with the earth and the more-than-human world.

SARAH WEST is a Registered Somatic Therapist and Educator, and a Professional Member of the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA), and meets the high standards of practice and upholds the Code of Ethics.

MODALITIES

Every path to healing is unique, and I craft my approach with your specific healing needs in mind. I draw from a wide array of therapeutic modalities that I have professionally trained in, offering a comprehensive set of tools to support your journey of self-discovery and healing.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

    IFS is a powerful psychotherapy modality for trauma therapy. It is safe, non-pathologizing, compassionate, and easy to bring into relationships for developing greater intimacy. It is a method for facilitating emotional wellbeing by helping people understand the parts of their inner world. It works to integrate the exiled and abandoned parts of yourself that were wounded in childhood and adolescence. The goal of IFS is to help people develop a more compassionate and accepting relationship with their parts so that there is restored access to wholeness, calm, creativity, clarity, and ease.

  • Somatics, rooted in the Greek word for "living body known from within," emphasizes our inner experience of the body. It's a philosophy and a field of practice that embraces the wholeness of our being, recognizing the deep connection between mind and body.

    Trauma can create a disconnection from our bodies. We may experience overwhelming emotions, physical pain, and unskilfull coping mechanisms. This can leave feelings insecurity and distrust.

    Somatic therapy offers an experiential approach to bridge the gap between mind and body. It helps:

    — Reclaim our body as a safe haven: Learn to feel safe and comfortable within ourselves.

    — Process emotional material: Heal from unprocessed emotions, both verbal and nonverbal.

    — Complete unfinished stress responses: Resolve the stress responses left incomplete due to overwhelming experiences.

    — Rebuild connection: Foster a healthier relationship with ourselves and the world around us.

    Somatic trauma therapy offers tools to navigate their internal landscape. This includes:

    —Building resilience: Develop stronger internal and external resources to cope with challenges.

    —Fostering trust: Build trusting and supportive relationships to promote healing.

    —Self-compassion: Cultivate self-love and learn to turn inward with kindness.

    —Body awareness: Deepen the connection with your body and its signals.

    — Trauma processing: Allow time and space to process and release the impact of trauma.

    By unpacking the effects of trauma through somatic techniques, we can experience a profound sense of wholeness and well-being

  • Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment, without judgment. It's a foundation of holistic therapy, offering a powerful tool for cultivating self-awareness, reducing stress, and fostering inner peace. Through mindfulness practices, you can learn to:

    — Focus your attention: By gently guiding your awareness to the present moment, you can train your mind to be less reactive to thoughts and emotions, allowing you to respond with greater intention and clarity.

    — Embrace non-judgment: Mindfulness encourages observing your thoughts and feelings without judgment, fostering self-compassion and acceptance.

    — Increase self-awareness: Through mindful practices, you can gain a deeper understanding of your triggers, patterns, and emotions, empowering you to make conscious choices that align with your values and goals.

    —Reduce stress and improve well-being: By calming the mind and fostering a sense of presence, mindfulness can significantly reduce stress, anxiety, and negativity, leading to improved mental and emotional well-being.

    Bringing mindfulness into your holistic therapy journey can:

    —Enhance the effectiveness of other therapeutic techniques.

    —Support chronic pain and illness.

    —May improve your sleep quality and overall energy levels.

    —Strengthen your relationships with yourself and others.

    By integrating mindfulness into your therapy experience, you can embark on a transformative journey towards greater self-awareness, resilience, and well-being.

  • Expressive Art Therapy is a powerful avenue in therapy, offering an alternative path to healing from trauma, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. This unique approach utilizes creative expression as a bridge to explore the depths of your thoughts, feelings, and lived experiences.

    Often, expressing the complexities of our inner worlds through words can feel challenging. Expressive Art Therapy provides a safe and supportive space to navigate these difficulties through various creative outlets, such as:

    Dance: Move your body to express and explore emotions in a non-verbal way.

    Writing: Express yourself through poems, stories, or journaling, finding clarity and release through written words.

    Painting: Engage with colors and textures to visually portray your emotions and experiences.

    Photography: Capture the world around you through your lens, discovering new perspectives and metaphors for your inner world.

    Sculpture: Mold and shape clay or other materials to give form to your emotions and experiences.

    Music: Create or engage with music to express yourself in a different, yet powerful, language.

    Through Expressive Art Therapy, you can:

    Gain new perspectives on your challenges.

    Tap into unconscious emotions and experiences.

    Develop coping mechanisms for difficult feelings.

    Gain a deeper understanding of yourself.

    Navigate your healing journey in a creative and empowering way.

    If you're looking for an alternative approach to therapy or simply want to explore your creative side while fostering well-being, Expressive Art Healing may be the path for you.

  • Nature therapy along with nature-centered soul work practices is a unique approach that blends nature immersion with soul-oriented practices such as expressive art, dream work, shadow work, wandering, deep imagery, sacred wound work, solo immersions, connecting to the animate world, dialoging with the more-than-human world, to foster self-discovery and a deeper connection to the natural world. I offer nature-based yoga, meditation, trauma therapy sessions and soul mentoring sessions. Nature is a powerful tool in holistic therapy.

  • Soul work is the process of returning to your most essential self. It is a journey of restoring your innate gifts and brilliance, those lost and forgotten fragments of soul. Soul work is distinct from traditional therapy in that it is not about fixing or resolving anything. 

    There are no clearly defined goals. Soul work is a personal journey to understand and nurture your deepest essence, your true and authentic self. It is a journey into the mysterious. It follows its own unique timeline. It requires a symbolic death to what has been in order to birth a new life, a life that is embodied with your unique wisdom and medicine.

    I guide people on the soul’s path using an array of tools such as, embodiment practices, dream work, shadow work, exile retrieval, sacred wound work, ritual and ceremony, soul art, and natured-based practices.

  • Dreams are the realm where your disowned selves emerge, including hidden aspects of your soul. The body is a doorway back into the dreamtime, where lived emotions and vivid images are accessed. Entering this depth terrain awakens creativity and psychic phenomena, offering you a path back to your vital essence. Dream tending is a sacred practice that creates a bridge to the forgotten world of soul, myth, and symbol.

  • The shadow is the mysterious somatic unconscious that contains hidden aspects of your inner world. It is entirely unknown and can be understood as the unlived life. It includes both those things deemed negative by culture and those positive qualities, which Jung called the golden shadow. The golden shadow contains your brilliance and creative potential. The process of befriending the shadow enables you to live a more vital, creative, and authentic life.

  • Attachment theory offers a powerful lens through which to view our emotional landscape. It delves into how our earliest relationships with caregivers, particularly in our formative years, leave a lasting imprint on how we connect with others and experience emotions throughout life. Within the context of holistic therapy, understanding attachment styles can be a powerful tool for self-discovery and fostering healthier connections.

    Our early interactions with caregivers as the foundation for our emotional blueprint. Attachment theory suggests these interactions shape our sense of security, trust, and intimacy as we navigate adult relationships. By exploring our attachment style, we gain valuable insights into how we approach closeness, express emotions, and potentially, the challenges we face in relationships.

    Attachment theory identifies different styles, such as secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized. Recognizing your attachment style is important for understanding your emotional needs, communication patterns, and areas where relationships might feel challenging. I help peopleunderstand their attachment style and work toward cultivating a secure attachment style. This translates to feeling comfortable with intimacy and closeness while maintaining healthy independence.

  • Polyvagal theory offers a compelling perspective on the nervous system. Specifically, it delves into the workings of the autonomic nervous system, and focus’s on the vagus nerve, which plays a crucial role in our fight-or-flight response and relaxation state.

    Polyvagal theory proposes a hierarchy within the autonomic nervous system.

    Imagine a hierarchy of safety. At the top, we have a wellspring of calm and social connection, mediated by the ventral branch of the vagus nerve. This is where we feel safe enough to connect with others, be playful, and engage in activities that bring us joy.

    However, when we perceive danger, the system moves down the hierarchy. In situations where we feel we can fight back, the sympathetic nervous system takes over, mobilizing our body for action (fight-or-flight). But if escape or defense seem impossible, the theory suggests we might enter a state of immobilization, a shutdown response where we freeze or dissociate. This can be a survival mechanism in extreme situations, but it can also manifest as chronic anxiety or difficulty connecting with others.

    The power of polyvagal theory lies in its emphasis on navigating this hierarchy. By understanding our nervous system's responses, we can find ways to move up the ladder towards safety and connection. Holistic therapies can incorporate this knowledge in various ways. Breathwork practices can stimulate the vagus nerve, promoting relaxation. Somatic therapies can help us address the physical manifestations of stress and trauma stored in the body. By cultivating a sense of safety and calm in the therapeutic space, therapists can support clients in regaining a sense of control over their nervous system responses.

    Ultimately, polyvagal theory empowers us to understand our body's reactions to stress and guides us towards fostering a sense of safety and social connection. This journey can be a cornerstone of holistic therapy, promoting emotional well-being and a more fulfilling life.

  • Somatic education offers a powerful tool for understanding your body's wisdom and its connection to your emotional state. Through this practice, you'll learn to track your nervous system's responses, becoming more aware of the subtle shifts between feeling safe and triggered. This awareness can help you identify if you're in a fight-or-flight state, a freeze response, or even a fawn response, where you appease others to avoid conflict.

    Somatic education doesn't just focus on awareness; it empowers you to regulate your nervous system. By learning techniques and cultivating a safe therapeutic environment, you can begin to repair the impact of stress and trauma stored in your body. This process can help you move towards a healthy regulatory state, a place of calm and balance from which you can navigate life's challenges with greater ease.

    Furthermore, somatic education sheds light on the connection between the body and mind. Many common trauma symptoms, such as addiction, dissociation, anxiety, and depression, can often manifest in physical ways. By understanding this connection, you can gain valuable insights into your emotional landscape and begin to address the root causes of these challenges.

  • Focusing is a unique tool within holistic therapy, offering an inward journey towards greater self-awareness and healing. It guides you to use your body as a compass for deeper understanding.

    This process, called felt-sensing, involves focusing on subtle physical sensations – not just pain or discomfort, but all the subtleties and nuances your body communicates. By paying close attention to these subtle shifts, you can access your embodied imagination, allowing internal images and insights to surface.

    Focusing offers numerous benefits for your holistic journey:

    Clarity: By honing your inner awareness, you gain deeper clarity about yourself, your needs, and the root of underlying issues.

    Self-discovery: Focusing helps you uncover hidden aspects of your identity and unconscious patterns that may be holding you back.

    Direction for healing: Through this self-discovery, you can identify pathways to healing and personal growth that are truly aligned with your unique needs.

  • My in-person bodywork sessions offer a holistic approach to well-being by integrating a variety of somatic therapeutic techniques. This includes Craniosacral Therapy, Feldenkrais Method, Focusing, intuitive movement exploration, and energy work.

    By drawing from this diverse toolbox, I can tailor sessions to address various needs:

    * Trauma Healing: These techniques can support the release of physical and emotional tensions associated with past experiences, promoting a sense of integration and well-being.

    * Stress Reduction and Nervous System Regulation: Somatic therapies can help you manage stress more effectively by promoting relaxation and fostering a balanced nervous system response.

    * Post-Surgical and Post-Illness Recovery: Somatic work can facilitate the body's natural healing processes, potentially improving recovery outcomes and reducing discomfort.

    * Enhanced Physical Function: Techniques like Feldenkrais can support improved flexibility, range of motion, and coordination, leading to a more comfortable and adaptable body.

    * Chronic Pain Management: Somatic approaches can address underlying muscular tension and imbalances that contribute to pain, offering a path towards greater physical comfort.

    * Overall Well-being: By promoting a deeper mind-body connection, these therapies can cultivate a sense of overall well-being and vitality.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN A SESSION

I work with people either in-person (nature-based or *office-based) or virtually (phone or zoom). Sessions typically last an hour, but often extend longer if needed. Sessions can be either focused on a specific challenge such as medical conditions, anxieties, relationship concerns, etc., or emergent, where we follow your body's lead to explore what needs attention in the present moment.

*My in-person office availability varies, please email me to schedule an in-person session.

TALK THERAPY SESSIONS

Emotional wounding and traumatic events can leave physiological traces in the body. With compassion, we’ll explore memories, emotional wounds, limiting beliefs, shadow aspects, protective mechanisms, anxieties, trauma, grief, and “triggers” that hold unresolved energy. I’ll guide you through ways to release unprocessed energy, and offer useful tools to work with difficult emotions, navigate life's challenges with greater ease, restore your nervous system capacity, and build greater resiliency. After each session, I also offer specific practices for continuing the inner work between sessions.

“Trauma is caused when we are unable to release blocked energies, to fully move through the physical/emotional reactions to hurtful experience. Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”

—Gabor Maté

BODYWORK SESSIONS

My in-person bodywork sessions utilize a variety of somatic therapeutic techniques. This includes Craniosacral Therapy, Feldenkrais Method, Focusing, intuitive movement, and energy work. Bodywork sessions offer support for:

  •   Trauma Healing: These techniques can support the release of physical and emotional pain associated with past experiences, promoting a sense of integration and wellbeing.

  •   Stress Reduction and Nervous System Regulation: Somatic bodywork can help you manage stress more effectively by promoting relaxation and fostering a balanced nervous system response.

  •   Illness Recovery: Somatic work can facilitate the body's natural healing processes, potentially improving recovery outcomes and reducing discomfort.

  •   Overall Wellbeing: By promoting a deeper mind-body connection, these therapies can cultivate a sense of overall health and vitality.

KIND WORDS

“Sarah’s ability to walk between worlds, using intuition along with highly developed somatic dialoguing skills, is a rare gift. Sarah brings a depth of experience into sessions that is unmatched. She has the compassion and skills to support others in navigating complex spiritual questions, personal trauma healing work, and taking a deep dive into self-inquiry.”

—Melissa

“I have had various healing practitioners over the years and Sarah is far and away the best. She is a compassionate listener, and doesn’t simply listen to the words, but, listens deeper for the innuendos and nuances of speech—the hidden meanings and messages between my words. Besides the healing that happens in our zoom sessions, I value that each week she gives me practices for continued healing work between our sessions. These have been instrumental in stimulating healing and growth. She is hands down the most skilled, compassionate therapist I’ve ever had!”

—Kim

“I've asked Sarah to help bring some clarity to my inner world, a world that has been in disarray for a very long time. She is not the first therapist I've worked with on this journey, but she is by far the best. She is an attentive and thoughtful listener, her guidance leads in useful directions and her attitude is caring and supportive. The IFS (Internal Family Systems) approach she uses with me is well suited to both me and the work we're doing. Best of all, I trust her. I recommend her without reservation.”

— Jonathan

“Before I began working with Sarah, I could not pinpoint what was causing my continual emotional overwhelm and physical symptoms. After doing IFS sessions with her, the answers became so obvious. I have accessed greater vitality and harmony in my mind and heart thanks to working with Sarah. She is one of the most empathic and compassionate people I’ve ever met and anyone would be lucky to have her as a therapist.”

- Jessica

“Sometimes I wake up and have to remind myself: There is nothing wrong with me. I have patterns to unlearn, new behaviors to embody and wounds to heal. But there is nothing wrong with the core of me and who I am. I am unlearning generations of harm and remembering love.” 

-Yolo Akili

DISCLAIMER

Sarah West is not a licensed psychologist, medical doctor, or healthcare professional. She does not diagnose mental illness or disease. Her holistic therapy services are intended to complement the care you receive from licensed healthcare providers. Holistic therapy should not be considered a substitute for medical intervention.