I offer a dynamic and responsive approach integrating body-mind processes including trauma-informed acupuncture, NeuroAffective Touch® and somatic parts work.
This holistic blend is designed to help practitioners navigating their own developmental trauma to experience a deeper sense of safety in the body, strengthen the body-mind connection, and enhance regulation and resilience.
Mental health therapists and other helping professionals play an invaluable role in our communities. The demands of this important work have only grown over the past decade, compounded by the challenges of recent sociopolitical stressors.
Caring for the mental and emotional well-being of others requires immense emotional labor, and therapists often experience the weight of vicarious trauma. It's common for their own past wounds to be activated in the process, which can take a toll on the body, mind, and spirit.
It’s natural to feel depleted or burnt out from carrying so much. Many therapists find their capacity diminished—not only in their work but also in their relationships with loved ones and with themselves.
If you’re a provider who often feels stretched beyond your window of tolerance, experiences physical tension when thinking about work, or struggles to truly feel safe in your body, you’re not alone. You too deserve to be seen, supported, and held in your humanity.
“I came to Tracy as a mental health clinician massively struggling with burnout and moral injury. Even though we’ve only been working together a few months I’ve noticed a drastic difference in my self regulation and my desire to use substances to offset the toll of moral injury has greatly reduced. She has been a crucial part to my own healing journey... ”
the foundations of care
(what you can expect)
TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE
A healing space in which the somatic expressions of trauma can be safely addressed, with no agenda other than your wellbeing. Encouragement to ask questions and ask for what you need. Sessions responsive to how you are on that day and time, which may or may not use needles, because sometimes needles may be too much. A process in which you have choice. Space for the many facets of you and your identities to be held.
COLLABORATION
Agency and choice in your care. Recognition that you know your body better than any medical provider possibly can. A container and a helping hand to facilitate listening to the body and what it’s trying to communicate. Acknowledgement and respect when your body says “yes” and when it says “no.”
SAFE HAVEN
A space free of judgement, shaming, or should’s, in which you can walk your unique path at your own path. A space to experience your own vulnerability within the safety of authentic connection and presence, where you get to be deeply seen and heard, and where your true self has permission to shine through.
HEALING
Presence and attention. Relief from pain, anxiety and other symptoms. Individualized treatment plans leveraging acupuncture, somatic and/or hands-on therapies to support you. Encouragement for small, sustainable changes that support resilience and nurture the healing of frazzled, overwrought and exhausted bodies.
PRESENCE
The opportunity to unravel your story in a healing context. Your first visit dedicated to exploring your symptoms, concerns and history within the larger context of your life. Clarification of what you most desire to experience right now and a treatment plan that takes into consideration the complicating factors of everyday life.
modalities & approach
My practice is focused on creating a safe and supportive environment where presence, attunement, and collaboration guide our work together. Regardless of the modality, I prioritize helping you reconnect with your body in order to address the impacts of trauma and dysregulation, with a strong emphasis on fostering authentic choice and consent throughout the process.
How might it be to have support for listening to your body’s messages? What would it be like for you to be able to notice whether or not your body wants needles or touch, rest or movement, contact or space?
trauma-informed acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient healing system that originated in east Asia and works with the body’s innate capacity for healing. It is a powerful tool for healing and balancing the body’s organ and meridian systems.
My unique approach to acupuncture combines interoceptive inquiry and bodymind communication, making it a highly effective for nurturing embodied self-awareness.
Whether or not acupuncture is part of your treatment plan will depend upon your goals and what your body needs in order to experience safety.
“your style of acupuncture has been revelatory. I feel more engaged in the process, more aware of what my body wants/needs, and more in touch with myself generally.”
neuroaffective touch & somatic regulation
Attuned presence plays a pivotal role in my work, whether or not touch is actually utilized. My approach is informed by craniosacral therapy, NeuroAffective Touch, and Somatic Resilience and Regulation touch therapy (Kathy Kain), all of which are informed by polyvagal and attachment theories.
Somatic (body-based) approaches to developmental and attachment trauma, these modalities are integrated in my practice to foster a felt sense of safety in the body, bring presence to places of armoring or collapse, and nurture the body-mind relationship.
NeuroAffective Touch and Somatic Regulation Touch are highly adaptable to working without touch. Whether it’s because we are meeting online or because the body requires a different kind of presence, touch itself is not a requirement of these approaches.
“I think this work can benefit so many people. In particular for those of us who have done so much “work” / introspection, it is quite humbling how much can arise in the space of quiet attunement and coregulation.”
somatic parts work & IFS
When you’re seeking a deeper level of listening to your inner experience, I integrate the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, Focusing (inspired by Eugene Gendlin & Ann Weiser Cornell), and body-oriented coaching. These approaches help foster a deeper connection with the different aspects of your body and self by listening to your body’s sensations and using them to explore and transform inner conflicts, bringing about deeper healing and integration.
Somatic parts work may form the core of a session, such as in body-oriented coaching, or be woven together with acupuncture and attuned touch for a more holistic experience. I am a Level 1 IFS Practitioner, actively engaged in the IFS certification path.
“ I deeply appreciate the sanctuary that you consistently provide, both physically (your office space) and emotionally/energetically (your presence). My body knows this, too, because I can feel it start to “talk” to me as soon as I sit down in your chair. It’s like every part of me knows that your office is the space where all of my parts get to show up and be acknowledged/heard in a respectful way.”
Banner photo by Marcus Dall Col
