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Guided Imagery/Inner Terrain Work
One of my greatest joys in this work is utilizing a combination of somatic psychotherapy, polyvagal theory and guided imagery, or what I like to call “inner terrain work”. Through an individualized adaptation of these modalities, I support clients in turning down the volume on dysregulation and trauma responses, and turning up the volume on self trust, intuition and innate voice.
I find the use of these three modalities to be especially impactful for those whose mind-body connection has been disrupted by chronic illness and/or traumatic lived experience, as well as those who identify as hyper-empathic or highly sensitive. Together, we’ll first establish a grounded mind-body connection, then we harness and hone your capacities to engage with your own inner terrain. If it resonates with you, we can even get a little “witchy” about it. Collaborating in this space can feel like a spiritual endeavor, but can also re-ignite creativity, imagination, empowerment and embodied peace.
Who might benefit from polyvagal informed, somatic "inner terrain" work?
Individuals who have experienced physical traumas, such as medical trauma, domestic violence, reproductive stress or sexual trauma. When the body houses trauma, pain or illness, it can begin to feel like an unsafe home for the spirit or Self. This work can restore the mind-body connection, and allow us a new foundation to begin processing the imprints of trauma and pain.
Survivors of narcissistic abuse, gaslighting and relational harm. Somatic, polyvagal informed work can support survivors in turning down the volume on relational hypervigilance and reconnect to one's own innate voice. It can support survivors in fostering a new sense of safety that shifts a survivor away from hyper-focus on the external or environmental, toward a more grounded connection to their inner world.
Folks with anxiety, panic or job-related stress. Especially for those of us who work in fields where we are "helpers", "healers" or frontline workers, the imprints of our own experience are often buried within as we prioritize supporting others. This can result in profound experiences of anxiety, physical tension, insomnia, fatigue depression and pain. Somatic, polyvagal informed guided imagery work can support a release of stressors that were not ours to carry, and allow a foundation for proessing our own buried emotion and experience.
What does Somatic, Guided Imagery Work Look Like?
I like to think of this work as symbolically "planting gardens" in places where painful history lives. With guided imagery and somatic practice, I guide you into regulating your nervous system, "tuning in", and begining to imagine into the excavation of what no longer serves you, to begin to create space for what does. We can imagine your life force energy re-igniting, a "re-decorating" of your inner terrain, or your Self finally coming home to your body and being. This is collaborative, individualized, intuitive work that can resource an individual in new ways, and build a foundation for discernment, embodiment, and a deep connection to sense of self. Energy follows intention, and sometimes, our psyche just needs to remember it is the artist in this space.
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