Somatic Re-Parenting

Officially called Pesso-Borden System Psychomotor, this method of therapy is used by the foremost expert on treating trauma, Bessel van der Kolk, and has the ability to change neural structures in the brain to create new potentials for clients. It opens the possibility to living a life filled with satisfaction, meaning, and connection. More likely than not, the deepest struggles of your life are connected with what happened, or didn’t happen, in your childhood.

In Somatic Re-Structuring, we map out the structure of relationship in your brain using objects or people to represent those individuals. Then, when we have identified the needs that weren't met back then, we enroll individuals in the group to role play ideal figures in your life that would have been fully capable of meeting your needs. We then have them meet those needs in the present moment, simulating exactly what it would have felt like if that happened. There are now FMRI scans to show the physiological effects two Somatic Re-Structuring Therapy sessions had on the brain. They showed that Somatic Re-Structuring shifts the traumatic brain, saying that it,"increases the emotional competence of the anterior cingulate cortex and increases the emotional information gating in the thalamus," and showed that Somatic Re-Structuring, "improve[s] the execution and control of emotional expression and behavior... resulting in an improvement in depressiveness." The theory is that disturbing memories, whether conscious or not, destabilize emotional regulation.

In short, with Somatic Re-Structuring you can let go of the anxiety, fear, and depression, and step into a completely new sense of safety and ease to live a life of satisfaction and be able to emotionally handle what life throws at you with confidence.

“Over the past 40 years, Al Pesso and Diane Boyden-Pesso have perfected an extraordinarily effective technique, PBSP, providing people with experiences that were missing during their growth and development. The artistry of [the PBSP] ‘structure’ can be a unique and profoundly life-altering experience.” 

-Bessel van der Kolk, Best-selling author of “The Body Keeps the Score” in which he writes about PBSP.

Public Options:

Join a 4-week long closed group of four people including:

  • 1 intake session (1.5hrs) where we dive into what you want to work on and create safety in our connection

  • Optional weekly individual sessions (50min) to follow up on group sessions and deepen your work.

    • If you already have a therapist, you can sign a release of information and we can collaborate on your progress.

  • 4 group therapy sessions (2-2.5hrs) where you will have the opportunity to support and process with others and the ability to complete at least 2 focused memory structures for yourself (50min).

Price: $789

W/individual sessions: $1,289

*Insurance accepted (see home page for providers accepted)

Next group dates:

  • Feb. 15th - March 8th

    • (Saturday morning, 11am-1pm)

  • March 15th - April 5th

    • (Saturday morning, 11am-1pm)

  • April 18th - May 9th

    • (Friday evening, 7pm-9:30pm)

Join a drop in evening:

  • Participants are screened with a 20 minute phone call where I answer any questions they have and I learn about them to see if they would be a good fit for coming.

  • There is time for 2 focused memory structures.

  • You may join just as a witness/participant.

Thursdays, 7pm-9:30pm

(Inquire for details)

Witness Price: Donation (min. $20)

Structure Price: $150

OR

Private Options:

Private community structures:

Want to deepen connection within your already beautiful community? Whether that’s an intentional living community, spiritual community, or just a group of friends and loved ones who want to support one another in resolving childhood wounds, imagining ideal communities and families together, and understanding and healing each other’s patterns of relating with others. I offer private half-day workshops to weekend long retreats depending on what’s needed and how many community members there are.

It can be especially powerful for communities going through transitions, where the emphasis is placed on ideal communities that each individual needed growing up. This can be illuminating to what needs are alive in the community, how deep they run, creative ways to address them together, and what an ideal community might look like for everyone.

Contact me for pricing and more information

Specialized private individual structure:

If being in the spotlight and sharing potentially deeply vulnerable content with a group makes you feel nervous, or you just want as powerful of a session as you possibly can, then this may be the option for you. With a trained and skilled group of therapists and empaths who have the ability to create an incredibly vivid scene alongside me, we will help you create a new memory that lasts. In this work we are trying to create as realistic and vivid symbolic scene as we can so that the symbolic memory goes as deep as we can. Imagine being surrounded with 3-4 empathic and attuned individuals with training in somatic psychotherapy, authentic communication, and psychological perspectives, to create a space to install a new software in your mind’s eye, and retrain your emotional memory so that you can manage your emotional reactivity rather than be controlled by it. These sessions last anywhere between 2-3 hours allowing for extended time to get allow for deeper work.

Contact me for pricing and more information.