SOMATIC AND EFT COUPLES THERAPIST
Immediate Openings For Online Therapy
Investing in yourself and your relationships can CHANGE the rest of your life
I view therapy as a collaborative process in which new ways of understanding and relating to yourself, others, and the world can be experienced. My goal is to create a safe space for you to explore new possibilities, challenge limiting beliefs, heal from painful experiences, and stand confidently in your truths.
I believe therapy can be a catalyst for change when you feel safe, heard, and understood. By listening to the wisdom of your body, transformation and healing is possible.
My style is down-to-earth, warm, and engaged. I truly feel honored when I am able to witness the moments where your most honest self unfolds. When this happens, and with your permission, we may embark on a journey of embodied exploration for greater insight and understanding.
As a somatic psychotherapist, I offer my humanness, my empathy, and a commitment to helping you heal and thrive in today's world. I am dedicated to helping you on your journey towards a life of purpose, a life filled with meaningful connections and inner peace.
helping young adults and professionals manage stress, overwhelm and anxiety.
In such a distracted and disconnected world, it’s easy to feel disconnected from yourself and from others. I help young adults and professionals learn to manage stress and overwhelm by utilizing somatic and body-based techniques for relief and healing. I enjoy educating clients and helping them reconnect with their bodies as they learn to regulate and better manage moments of high stress and overwhelm.
Helping multicultural & interracial couples struggling to connect and communicate.
By the time couples come to therapy arguments are usually full blow, constant, and neither person feels heard or understood by the other. While the love is there, it feels difficult to access. Instead, each person remains guarded and protective of their heart. I help couples reconnect in a more clear and authentic way. Somatic therapy can help by bringing awareness to what is actually happening beneath the arguments in a way that is gentle and respectful. It is often from these places that each partner can begin to really hear and see the other in a heartfelt way.
I also utilize Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to support you and your partner in building a stronger and more secure attachment bond. By focusing on negative patterns and cycles that keep you and your partner disconnected, I help couples understand the underlying emotional and attachment needs that are being played out in each disagreement. Working together, I can support you and your partner in communicating in a more clear and honest way that promotes connection, emotional safety and lasting love. Somatic therapy is the foundation of my work.
For me, true and lasting change comes from integrating the mind and body—for it is within the body that our old wounds, habits, and memories are held. By bringing attention to the body, we can create a clear, full picture of your experience, leading to growth and change.
Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy influences me deeply.
Hakomi is founded on the belief that studying what's happening in the present moment allows you to access core memories, beliefs, and neural patterns that shape your daily experiences and define your identity in the world. By bringing awareness to these beliefs, we can work together to invite healing and transformation.
My Specialties and Interests Include:
Managing stress and overwhelm
Healing of trauma and PTSD
Overcoming depressive thoughts and lack of motivation
Interracial Couples looking to reconnect and communicate more effectively
Fertility challenges and women's issues
Womxn of color
Multicultural populations
Cultural conflicts and racial identity
Overcoming shame and guilt
Establishing healthy boundaries
Work-Life balance and managing work-related stress
Supporting new parents
Play therapy for children to age 5
Background and Experience
I received my Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Somatic Psychology from John F. Kennedy University and completed Hakomi Professionals Skills Training. My background includes working with a diverse range of individuals and couples in various Bay Area community settings, and I have experience working with children to age 5 and their families.
Credentials
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with the Board of Behavioral Sciences, MFT#107069,
M.A. in Counseling Psychology with a Specialization in Somatic Psychology from John F. Kennedy University
B.A. in Business Economics from University of California, Los Angeles
Professionally ASSISTED AT:
John F. Kennedy University, Practicum in Somatic Psychology: Touch and Psychotherapy, 4/2019
Hakomi Institute of California, Pathways to Liberation, 2/2018
Education & Training
Level 1 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) Core Skills
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) Externship
Hakomi Professional Skills Training, Hakomi Institute of California
Practicum in Somatic Psychology: Touch and Psychotherapy
Somatic Approaches to Trauma & PTSD A and B
Somatic Psychology Perspectives on Stress and Psychobioimmunology
Practicum in Somatic Psychology: Body Structure, Regulation, and Self-Direction
Authentic Movement Seminar A and B
Practicum in Somatic Psychology: Somatic Resourcing
Practicum in Somatic Psychology: Body and Spirituality
Body Oriented Psychotherapies
The Cultural Body, Society, Body Image and the Self
Practicum in Somatic Psychology: Mindfulness Based Experiential Psychotherapy – The Hakomi Method
Principles of Somatic Psychology
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**All psychotherapy services are provided by Life by Design Therapy™, a holistic and somatic psychotherapy center founded by Melody Wright, LMFT. Life by Design Therapy™ welcomes the diversity of all ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, family configurations, sexual orientations, and gender identities.