There are many ways of knowing.
We can know something intellectually, and know it very differently in our bodies.
Sometimes we know exactly what’s wrong. You might be able to point to it: a loss, a breakup, a job that’s draining you, a hard childhood, something that happened that you can’t stop thinking about…or you might just feel stuck, overwhelmed, flat, on edge or disconnected, without a clear “why.”
Either way, what we’ve lived through shapes us.
We know what happened is in the past…and yet, our bodies may be living like it’s still happening. Sometimes our bodies are still bracing for things that ended a long time ago, so it’s hard to feel safe, calm or in control, even when on paper things seem fine.
Past experiences don’t simply disappear because they’re over. Childhood trauma, painful relationships, loss, abandonment, or years spent adapting to what we had to survive can continue to shape how we feel, relate to others, and move through the world.
Start where you are.
We don’t always know why we’re struggling, what we need,
or even what we’re hoping will change.
We don’t always need to have all the answers before we begin.
Hi, I’m Keri.
I’ve been a licensed therapist for more than 20 years, and I still consider
it a privilege and an honor when someone chooses to share their life and their story with me.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned,
it’s that there isn’t one right way to do therapy.
That’s really what LifeHealingHeart is about…it’s not a formula for how therapy is supposed to go, or someone else’s idea of your “right” direction.
I work with adults navigating all kinds of things: anxiety, depression, grief, relationship struggles, big life changes, and the everyday weight of being a person. I also have a deep interest and years of experience supporting people whose lives have been shaped by trauma, especially trauma that happened early in life or over a long period of time. So, if that’s part of your story, you’re in the right place, too.
We all have the ability to heal, grow, and make changes in our lives.
Sometimes we just need some help finding our strengths as we go.
Insight is great.It just isn’t always enough.
We may know exactly why we respond the way we do. And still find ourselves doing it.
These patterns usually started for a reason. At some point they helped: they kept us safe, kept the peace, or kept us going. They aren’t character flaws. But what helped then can get in the way now.
Understanding is important, but it isn’t always enough. Our nervous systems learned to protect us, and they can keep doing their job long after life has changed. That doesn’t mean you haven’t tried hard enough…and it may just be exhausting now.
You might notice yourself…
- Reading the room before we’ve even realized we’re doing it
- Replaying the conversation at 2 a.m.
- Saying yes when we want to say no
- Going through the motions without really feeling much of anything
- Shutting down when conflict feels like too much
- Feeling responsible for how everyone else is feeling
- Being harder on ourselves than we’d ever be on a friend, or even a stranger!
- Bracing for distance, rejection, or being left
Are you wearing your shoulder earrings?
Sometimes it’s our shoulders
creeping up toward our ears.
Or we take a slightly deeper
breath and suddenly realize
how long we’ve been barely
breathing.
We don’t always notice what our bodies
are doing until something shifts enough
for us to notice.
Therapy isn’t only about talking things
through (though we’ll do plenty of that!).
Part of this work is paying attention to what’s
happening right now, in the moment:
your thoughts, your feelings, slowing down
automatic reactions, and working gently
with what might be holding you back.
The goal is more than surviving.
It’s being able to truly live, and building a life that feels like our own.
Survival was necessary, but it doesn’t have to be our only story.
This work isn’t only about healing from how we’ve been hurt.
Together, we can explore what you want and need now,
what matters to you, and how your own best ways of being might look.
When we no longer need to spend all our energy just surviving,
we have more room for living.
The past makes up only part of our story. There’s so much more.
Different ways we can do the work
There isn’t a single approach that works for everyone. My work is trauma-informed and grounded in somatic, polyvagal, and nervous system-based approaches; EMDR and the Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP) are some of the tools we can use.
You don’t have to decide which ones before we begin. Think of them as options in our toolbox.
Individual psychotherapy for adults
Somatic & Nervous System-Based Therapy
Drawing on Somatic Experiencing, polyvagal approaches,
parts work, and narrative therapy.
Specialized tools
trauma healing.
What happens next
- 1Reach outSend me an email or use the contact form. You don’t need to tell me your whole story, just enough for me to know what you’re looking for.
- 2A free 15-minute callWe talk briefly, I answer your questions, and we see whether working together might be a good fit.
- 3Your first sessionIf we decide to move forward, we’ll schedule it, and I’ll send the paperwork to complete beforehand.
- Who
- Individual therapy for adults 18+
- Where
- Telehealth, by video or audio-only, for clients located in Montana, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, New Mexico, and Vermont
- Insurance & fees
- Select insurance plans accepted. Private pay with a sliding scale and out-of-network options are also available.
You’ve come this far…keep going.
If something you’ve read here sounds like it might fit what you’re looking for, look around a little more.
Learn more about me, my approach, and what therapy with me might look like.
Or, if you’re ready, reach out by email or through the contact form.
I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation so we can see whether working together makes sense.
We don’t always need to have all the answers before we begin,we just have to start the conversation.