Dissociation

You feel disconnected from everything like you’re barely existing and present when your friends ask how you’ve been, when you see dinner in front of you, or when you stare blankly at the computer screen.

You are somewhere else, far away from life. Each day fades away as a blur. The life you knew is so foggy and dull.

You may recognize some of this:

You feel detached and disconnected from yourself, friends, family, or the world
You’re going through the motions of daily life without participating in it - autopilot
Everything feels flat, far away, like you’re watching yourself through a window
Your body feels foreign and vacant
You zone out with memory gaps, and time feels weird
Sometimes it feels like there are different parts of you here or you have gone somewhere else

What we do in sessions:

We start where you are, and will spend time figuring out what’s actually happening for you because dissociation looks different for everyone and what helps is also unique for everyone.

While severing from reality (dissociating) during a traumatic event likely helped you survive something overwhelming or threatening, people can revert to this survival response when perceiving a reminder of the trauma. What was life-saving before might be a barrier to life now.

We’ll work on what actually helps so have the option to be here, grounded, or in your body. Having choices means you don’t have to always leave reality, stuck in survival mode.

Many of my clients, who are survivors of abuse or harm, felt that they’d be stuck in the black hole of dissociation forever. They surrendered to the belief that there was no way out. There is. They were able to recognize what was happening, the protective instincts, and practice tools to be more present in the here and now.

What getting better looks like:

The goal isn’t to never dissociate. We all do to some degree, and dissociation exists on a spectrum. The aim is to empower you with awareness of what’s happening and tools so that you are empowered to make a choice - to disconnect or to return to your body.

Clients who’ve worked through their trauma and dissociation describe being able to feel more connected to themselves and loved ones, more motivated with energy for life, less anxious about being here in their body. Feeling like life is less foggy, more vibrant. Smiling more.

My clients still have hard days. What is different is that the hard days stop feeling like a heavy life sentence, and they have more agency with what to do next.

In-Person in Sonoma County • Secure Online Therapy Throughout California & Oregon

Somatic Trauma Therapy

Compassionate, somatic therapy for teens and adults healing from sexual trauma, PTSD, and complex trauma.

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Are you tired of talking about the past with little change?

Somatic trauma therapy can help.

Green fern leaves against a pale sky, with some leaves in focus and others blurred.

What Is Somatic Therapy?

While talking about your experiences can bring meaningful insight, trauma often lives beyond words. Somatic therapy works with the deeper regions of the brain and body affected by trauma, helping you process the past in a way that includes both mind and body.

Somatic therapy involves working with the wisdom and communication of the body to address, process, transform, and heal unresolved or unintegrated trauma memories. The body holds insightful information, and it can also be an important part of where healing happens.

Trauma profoundly affects us on a physical level, not just through our thoughts. By incorporating both body- and mind-oriented interventions, we can access experiences and patterns that may be difficult to reach through words alone.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Krystal is trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, a body-oriented form of talk therapy. This trauma-informed approach promotes self-empowerment and trust in the body's organic knowing of how to heal.

By working with both body and mind, unconscious information can emerge and trauma memories and sensations can be gently explored and processed.

Learn more about Krystal's approach →

What Can Somatic Therapy Look Like?

Inviting the wisdom of the body into therapy is a call home to wounded parts.

A session together might include:

Exploring posture or movement
Noticing your breath
Tuning into sensations or physical experiences
Becoming curious about nervous system responses
Recognizing patterns that once helped you survive
Experimenting with new ways of responding and being

Through curiosity rather than judgment, we can begin to uncover body patterns that may have once been necessary for survival but aren't serving you in the same way today.

We may discover new information, deepen your connection to your body, and support your nervous system in completing responses it wasn't able to complete in the past.

After trauma, your mind and body may continue preparing for something bad to happen, even when the experience is over. You might swing between anxiety and numbness, feel easily overwhelmed, or disconnected from yourself and others.

Many of these responses were once intelligent adaptations that helped you survive overwhelming experiences. Healing begins by understanding these responses with compassion rather than fighting against them.

Through somatic therapy, your nervous system can gradually learn that it no longer has to carry the weight of the past, allowing you to feel more present in your life today.

Healing Begins
with Understanding
Survival Responses

Many people come to therapy with a deep understanding of what they've been through. They can describe their experiences, recognize unhelpful patterns, and know logically that they are no longer in danger. Yet they may still find themselves still feeling anxious, hypervigilant, emotionally reactive, or disconnected.

Why Talk Therapy Isn’t Always Enough…

This isn't because you've failed or that you are doomed to suffer like this forever.

There is hope.

Trauma affects the brain and nervous system, which means healing often requires more than insight or cognition alone.

Somatic therapy gently bridges that gap by helping your body experience greater safety, release trauma imprints in the body, and update old patterns.

As your nervous system begins to recognize that the traumatic event is over, new possibilities for inner peace, wholeness, and empowerment can begin to emerge.

How Trauma Can Affect Daily Life

Trauma can influence nearly every aspect of our lives, often in ways that aren't immediately obvious or conscious. You may recognize some of these experiences in yourself:

Feeling constantly on edge or unable to relax
Anxiety, panic, or chronic overwhelm
Emotional numbness or disconnection
Intrusive memories or flashbacks, body memories
Distrust of yourself and others
Physical tension, pain, or discomfort

Problems with sexual intimacy - low sex drive or hypersexual
Shame, self-criticism, or guilt
Trouble falling or staying asleep, nightmares
Feeling disconnected from your body
Feeling that things are unreal
Feeling very on edge and on guard all the time
Memory problems, trouble remembering important parts of the trauma

My Approach to Healing

I believe therapy is most successful when it is collaborative, honors your choices, and allows you to feel truly heard and supported.

Our work may include somatic therapy, mindfulness, parts work, attachment-based exploration, and nervous system regulation, while honoring the strengths and inner resources that helped you survive.

Throughout the process, you remain in control. I’ll accompany you as a guide and ally, moving at a pace that respects your boundaries and supports meaningful healing.

A Gentle Return Home

One of the deepest losses after a traumatic event such as sexual assault is a sense of alienation from ourselves. Many survivors feel disconnected from their bodies, their emotions, their relationships, and even their spirit - that joyful part of themselves that’s within us all. Over time, it can become difficult to remember what it feels like to truly be present, to feel happy, or to experience peace without constantly waiting for something bad to happen.

Therapy is one pathway where that connection can slowly begin to return.

Together, we can create space to reconnect with what’s been severed and disconnected. It is possible to welcome back parts of yourself, to return home to your body - what is rightfully yours.

Healing occurs on a mind, body, and spirit level ~ somatic therapy helps bring connection and healing to all parts of you.

No. You will never have to revisit painful experiences if you don’t want to or are not ready. Oftentimes, trauma survivors can’t recall aspects of their memories, but rather experience fragmented memory or no memory. Remembering the past is not a requirement to heal. We'll work together at a pace that honors your wishes - you are in control of what we explore and talk about. I am here to guide and support you on this journey.
Many people seek somatic therapy after finding that traditional talk therapy helped them only so far. People who come to me often tell me they’ve talked about their past repeatedly, but still feel stuck. By inviting and including the wisdom of the body in the healing process, somatic therapy offers another pathway toward lasting change.
No. The goal is not to overwhelm you or have you relive painful memories. Instead, we'll focus on creating greater safety in the present, while gently supporting your nervous system's natural ability to heal and release trauma energy stored in the body.
Yes, I believe it is! I have lived experience and have the privilege of witnessing countless people recover from sexual trauma, complex PTSD, and childhood trauma. I’ve seen people reclaim their lives, gain strength and empowerment, and reconnect with themselves. Healing doesn't happen overnight and isn't a straight line, but liberation from the legacy of trauma is possible with compassionate support and the right therapeutic relationship.