Guest Practitioner: Somatic Counselor Megan Sherman
I consider the somatic work we do together as a co-creation. My goal is to offer a gentle, non-judgmental space for you to explore your inner experience, and allow your own embodied wisdom to surface. Within the context of attuned presence, compassion, and mindfulness, you will discover resources for facing emotional and physical discomfort, and learn self-care tools to help you stay grounded and connected in the face of life’s stressors. This experience of mind-body connectedness can free up energy and result in more vitality, choice-making, intimacy, and wholeness. I draw on over 20 years of experience as a bodyworker, decades of yoga practice, as well as trauma-informed, evidence-based approaches such as Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT), interpersonal neurobiology, polyvagal theory, internal constellations, positive psychology, and nature-based wisdom traditions.
When I’m not at NWLM, I offer counseling and bodywork through my private practice. I am also engaged in teaching, speaking, and research related to MABT, integrative medicine, interoceptive awareness, and spiritual experience, and offer Awakened Awareness workshops for emerging adults. Outside of work, I am busy raising a teenager. I delight in tromping around our local forests with my son and our dog Lupine, getting on the water, gardening, playing my harp, and practicing yoga.
Mind-Body Services:
Somatic Counseling
Somatic Counseling is a form of mind-body therapy that utilizes the body as a source of guidance and wisdom. By learning to tune in to sensations and the “felt sense” of emotions, we can investigate patterns of perception and attention, and expand our capacity to be in the “here and now.” This can help us approach life with compassion, presence, and agency. Integrating dialogue, mindfulness, and body-oriented practices, this modality helps balance the nervous system, address traumas, and cultivate deep healing.
MABT (Mindful Awareness in Body-Oriented Therapy)
This somatic therapy integrates touch, mindfulness, and dialogue in a customized and incremental approach to cultivate inner body awareness, emotional regulation, and tools for self-care. This evidence-based therapy is typically explored in a series of eight sessions and can be particularly helpful for people who have experienced trauma, chronic stress, or chemical dependency, but is equally powerful for promoting well-being and embodiment as preventative health care.
Credentials:
WA Licensed Counselor # 61395647
MA Psychology: Spirituality, Mind, and Body, Columbia University
Certified Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy ™(MABT) Practitioner and Instructor
Therapist for University of Washington/NIH study, MABT for people in medical treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
Certified Awakened Awareness-Adolescent Facilitator (Columbia University, Stony Brook University)
Massage Therapist 2003-present, WA license #60453285
Education for Racial Equity Foundations
Yoga Teacher (RYT 200 hrs)
Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Center for Trauma and Embodiment, Justice Resource Institute