Reviewed by Kathryn Vercillo, MA Psychology | Last Updated: November 2025 You know the feeling. Your stomach drops when you receive bad news. Your shoulders creep toward your ears during a stressful meeting. Your chest tightens before a difficult conversation, even when you tell yourself there is nothing to worry about. These experiences reveal something profound: your body is not...[ read more ]
Reviewed by Kathryn Vercillo, MA Psychology | Last Updated: November 2025 You notice the pattern again. A relationship starts well, but as you grow closer, something shifts. Maybe you find reasons to create distance. Maybe you become anxious when your partner seems less available. Maybe the whole dynamic feels eerily familiar to relationships that didn't work out before. You tell...[ read more ]
You know you need help processing your trauma. Maybe it's PTSD from a difficult experience, anxiety that traces back to childhood wounds, or depression rooted in unresolved grief. You've started researching trauma therapy in the Bay Area, and you've discovered something both exciting and overwhelming: there are dozens of specialized approaches, from Brainspotting to EMDR to Somatic Experiencing to Internal...[ read more ]
In this video, Phoenix L. Quetzal DeLeon, MA, AMFT, a somatic therapist at the Center for Mindful Psychotherapy, explains what somatic therapy is and demonstrates how it works differently from traditional talk therapy. Using a live example of working with anxiety, Phoenix shows how changing the state of the body can shift emotional experiences—offering clients more agency and choice in...[ read more ]
In this post, we share a video from associate therapist Phoenix L. Quetzal DeLeon demonstrating a simple yet powerful somatic practice for shoulder tension relief, and explore why our typical approach to relaxation often backfires. Plus we share some of the neuroscience behind why working with contrast, rather than against your body, creates lasting change. Why Trying to Force Relaxation...[ read more ]
This is a guest post explaining what somatic therapy really is offered by our associate therapist Phoenix L. Quetzal DeLeon. Phoenix brings more than 25 years of experience in teaching and bodywork into their therapy practice, where they specialize in supporting people working through anxiety, trauma, and body image concerns. If you’ve ever wondered what somatic therapy is, and...[ read more ]
The stories families carry across generations often shape identity, relationships, and resilience. Yet, when trauma is left unacknowledged or unresolved, it can echo through time, influencing the mental health of future generations. The exploration of intergenerational trauma and its link to suicide in families has become a crucial area of research and clinical practice. Families who have endured war, displacement,...[ read more ]
This is a guest blog post by associate therapist Erin Boyle. In this post, she shares insights from her personal journey of reconnecting with her body, explores the challenges many face in feeling "body-less," and offers practical tools and therapeutic approaches to foster a deeper mind-body connection. You can learn more about Erin from this interview and see Erin's therapist...[ read more ]
"Beyond the aspects of grieving that apply to all bereavement situations, there are several aspects of a suicide death that can be considered to be either unique to suicide, or at least much more prominent after a suicide, and other traumatic deaths. By traumatic deaths, I mean a mode of death that is sudden, unexpected, and often times violent –...[ read more ]
“It was the kind of story that doesn't go away after the first time you tell it, so you have to tell it over and over until it goes away for good. If it ever can.” - Jack Gantos, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key Some experiences are too powerful to process in one sitting. The memories linger, demanding to be...[ read more ]