About Sonya

Years ago, I asked one of my mentors how I should go about figuring out what I needed to be doing with my life, and he said, simply, “Ask the universe.” At the time, that made no sense to me, but I trusted him, so I followed the instruction anyway.

One morning several months later, I woke up, and I knew: I was a healer. Now, that may sound hokey or “new agey” to you; it most certainly sounded that way to me. Yet, I knew I had to follow that instinct…that calling…even if I didn’t quite know what it meant.

I spent the next decade working to understand what it could mean for me to be a healer, and of course the journey started where every healer’s journey generally begins: with my own healing. I did not yet know about the field of “somatics,” but I knew that my path would certainly incorporate the body.

I had been dancing all my life, and knew what a resource movement was for me. I needed to experience, to feel, to move the places in my body that were stuck, where the breath didn’t flow.

Over the years, in addition to pursuing a career in marketing and business development in the finance and technology arenas, I explored a range of healing and personal growth modalities—naturopathic medicine, Chinese medicine, Vipassana meditation, Authentic Movement, various forms of bodywork, yoga, chiropractic medicine, a variety of conscious dance forms and Reichian breathwork, just to name a few.

Personal practice gave way to professional study, and I eventually began working with individuals, couples and groups in a variety of roles including massage therapist, doula, somatic coach and sexual health educator. I also began teaching and assisting women’s sexuality workshops. The more I pursued the path, the more I knew I was on the right track.

When I discovered the field of “somatics”, I knew I had found my calling. I finally had a label for the kind of work I already knew I was destined to do. I went on to get my Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Somatic Psychology from the California Institute for Integral Studies, and the rest is history!

Currently, I am excited to be offering individual, couples and family therapy through my private practice internship in Albany, California. I serve a broad spectrum of clients, with a special interest in issues of identity, body image, sexuality, relationship and trauma recovery.

I offer a deeply supportive, loving and empathetic presence, and create compassionate, non-judgmental spaces in which to nurture authentic presence, embodied self-expression, and connection with self and other. It is my deepest honor to offer myself in service to your life’s journey. I look forward to meeting you!

 

Credentials

  • Registered Marriage & Family Therapist Intern with Board of Behavioral Sciences (IMF # 61996, Supervised by Margie Cohen, LCSW, License # LCS11263)
  • M.A. in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Somatic Psychology from the California Institute for Integral Studies
  • B.A. in Political Science with a Concentration in Comparative Politics from Yale University

Affiliations

To learn more or schedule a consultation, please call me at (510) 496-6010.