Hi There!
My name is Jessica Hansen and I am a Marriage and Family Therapist and Somatic Psychotherapist. I offer an integrative approach to therapy and specialize in working with people, partners, parents, professionals, performers (athletes / artists), soldiers, and veterans.
I believe human beings have an innate capacity within to heal themselves, they just need the space, time, awareness, and support to do so.
The only difference between illness and wellness is the "i" and "we," and as much as our culture prides itself on autonomy, we're a tribal species. We've often hoped that technology could replicate the type of connection embodied interaction can, but we feel in our hearts it cannot. I realize this may be difficult to accept as it's a vulnerable proposition to have to risk relying on someone else for support.
Support
But support precedes movement and in times of ambivalence, it's better to receive a helping hand than go at it alone. After all, life isn't a dress rehearsal! We only get one shot, and if you're like me, you want to make the most of it! You may be seeking therapy now because your intuition has been telling you that something isn't working, and you're no longer willing to stand by and watch life pass you by.
You're onto something! The field of Neuroscience in fact has identified that intuition isn't a psychic process at all, it's physiological. "Intuition," or that gut feeling, is a process whereby neurotransmitters in your enteric nervous system, or "gut brain," which have nearly the same amount of neurotransmitters as your thinking brain, are sending sensory, or afferent messages UP from your BODY, to your BRAIN that something needs attention. The challenge is listening...
Challenge
It's difficult to trust your gut if you've been inundated with a barrage of messages about what you "should," or "should not," do. If you're not tuned-in to yourself, and your higher power, mixed messages can make life feel like a never-ending labyrinth, that consumes all of your energy to find your way out of. No wonder you're exhausted!
Think of it this way... most of us have, "taken a bite out of the apple," so to speak, and have phylogenetically attached a sixth appendage to our body, the "smartphone". As a result, to be efficient in today's world, we're conditioned to track our device's battery life, and when it's low, plug it in, otherwise, "it's dead." Humans are no different! We run on energy! Yet the only way we know whether we're low, unless we're dependent on a machine (lonely...), is if we've strengthened our capacity to introceptively check-in and notice what we're aware of. In so doing we may identify our internal battery life and metaphorically plug-in when needed.
Believe
My mission as your Therapist is to guide you to live an embodied life. The word embodied means: to give BODY to a SPIRIT. Living an embodied life means your spirit is experiencing it’s fullest expression of energetic aliveness, in it’s container, your body. It’s a feeling! Through somatic, or body-based psychotherapy, you can expect to learn resourcing techniques that will keep you grounded, present, regulated, and connected. You will enjoy reduced anxiety, decreased depression, and increased resilience. You'll gain increased awareness of who you are and what you want. You'll fine-tune your intuition, release blocks that keep you stuck, and breathe into your embodied self.
“After all, life isn’t a dress rehearsal! We only get one shot, and if you’re like me, you want to make the most of it! ”