Embodied Liberation Sessions

Embodied Liberation Sessions explore the intersection of movement, bodywork, and psychology.  The purpose of this work is to cultivate a deep reconnection to self and other through embodiment and relational practices.

This is a liberatory practice that returns a sense of agency and internal/external alignment to the client—who is not a passive receiver of touch or a disembodied head in a therapy room—but a fully engaged, attuned, creative, and responsive being in their life and in the world.

We will ground in our physical bodies, explore our relational edges, and learn to co-create a container—and ultimately, a world—that we want to exist in together.

This work is for you if…

  • You are curious about alternate healing modalities influenced by mysticism, animism, earth-based spirituality, somatic embodiment, relational inquiry, movement and mindfulness practice, and socially engaged activism.

  • You want to cultivate more attuned, present, and connective relationships with yourself and with others.

  • You are queer and/or trans and want to feel more aligned in your sexuality or gender. This is an inherently queer practice that challenges societal norms around touch and intimacy. We lean into mutual disruption of expectations, deconstruct failure, and experiment with ephemerality.

  • You are neurodivergent/neurowild and find talk therapy or traditional bodywork uncomfortable, overwhelming, or not quite fitting your needs. You want to explore and feel more empowered in your unique ways of managing emotions and stimulation, navigating relationships, or cultivating your sensitivities in a safe, playful, explorative environment. 

  • You are either very receptive to touch as a healing modality OR want to increase your comfort with non-sexual attuned touch through exploration of your comfort edges, consent, boundaries, and discerning qualities of relational touch.

  • You want to explore giving or receiving intimate, non-sexual touch. Any kind of touch that is attuned, present, tender, pressured, or intimate in any way, is often associated with sex in this society, and socially accepted only between sexual or romantic partners. However, as human beings, young or old, we all need touch to experience a sense of belonging, safety, recognition, and connection. When we lack attuned physical touch, we can experience emotional, mental, and physical symptoms, sometimes seeking out harmful behaviors (like exploitive sex, substances to numb, or masking our true selves) to compensate for feelings of isolation, disconnection, and disembodiment.

Embodied Liberation Sessions draw from the following wisdoms and practices.

Martial Arts & Self-Defense

Authentic Movement

Intuitive Bodywork

Contact Improvisation

Somatic Psychology

Meditation/Mindfulness

Daoism & Buddhist Philosophy

Earth-Based & Animism

Dance & Movement

Ritual & Ancestor Work

 FAQs

  • This offering is informed by my personal and professional experience of questioning, “how do we heal?” I bring my work as a psychotherapist and my 18 years of embodiment practice in the form of dance, movement, martial arts, and mindfulness/meditation. I have trained in the the Hakomi Method, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Zen Meditation, Kung Fu and QiGong, and Contact Improvisation. I also continue to be influenced by the following practices: somatic psychology, yoga, intuitive bodywork, Daoism, spiritual practice, socially engaged mindfulness, liberatory praxis, and trauma-informed psychotherapy.

  • Embodied Liberation Sessions are open to anyone interested in non-traditional healing practices that reconnect us to our bodies, alignment with nature, and more authentic connection. Since this work involves both solo body exploration and touch, which can be sensitive for individuals with any kind of trauma history, participants are encouraged to have cultivated some level of body awareness practice in the past or present (ex. somatic therapy, martial arts, yoga, dance, massage, etc.) Those who are interested in non-verbal healing approaches, solo body exploration, movement, and consensual, non-sexual touch to explore relational edges are invited to join.

  • In each session, we will enter a collective dance that is fueled by creative potential, attunement, responsiveness, and care.

    Our sessions will take place in-person (currently in Oakland or Berkeley, CA), typically indoors in a dance studio or a cozy office space, with the possibility of eventually moving outside to engage with nature aspects.

    A session usually starts with me guiding you back to reconnecting with your body and reorienting to your inner and outer landscapes. From this more embodied state, I will invite discussion around a particular challenge, ongoing theme of exploration, or an experience that feels alive for you that day. After about 20-30 minutes of engaged verbal processing and reflection, I will use the material we’ve gathering and alchemize it through your other centers of intelligence. This might look like one or more of the following: sounding/singing, coregulation, touch, manual bodywork, breathwork, dance, movement, dramatizing emotions, somatic exercises, meditation, experimentation, play, or stillness. This embodied portion of our session will usually take up about 30-45 minutes. Finally, the last 15-20 minutes of our session will return us to our cognitive state to digest, integrate, make meaning, and transition to close.

    The ratio of verbal to non-verbal engagement will be adapted to your needs, capacities, curiosities, and desires that day. The flow of our session is highly collaborative, and will be guided by weekly themes, intuition, and deep listening.

  • Each 75-minute session is $220. I recommend meeting weekly to start. As with any relational or healing practice, it will take us several sessions to build rapport and create a safe container for deeper exploration and vulnerability. I have limited sliding scale slots reserved for queer, trans, and/or BIPOC clients. Email me with questions or to schedule a consultation call: teresatrinhcounseling@gmail.com.