for trauma healing and pain relief
with Beth Baron,
SEP, LMT
In person or by telehealth, Shelburne Falls, MA
If you struggle with…
- pain from chronic injuries or health conditions
- trauma, especially early and attachment trauma
- touch, safety and trust
- alienation, self acceptance and belonging
- hypervigilance and restorative rest
- complex grief
- bearing witness in your work, activism, or community
…you are in excellent company.
These experiences are powerful because they are visceral. They happen to your body. Health and wholeness happen through your experience of that very same living, feeling, moving body. This is what somatic therapies, practices, and bodywork are for.
You deserve to feel comfortable, strong, and at ease in your body.
What I offer and how:
Therapeutic sessions
In form, sessions can “look” like massage or bodywork, psychotherapy, or physical therapy, depending on who you are, what you want and need, and your energy level on that particular day. Most sessions have in common noticing your experience in the moment; allowing you and your body time, space and full permission to feel what you feel; and choosing where and how to pay attention. Sessions highlight restorative rest and integration, some on creating new internal experiences, and some on practices and skills. The main bodies of knowledge I draw from are:
More about what to expect here.
Touch skills coaching for dyads
Co-regulation is what happens when being with another person (or animal) calms or excites in a way that supports connection and resilience. When a loved one is in high distress, touch that is normally welcome can land as demand rather than comfort. Non-demanding, listening, responsive touch has a different approach and a different impact. It can be learned and practiced as a skill; and it can be offered or requested as a gift in a time of need.
Two adults in any ongoing, mutual relationship that includes caring touch are welcome. The do not have to be a couple. The value of the skill is not limited to this kind of relationship. Over time I expect to broaden the scope of this offer. This is an emergent offering, and this format ensures that I stay within the scope of my ability.
Somatic practices and bodywork skills
Classes, workshops, and ongoing groups are offered periodically.
Somatic work is relational. When we work together:
ALL of you is welcome.
You don’t have to be a “good client.” You can tell me exactly what you need or have no idea what you need. You can come with intensity, exhaustion, shutdown, or an even keel. You can say something and then take it back. You don’t have to have it together in any way. The more room we make for the parts many try not to show, the more relief, joy, laughter, delight, confidence and competence can come through as well. When they do, we can enjoy together.
It’s worth the time to get it just right.
It’s about more than comfort. Too much discomfort too young or too often changes what a person is able to experience. Even a limited experience of “just right” can have a profound impact. Sometimes for most, and most times for some, it feels like there’s no “just right” to get. Then, we pay attention together and see how what’s possible changes over time.
We can talk or be quiet during your session.
With most of the work we would do, the pace of conversation is different from talk therapy or physical therapy or medicine. It is like the difference between talking with a friend over dinner and talking with a friend while engaging in a task – think gardening, building, or doing art together. You can always take your time to speak or respond, or choose to be silent for long stretches.
Fees and Accessibility
$0 intro call by phone or video
$140/hr regular fee
$90-$190 /hr sliding scale
Please pay what will make our exchange feel mutually generous and fair to you. Practitioners doing comparable work charge a lot more in some places, somewhat less in others. The scale is broad and the decision is yours in acknowledgment that many factors beyond individual, present time finances can be at play. Somatic work is relational. Good work happens in a relationship of trust. Your experience of paying is not separate.
Bottom line: if you think my work might help you but the fee is out of your range, reach out. We’ll find a way.