…maybe on the days we want out of our lives — it isn’t so much that we want to die from shame, but *hide* from shame. But let’s remember: shame gets unspeakable power only if it’s unspeakable. Shame dies when stories are told in safe places. You know what? Your scars are proof that you’re a kind of bulletproof — because living through the hardest battles proves you can live through any battle. You can trace those scars and let it feed your courage and feel no shame for the wars you’ve come through, no shame for any of your broken.
— Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way
 

therapy services

 

Areas of Training & Interest

longevity / health + mental health | generative trance | integrative / holistic therapy | chronic illness | couples & relationships | women’s issues | unlearning systems of oppression | health anxietyidentity-affirming | spirituality and mysticism⎪addiction & recovery⎪sex & sensuality⎪body image & food relationship⎪embodiment⎪shame & resilience⎪family of origin⎪mindfulness & meditation⎪depression & anxiety⎪mind-body connection⎪privilege and oppression⎪developmental and intergenerational trauma | people pleasing & boundaries | the highly sensitive person

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Individual

In individual counseling, we will build a relationship rooted in cultivating trust and accessing bravery. We will explore the culture of your family of origin, and the contexts that shape your biology, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

I believe that we must look beyond words into the “soma,” or body, to access the deeper inner histories within us. I have found that it is here where we find powerful messages that help break many of the patterns that we have inherited. I will incorporate embodiment and somatic practices into the therapy space so that these inner histories can be accessed.

The safety of the therapeutic context will allow for the exploration of your full humanity. We will work together to dismantle toxic shame and begin the journey into positive change. l will incorporate the use of the imagination, creativity, and humor in the space because I find them to be deeply transformative, and fun! I believe this work can be full spectrum. Because I believe the therapeutic relationship is a space for mutual transformation, we will both unfold deeper layers of our being, side by side.

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Relationship

Attachment-based relationship counseling includes couples, chosen family, marriages, early partnerships, long-term partnerships, alternative relationships, and relationships of all different forms.

Because our intimate relationships profoundly impact the quality of our lives, relationship therapy is meant for any time in the relationship! Not just when rupture occurs. When our intimate relationships are nourished and attended to, we develop the capacity for greater empathy and compassion in all of our relationships, including with ourselves.

My role as a therapist is to facilitate a space of equality where collaboration and curiosity are established as the foundation in which deeper intimacy and vulnerability can be reached.

We will work together to find a shared language in which needs can be voiced, a deep sense of safety, security, and stability can be established, bond(s) can be strengthened, supportive boundaries can be constructed, and communication can improve.

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Group

I have found group counseling/therapy to be just as impactful as individual counseling! Groups can inspire leadership, increase a sense of meaning and belonging in one’s life, help to cultivate new relationships, expand perception, and decrease/regulate social anxiety.

Groups are both process-oriented and psycho-educational, meaning that participants will take turns sharing space and making space, as well as learning tools and skills to navigate what it is like to have a deeply emotive inner process.

Through developing the courage to be vulnerable, sharing resonance, and active listening, participants will deepen their capacity for more complex and diverse social relationships.

Groups are meant to increase a sense of togetherness AND individuation — by appreciating what we have in common and also the ways in which we differ. In the safety of a group, it becomes possible to learn how to build intimacy and relate to people with varying experiences.

Some of the current groups I’ve facilitated at The Relational Center include:

—Meditation and Mindfulness Group

—Authenticity and Vulnerability Group

—Bodies and Trauma Group

Gabrielle Bodzin, LCSW #122963 is licensed in the state of California. Her private practice is virtual and can work with anyone who resides in the state of California.