SOMATIC PRACTICE

with MD Bloch-Hansen, MSW, RSW

Body centered and politicized healing arts + care work for a more livable future

MD offers GLoW sessions Tuesdays, Thursdays and some Saturdays. Sessions take place at their office @ 715 Bloor St. W (Cedar Christie Wellness Centre).

MY APPROACH

I am passionate and dedicated to supporting others in finding a way back to their bodies with a gentle, trauma-informed and relational approach. I will meet you where you’re at by taking a collaborative and holistic approach that fosters curiosity, self-discovery, attuned presence, increased awareness and insight. I hold space that upholds values rooted in intersectional feminism, harm reduction and abolitionism. I maintain my own practice that keeps me questioning and understanding the ways I can continue to deconstruct or move away from upholding values of white supremacy culture and colonialism. Feel free to ask me more about this! To learn more about who I am and my approach, check out my website, www.somaticpractice.ca

OFFERING DETAILS

1) Somatic Counselling/Psychotherapy: A body-oriented, talking therapy that recognizes the importance of the therapist-client relationship, and incorporates the body into clinical practice as an avenue for discovery and healing. I will take an approach that builds on traditional psychotherapeutic understanding but includes the body as central. Sessions include both ‘top-down’ (talk) and ‘bottom-up’ (body) processing of relational wounds, emotions and cognitions, informed by my training and practice in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Body-Mind Centering, polyvagal theory, Parts/IFS, Narrative Therapy, and Emotion-Focused therapy. Through a collaborative approach to treatment planning, sessions may include mindful movement experiments, guided visualization, intentional breath, the use of consensual somatic touch, and expressive art.

2) Somatic Movement & Embodiment Coaching: Personalized guidance and support in your journey of belonging with your body-mind. These sessions focus on supporting you in building your own practice for embodiment through guided somatic movement exercises and explorations. These session offer a place for diving into your own embodied practice, in a supportive container, to explore the body systems (nervous, endocrine, fluids, fascia/ligaments, bones, muscles, senses & perception, etc) and to increase neuroception and the felt sense. These sessions aim to help you foster a new way of relating to your body-mind, one that is slow, present and attuned to support nervous system regulation. Through a collaborative approach to treatment planning, sessions may include gentle movement, yoga, breathwork, visualization, mindfulness, psychoeducation, guided self-touch, and consenual/boundaried somatic touch.

3) Deep Listening Session/Soundbath: In these sessions, sound is the primary means of facilitating relaxation and healing. The consistent and repetitive nature of the sounds can help the brain shift from a state of high-frequency brainwaves (like beta waves associated with active thinking) to lower frequencies (such as alpha, theta, or delta waves), which are linked to relaxation, meditation, and deep restorative sleep. Instruments used in sound baths create a range of frequencies that resonate with different parts of the body and mind, potentially bringing them into balance. Instruments your practitioner will use in these sessions include crystal singing bowls, tuning forks, chimes, and other resonant tools. During the sound bath you will lie down or sit comfortably while the facilitator plays the instruments, creating layers of sound frequencies that wash over the body and mind.

For questions please email marydorabh@somaticpractice.ca

SOMATIC PRACTICE with MD Bloch-Hansen, MSW, RSW Body centered and politicized healing arts + ca... Read More

** You can book with me on Thursdays onsite at Breakaway in Parkdale or other weekdays at my studio space near Christie Station here **

Tave is a queer white Acupuncturist, body worker and community herbalist with over 10 years of experience with overdose response work, advocacy, and providing support for people who use drugs.

She aims to help people to find more ease and comfort within their bodies and their feelings. She very much believes in people’s ability to heal despite what difficult circumstances they may face.

Modalities used include Acupuncture, cupping, massage, gua sha, nutritional or herbal advice.

Regrettably, neither of Tave’s current spaces are wheelchair accessible, but she can arrange home visits. Please contact Tave if you are interested.

www.moonacu.com

** You can book with me on Thursdays onsite at Breakaway in Parkdale or other weekdays at my stud... Read More

CHARMAINE HUNTER-EDWARDS, MSW, RSW (SHE/HER)

MODALITIES USED: Trauma-Informed Care (TIC), Cognitive Behavioural (CBT); Narrative; and Solutions-Focused Therapy

BIO: Charmaine Hunter-Edwards is a Registered Social Worker with an MSW from Dalhousie University. She has over 17 years experience working with youth, families and the community supporting individuals who have experienced depression, anxiety, grief/loss, substance use, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and various forms of trauma (including sexual/physical abuse, domestic violence, and family conflict) to name a few.

Charmaine practices from an anti-racist, anti-oppressive and trauma-informed lens as she understands how systems impact one’s intersectionality and lived experiences. She believes in establishing a strong therapeutic relationship by creating a safe/brave space to develop trust so that issues of concern can be addressed from a place of honesty, collaboration, and healing. She draws on her own experiences as a mother, partner, daughter, sister, and friend to inform her practice. With her previous experience as a frontline worker, she is intimately aware of how vicarious trauma impacts our personal and professional lives.

WHAT A SESSION WITH CHARMAINE WOULD LOOK LIKE: Our initial meeting would be an introductory meeting where you would share whatever you feel comfortable sharing about yourself, and I would do the same. The goal is to get to know each other and start building rapport. As the relationship develops and sessions continue, areas of concern will be identified collaboratively, and meetings will be driven by what you need in the moment and what you hope to get out of the experience. The sessions can be self-directed or guided. For some, establishing clear goals are important while for others, the sessions will flow organically, and the needs will be more fluid and may change over time. Reflective journaling may be used as a tool to identify key themes to be explored. Providing a safe/brave space to express your concerns, fears, thoughts, and feelings are of utmost importance. It is imperative that you feel seen, heard, and validated for you to continue to support those in need.

CHARMAINE HUNTER-EDWARDS, MSW, RSW (SHE/HER) MODALITIES USED: Trauma-Informed Care (TIC), Cognit... Read More

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Chris Leonard brings extensive experience supporting workers and communities impacted by trauma and loss to her work as a consultant.

Her process facilitation and trainings are grounded in wholistic, anti-oppressive, and resilience frameworks.

Chris Leonard brings extensive experience supporting workers and communities impacted by trauma a... Read More

Danielle is a truth-teller who rises to the challenge of holding space for uncomfortable experiences in life and death. She asks bold questions that help us to stay present to intense emotional anguish. She has the courage and emotional depth to witness relationships within individuals and families with the clarity of vision for grace and ease. Committed to community justice throughout her life, she holds the voice of her ancestors as her guide in this work, often working with her own dreams and dreams of community.

Danielle is a truth-teller who rises to the challenge of holding space for uncomfortable experie... Read More

Hi! My name is Adrienne and I am a Registered Acupuncturist. I am a queer, second-generation Chinese settler here in Tkaronto. I am happy to talk to you about where you are at, where you are coming from, and how and where you want your health and wellness to progress. I am also happy for you to share what you feel comfortable sharing.

Modalities Used: acupuncture, cupping.

Hi! My name is Adrienne and I am a Registered Acupuncturist. I am a queer, second-generation Chin... Read More

Amy Muli is Glow’s 1-1 client Support Worker. She has been working in frontline harm reduction for over 24 years. Amy is also a trained Death Doula, a Certified Sound Healing Practitioner and is a Certified Kundalini Yoga teacher. Amy is passionate about harm reduction, social justice, alternative healing, grief, art and is a proud & devoted cat mom of three beautiful kiddens. Amy supports GloW’s 1-1 Intake process and also facilitates The Sonic Quilt.

Amy Muli is Glow’s 1-1 client Support Worker. She has been working in frontline harm reduction fo... Read More

Modalities Used: Grief and Loss Counselling

Yvette has decades of experience as both a community activist and counsellor in the HIV/AIDS sector during the years of ongoing deaths, stigmatized multiple losses and community devastation. She went on to co-found a provincial organization to mitigate the impact of these losses: the AIDS Bereavement and Resiliency Program of Ontario. With her certification as a traumatology therapist, Yvette now works part time with the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health (Hastings County) as their Traumatic Loss Specialist. She is also Team Lead for Good Grief Care Consultants, a diverse team that provide accessible, relevant traumatic grief supports to front line workers and their managers in the not-for-profit sector. (www.goodgriefcare.ca)

Modalities Used: Grief and Loss Counselling Yvette has decades of experience as both a community... Read More

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Rei is available Thursdays for GLoW clients, which can now be booked through the Jane app!

Modalities Used: Massage therapy, Myofascial Release, Breath work

I am a queer Registered Massage Therapist practicing trauma-informed bodywork. I work through a lens of harm-reduction, consent and anti-oppression.

Rei is available Thursdays for GLoW clients, which can now be booked through the Jane app! Modal... Read More

Tonia is an educator, counsellor and advocate who work with a diverse range of communities and address a diverse range of issues. Her extensive work with survivors of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, domestic violence and elder abuse has led her to work with community, academic and corporate institutions providing counselling, training, workshops, education, suicide risk assessments and crisis intervention. As an educator, Tonia is committed to educating the next generation of helpers about the importance of applying trauma-informed, social justice and critical theory lens in order to work with and better understand the lived reality of service users.

Tonia uses: Strengths-based Narrative Therapy – Tree of life Methodology. Motivational Interviewing, Peer Support, Client Directed Outcome-Informed Therapy and Psychodynamic Therapy.

In a session with me, you are the expert in this interaction. Together we will set the tone for how you would like things to move forward. We will start with informal conversations and things will progress in a natural fashion. Flexibility, understanding, patience and kindness will be the foundation from which the deconstruction of your reality will take place.

Tonia is an educator, counsellor and advocate who work with a diverse range of communities and ad... Read More

Modalities Used: Expressive Arts Coaching As a coach, I guide with deep presence and compassion, spark inspiration, and find countless creative practices to support you in taking the small and expansive steps along your path.

Modalities Used: Expressive Arts Coaching As a coach, I guide with deep presence and compassion, ... Read More