You are very good at being okay for everyone else.
From the outside it looks like you have it handled. Inside, there is a low hum of tension that never quite switches off, and a tiredness that sleep does not seem to touch.
- —Knowing exactly what you wanted to say, after the conversation is already over
- —Feeling like you betray yourself in small ways every day
- —Knowing your patterns, but still feeling powerless to change them
- —Constantly questioning whether you are asking for too much
- —Feeling responsible for everyone else’s emotions
- —Second guessing yourself long after you have made a decision
- —Looking confident on the outside while quietly feeling “not enough”
- —Exhausted from holding it together on your own
If you recognize yourself here, know nothing in you is broken. Your body learned to stay safe this way. And now, it’s time for it to learn something gentler.
Insight alone rarely settles a nervous system.
You can understand exactly why you feel the way you do and still feel it in your chest, your shoulders, your sleep. That’s because these patterns aren’t just thoughts. They’re survival responses, held both in the body and the nervous system.
Healing isn’t about forcing yourself to relive the past. It’s about helping your nervous system build enough safety and capacity to stay present with what once felt overwhelming.
We let the body finish what it never got the chance to.
Rather than only talking about what happened, we pay attention to what is happening now, the sensations, the bracing, and the ways your nervous system is still trying to protect you. Together we help your body complete the responses it once had to hold back, so it no longer has to stay stuck in survival mode. Over time, your body learns that it is safe to settle.
An integrative, body aware approach.
There isn’t one technique that creates healing. Lasting change happens when we work with the mind, body and nervous system together. That’s why I tailor each session using the approaches that best support your unique needs.
Somatic therapy
The foundation of the work. We track sensation and the nervous system so change happens at the level where the patterns actually live, not just where we can name them.
Parts work
A gentle way of meeting the different parts of you, the one who pushes, the one who pleases, the one who protects, with curiosity instead of judgment.
EMDR
An evidence based method for trauma that helps the brain reprocess painful memories so they lose their charge. I am certified in EMDR and bring it in where it fits.
What we tend to work on.
Anxiety and overwhelm
Turning down the constant alarm so your body can rest in the present.
Trauma and PTSD
Processing what stayed stuck, at a pace your system can actually hold.
People pleasing and boundaries
Learning that a no can be safe, and that your needs are allowed to take up space.
Coming home to yourself
Rebuilding self trust and the quiet sense of being at home in your own body.
Getting started is simple.
A free 15 minute consultation
We talk briefly, with no pressure, so you can get a feel for me and ask anything you like. Call (510) 216-1884 or request a time below.
Your first session
We slow down and get to know what you are carrying and how your body holds it. Nothing is rushed and you stay in control of the pace.
The ongoing work
We meet regularly online, building safety and capacity session by session, until settling starts to feel like home rather than effort.
Hi, I am Dierdre.
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist working with women across California, entirely online. For more than a decade I have sat with people who look composed on the outside and feel anything but, and I have watched what becomes possible when we stop trying to think our way out and start listening to the body.
My work is trauma informed and rooted in somatic therapy, EMDR and parts work. It is warm, unhurried and built around you, never the other way round.
- Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, California
- CA License #121224
- EMDR Certified
- Master's in Counseling Psychology, JFK University
- Online only · she / her
What clients often tell me.
For the first time, they begin to understand and believe that nothing was wrong with them. That their nervous system isn’t fighting against them, it’s simply trying to protect them.
They actually start to feel differently, not just think differently. They begin to notice how they’re responding differently. Even when they have hard moments, it doesn’t take over their entire day anymore. And they finally trust themselves in a way they never thought was possible.
Before you reach out.
What exactly is somatic therapy?
It is talk therapy that also includes the body. Alongside what we discuss, we pay attention to sensation and the nervous system, because so much of what keeps us stuck is held there rather than in our thoughts.
Is everything online?
Yes. I work with clients throughout California over secure video, so you can do this from wherever you feel most comfortable.
I have done talk therapy before and still feel stuck. How is this different?
Talking can give us understanding without giving the body relief. By working from the bottom up, somatic therapy reaches the patterns that insight alone tends to leave in place.
Do you take insurance, and how much are sessions?
Sessions are $200 and I am an out of network provider. I can give you a superbill to submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement.
Who do you work with?
Mostly self aware women navigating anxiety, trauma, people pleasing, boundaries and the wish to feel more at home in themselves.
What happens on the free consultation?
A short, relaxed conversation. You can share a little of what brings you here, ask me anything, and notice whether it feels like a fit. There is no obligation to continue.