Body Psychotherapy
Vanessa takes an eclectic approach to therapy. While grounded in her body psychotherapy and animal-assisted foundation, Vanessa incorporates from a variety of modalities/techniques including; arts-based, strengths-based, relational, humanistic, mindfulness, attachment theory, experiential etc. Vanessa enjoys specializing in her work with Complex PTSD, neurodivergence, highly sensitive persons, kink and non monogamous populations.
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Vanessa is an approved supervisor for the state of Washington for those still needing their supervision hours or for clinicians who are wanting extra supervision/support in working with Somatic work, ENM/kink populations, or animal-assisted therapy.
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"We spend a lot of time trying to nail everything down, concretizing, just trying to make everything solid and secure. We also spend a lot of time trying to dull or soften or fend off that vividness. When we awaken our hearts, we're changing the whole pattern, but not by creating a new pattern. We are moving further and further away from concretizing and making things so solid and always trying to get some ground under our feet. This moving away from comfort and security, this stepping out into what is unknown, uncharted, and shaky--that's called enlightenment, liberation" (Chodron, P. 1994).
Body psychotherapy is a specific orientation to therapy that is under the "somatic therapies" umbrella. As such, body psychotherapists learn to analyze, diagnose, assess, and treat through the body. It is a holistic approach that takes into account the whole being versus just the individuals thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Body psychotherapists recognize that the body holds an innate intelligence that when listened to, can be a guide to healing, a dear friend and ally, and an inner voice of truth. The body holds every experience we have ever lived through and in bringing one back into close relationship to the body, one can begin to integrate disconnected/unprocessed memories. "Any event that occurs-whether physical, emotional, cognitive, or spiritual-impacts our whole being." (Caldwell, 1996).
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"When movement is held back, energy/life flow is impeded, and we become sick. When movement is rushed, energy/life flow is distorted, and we become sick." (Caldwell, 1996).
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Our bodies store trauma in the every cells of our being,until these responses are fully expressed, this energy will stay in the body causing some level of dysfunction (In An Unspoken Voice, Levine, 2010).
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Animal-assisted therapy works on the premise that as humans, we are mammals. We are pack animals that need social connection as a basic need. Connection is just as important as food, water, and shelter. Through understanding the survival systems of animals, we can come to learn our own nervous systems better and begin to take the shame/blame out of our responses to threats. This involves understanding how each individual defines a threat in their life and how they respond to that threat differently than another human might. In working collaboratively with animals we can cue our nervous systems to feel safe and use the relationship built with an animal to teach us about how we interact with ourselves and with others.
Education
-Vanessa Herzog holds a Masters in the arts with a concentration in body psychotherapy from Naropa University in Boulder, CO. Vanessa currently holds an LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) in WA state, license #: LH 61198636
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-She holds a certification in animal-assisted therapy from the Animal-Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado.
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-She is certified in Relational Life Therapy level 1 (couples therapy training) and is currently working to complete a certification training on Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
-She is in the process of becoming certified in sensorimotor Processing Level 1 and contemporary Reichian Therapy
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-Vanessa has taken a variety of continuing education courses in DBT, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma processing, etc.
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-Vanessa has also completed trainings on ethical non-monogamy and kink-positivity.