Somatic Therapy

Sally Haskins is a pre-licensed Registered Psychological Associate supervised by Brian Tierney, PhD, PSY31502.

Hello! It is my belief that life is best lived inside a body! It is from this place that we can access the richness of life—where our chests expand with joy, our stomachs clench with grief, our arms stretch wide in the freedom of surrender. Each expression of the body offers us invaluable insight into who we are, where we come from, where we wish to go next, and what’s getting in our way. The body is our roadmap—always offering guidance that nudges us along our personal paths of becoming.

But for many of us, the body has not always been a safe or easy place. Early trauma, wounding, and relational ruptures can dissociate us from our immediate experience, causing parts of ourselves to withdraw or escape. Culturally, as well, for those of us who grew up in the West or Westernized cultures, we’ve been taught to engage the world from our thinking minds, where to trust our gut or to follow our heart is seen as naive, rather than a very intelligent form of guidance.

I know first-hand both the joys and challenges of choosing to return to the body. My work is slow, gentle, and oftentimes playful. Together, we will rely on the intelligence of your body to direct us toward those areas that are needing a little extra care and attention. My style weaves together dialogue, mindfulness, parts work, and relational inquiry within somatic approaches to help you explore and get to know your inner world. Throughout this work, you become something like the conductor of your own experience—able to hear the signals, soothe the activations, follow the wisdom, savor the sensations, center in your own inner knowing, and for the times when you do become overwhelmed, disoriented, or collapsed (because all of us do), you’re able to more easily find your way back home.

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The role of a healing worldview

I acknowledge that some of the language on this site may sound strange and unfamiliar in your search for a therapist. Maybe that turns you away or maybe it speaks to something deep inside. I am open about this framing because I've spent many years in academia studying the ways in which our Western approach to psychotherapy, with its over-emphasis on the individual, can cause inexplicit harm and further isolation for those of us who feel impacted by systemic and planetary suffering. These are not individual problems that require better coping strategies, but instead, are reflective of an upsetting reality that is worth our acknowledgement.

Soma Mundi, then, reflects an emergent movement in the field of psychotherapy. Its worldview simply aims to overcome isolation by honoring our deep interconnection. The work intends to meet a very real form of psychological distress that occurs within humans that bear witness to the suffering of our world—a form of distress that is rarely recognized in traditional psychotherapeutic settings. This worldview shows up in practice by moving slowly, gently, and mindfully; in the welcoming of all parts of ourselves and honoring each part's wisdom; in acknowledging and naming the impact of systemic harms; in speaking to our interconnectivity with each other, our culture, and our planet; in working relationally; in taking responsibility; and in the acknowledgement that adequate treatment does not come from therapy alone, but also in community and engagement with the world beyond ourselves.

Most importantly, however, I want you to know that you do not need to arrive with a particular worldview, belief system, or a clear direction for your work. Somatic therapy can support you wherever you are and we will only draw on these themes if and when they feel relevant to you.

“Be patient, for there is certainly specific work waiting for you. Or did you think the universe went through 14 billion years of work to create you if there was not a particular function that you - and only you - could do? The creative powers residing in you will be evoked in time for the work they were created for."

BRIAN SWIMME, PHD

Working Together

I believe that each person carries an important purpose, and that the greatest task in life is to discover that purpose and offer yourself back to the web of life. This work supports you in the discovery of your deep self, which includes your values, needs, gifts, and calling. A s you increase your understanding of yourself and the ways in which you were patterned, new options arise for how to meet each moment. As this process unfolds over time, deeper layers of yourself are revealed and a larger story for your life emerges. Here, not only does your healing process benefit you and your immediate relationships, but it simultaneously supports you in weaving yourself back into the richness of life, uncovering a deeper sense of aliveness, sensitivity, and belonging within the Earth community.

In order to participate in the transformation of our world, it's critical to develop an embodied sense of psychological, emotional, and spiritual scaffolding to help us remain pliable and resilient in the face of rapid change. This work, then, will also support you in the cultivation of inner resources to support you in rising up to meet this moment.

I reap inspiration from many sources. I am trained in and practice Hakomi Mindful Somatic therapy, where I blend together somatic, ecological, and depth perspectives alongside my philosophical background in cosmology, ecology, and the study of the evolution of consciousness. My work is deeply compassionate, playful, and collaborative where I trust you as the expert of your own experience. I value co-creation where I am just as happy to follow your lead as I am to offer guidance and direction.

Who this is for

I welcome folks of all ages and backgrounds and feel especially called to work with teens and young people (20s/30s), eager to explore their sense of identity, purpose, and meaning-making within the context of ecological and social upheaval. I honor the complexity of our times and the disorientation of rapidly changing norms. I welcome you exactly as you are and am eager to witness your incredible unfolding.

Areas I support:

Anxiety and depression
Developmental trauma and C-PTSD
Grief and major life transitions
Isolation, loneliness
Identity, purpose, and meaning
Eco-anxiety and eco-grief
Existential crisis, spiritual emergencies, and eco-awakening
Building psychological resilience
Highly sensitive people
Teens and young folks (20s + 30s) afraid and uncertain about their future