Shanon Emerson (she/her)

Somatic Therapy (Body Centered)

You have a body, it has a language, and you can learn that language. I’m a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and this is the heart of my work. Somatic Experiencing is a trauma-informed approach that works with the nervous system. I meet you where you are in your ability to notice your body, its sensations, and the clues it may be offering. We go at a pace that feels safe, and over time you build your capacity to stay with yourself through whatever you find.

Narrative 

Story is at the heart of my work. The stories we tell about ourselves shape what feels possible. In sessions, you put your experience into words, and hearing yourself say it out loud can bring a deeper understanding of who you are. As a storyteller who comes from a long line of storytellers, I listen for what matters in your story, and we turn toward the body to notice what the words stir up.

Relational 

How we relate to ourselves shapes how we relate to others. In our work together, the relationship between us is part of the process: a steady, respectful space where you can notice how you show up, what you need, and what happens in your body as you speak. As you build a kinder, clearer relationship with yourself, your relationships with others often shift too.

Coaching

I’m a certified coach who brings together creativity, embodiment, and 20 years of strategy and communication experience. I work with people on work, relationships, business, and art, helping them get unstuck, develop their ideas, and take a next step, with body awareness as part of the process.

Depth Therapy

Depth psychology shapes how I listen. I’m interested in what’s beneath the story you tell: recurring patterns, symbols, dreams, and what your body holds around them. I bring years of study in Jungian thought alongside my Somatic Experiencing training, so we can meet both the meaning and the sensation. I work as a practitioner and coach, not as a licensed therapist.

Anxiety

Anxiety lives in the body as much as the mind: a racing heart, a tight chest, thoughts that won’t stop planning. It usually comes with a story and a sensation. In our sessions, you put words to what you’re worried about while we notice where your body feels it. We go slowly and build your capacity to settle, so worry has less say in your decisions and you can trust your next step.

Relationship / Marriage Issues

Our closest relationships often bring up our oldest patterns. In sessions, we notice what your body does when conflict, distance, or longing shows up, and what that might be telling you. This can help you get clearer on what you actually need in a relationship, especially if you tend toward people-pleasing or fawning. From there, it’s easier to communicate, set boundaries, and respond instead of react.

Chronic Pain or Illness

Chronic pain and illness can change how we relate to our bodies. A somatic approach treats sensations as information rather than something to fight or ignore. The goal isn’t to calm down or make sensations go away. It’s to build your capacity to be with what’s happening, so you can stay with yourself through everything your body is feeling. We go slowly, at a pace that feels manageable. My work isn’t medical care and doesn’t replace it. It’s meant to support you alongside your doctors.

Loss or Grief

Grief doesn’t follow a schedule, and it often shows up in the body as heaviness, tightness, exhaustion, or numbness. In our sessions, we make space for what you’re carrying, whether that’s a death, a relationship ending, or another kind of loss. We go slowly and build your capacity to be with what comes up, at a pace that feels manageable. There’s no right way to grieve and nothing to fix.

Polyamorous and Open Relationships

Non-monogamous relationships come with their own joys and complexities: communication, jealousy, time, boundaries, and knowing what you want. I have personal experience with polyamory and open relationships, and this is a judgment-free space whether you’re polyamorous, in an open relationship, or exploring. In sessions, we notice what your body is telling you in moments of connection, jealousy, or uncertainty, so you can get clearer on your needs and how to ask for them.