What Makes Me Qualified

I was asked once, “What is my experience working with survivors of sexual violence and/or other forms of trauma?”

And currently my answer is: Tenderness is the word that first strikes. Being a survivor myself, It took me some time to understand how I could be of support to this community knowing in my heart that through personal experience there can be potent medicine poured back in. I think about this quote from Matt Kahn: “Despite how open, peaceful, and loving you attempt to be, people can only meet you as deeply as they’ve met themselves.” This helps guide my why that's underneath this larger sensation of passion for working with survivors of sexual violence and/or other forms of trauma- recognizing that deep space-holding and witnessing requires a depth of continued inner work, curiosity, and exploration. Within my own healing journey I hit a point where I had the right amount of capacity built to start pouring back into community with my specific skillset. In 2017 I began working at non-profits throughout Portland Oregon, immediately taking my Bachelors Degree in Social Work and putting it to the test. The folks I met and whom started to become clients all circled in the spheres of mental health, substance use, abuse, sexual asalt, IPV, Domestic Violence, housing insecurity, eating and hoarding disorders, foster youth, etc. Most spheres intersected. My work from 2017-2023 was an intense, expansive expedition into deepening into compassion, empathy, humility, what it means to be human, and what healing actually looks like. Being with each remarkable human I got the privilege to meet and support, taught me more then I could ever put into words. I got hit with a world of un-learning certain things and re-learning others. Noticing that staying flexible and fluid vs. ridged and stale meant I could move with life vs. fight life at every chance. I got broken down, energy spent, and burnout ridden trying to fight a system that wasn’t willing to change knowing that change is the only constant. I poured my heart into the programs I managed and centering the communities voice and choice over institutional agendas. I ended up leaving the non-profit world due to my own need for space and healing after fighting a long fight. I worked on my savior complex as many social workers can develop naturally within the world of institutionalized help, where support used to be woven into community spaces naturally but with the isolation, disconnection and extraction people face, those natural community systems sometimes are inaccessible, not visible, or non-existent. Through these experiences, I have witnessed the impact of trauma on the nervous system, relationships, and self-perception. My approach is always informed by the understanding that healing is non-linear, deeply personal, and requires attunement to each individual’s needs, autonomy, and sense of safety. I found beautiful teachers along the way of my own continued healing and growth, and started my journey with Energy Work in 2020 (3 years before leaving the non-profit scene). Discovering different pathways of healing, of living, felt enlivening and nourishing, as I could learn from different angles how to return to myself and engage more meaningfully with the world around me. My energy work practice was extended out to others after years and years of apprenticeship, intensive study and practice, retreats, and certifications. Bringing energy work into space with survivors is a potent dance. One that takes softness, care, and awareness.

Trauma-informed care, to me, is about understanding the impacts of trauma, the intersections of identities, and how to hold space with the right lens and sensitivity. It recognizes that we are fluid beings, capable of evolving, adapting, and shifting. It’s about meeting each person with deep respect, attunement, and an understanding that healing is not something imposed but something that unfolds when safety and trust are present. It means creating a space where survivors feel deeply seen, where their autonomy is honored, and where the nervous system’s wisdom is trusted in the healing process. It also means acknowledging that trauma does not exist in isolation—it is shaped by systemic, historical, and cultural contexts, which must be considered in healing work.

I believe in creating spaces where survivors can gently reconnect with their bodies, reclaim their power, and move at their own pace toward a sense of wholeness that was never lost. Healing is not about erasing the past but about integrating our experiences, reclaiming our sense of self, and discovering the wisdom that emerges from within.