Testimonials

"I was living in fear. Now I am learning to make choices from a place of love instead."

Before I was introduced to Marta and somatic therapy, I had already been in talk therapy for about two years, following a major faith transition and a move. I was experiencing intense anxiety and frequent panic attacks. I also carried a heavy emotional weight, feeling like I was doing something wrong or "sinning" by leaving the religion I was raised in. There was also a lot of pain and grief that I was trying to process.

Talk therapy helped me a lot, but I reached a point where I understood things logically, yet my nervous system still felt constantly triggered and overwhelmed. My therapist noticed that even though I had the cognitive understanding, my body was still in a state of stress. She suggested I reach out to Marta to explore somatic work, and that is what led me to book my first session.

At first, somatic work felt overwhelming, because my nervous system was so activated. However, Marta was patient, gentle, and knowledgeable, and she helped me feel safe every time. Even in the early sessions, I would leave feeling calmer and more regulated than when I came in. Over time, I started noticing subtle but powerful shifts. The main thing was being able to feel sensations in my body, recognize when I was triggered, and slowly come back to a place of calm.

After working together with Marta for over a year, along with additional hormone therapy support from my doctor, I can honestly say I feel so much better. I still get triggered at times, but now I have the tools to notice what is happening in my body and return to a regulated state much more quickly. One of the biggest changes is that I have realized how much of my life I was living in fear. Now I am learning to make choices from a place of love instead. Being able to feel the difference in my body has been one of the greatest gifts.

Overall, I feel lighter, experience fewer panic attacks, and feel much more regulated. Working with Marta has truly changed my life, and I am so grateful for her and the work that she does.

— Anonymous, 41 year old, Married Mother of 4

"Because of Marta, I am calm again. I have found joy and happiness."

When I arrived for my first appointment, I had no expectations, but I was emotionally broken and had lost love for life and for myself. I was a nervous wreck 90% of the time with no offramp in sight. My head was full of dark thoughts, hate for myself and anything around me. I had severe childhood trauma and body image issues that prevented me from living my best life.

The worst time of the day was bedtime. As I laid down, feelings of dread overcame me and I would have a small panic attack before falling asleep. I would wake up fine, but as the day went on, the same cycle would just start again. On the inside I was broken, but nobody on the outside knew, with the exception of my closest friends and family, whom I had pulled away from and stopped communicating with on anything but a sterile level.

I was referred to Marta from my nutritionist, Nicole. I had been seeing Nicole for a few months when the subject of my body image (Dysmorphia) came up. I explained that when I stepped on a scale, I would completely melt down if I gained an ounce. This was a 30 year issue I had been dealing with and had never been able to conquer. When Nicole told me about Marta, I jumped at the chance, because conventional talk therapy with anti-anxiety meds over the years had only made things worse and never touched my issues.

When I met Marta, I instantly felt welcome and knew in my gut that I had found someone who could help me. I normally take a long time to trust and warm up to people, but within the first session, all concerns and trust issues were completely erased. Marta spent a long time getting to know me and explaining what was happening to my body and how I was holding my trauma and lack of self confidence.

During Somatic Therapy with Marta, she gave me the education to understand where the trauma was in my body and why I was feeling so much anxiety, fear, pain, and anger. As time went on, I paid attention to what my body was saying, and Marta gave me tools to deal with it. The changes began almost immediately. The biggest factor in my success with Marta is that I now understand why I felt the way I did, and most importantly, I was learning how to work with it rather than fight it or try to run away.

This therapy is far from traditional top down talk therapy. You work from the bottom up, focusing on physical sensations, movements, and emotions to learn to regulate your nervous system. This is a full circle process. Somatic Therapy helps you go full cycle with your trauma rather than stay stuck in fight or flight. This has allowed my nervous system to calm down, and now I self regulate without even trying. My body knows what to do.

Because of Marta, I am calm again. I have found joy and happiness. My relationships are better, especially with my partner. That said, I will continue with Marta because I still have work to do. I am well into the healing process, and I could not be more thankful to Nicole for the referral, or more grateful to Marta for being such an incredible partner in my healing journey.

— Anonymous, 65 year old Female

"The calm I experienced was unlike any I had felt before."

“As a man in my sixties, I came to Marta carrying a lot of trauma and injuries. I had not heard of somatic work until I started experiencing some somatic reactions of my own. As someone who has been different my whole life, I had a lot of things holding me back from really enjoying the process of living in my body. I was oblivious to the missing sensations in certain parts of my body that had experienced the most trauma. Having been raised in Western medicine, and even trained as a medical professional, this was all new to me.

What brought me to Marta was another therapist friend, who suggested that Marta was the perfect solution to the feelings and sensations I was having. I was in a great deal of emotional pain as well as physical exhaustion. It was easy to reach for any solution, even one I had never heard of before.

My experiences were dramatic, intense, and at times overwhelming. Not from the therapy, but because of the unreleased energy I was holding in my body. As we worked together, it took time to unravel and move through all the layers of trauma and injuries I had carried during my life. As we worked through each body part and system, I felt better and better. The calm I experienced was unlike any I had felt before.

The lynchpin of all of this is the concept of a safe witness. That is a necessary ingredient to feeling seen, validated, and acknowledged. All critical experiences as a human being. Marta is able to use her skills to create a quiet, calm, safe space for emotion to be released into the open air. Her ability to hold that safe space is what makes this so successful. Without that environment, without Marta herself, I would not have been able to let my guard down and release my fears of being seen. I no longer need all the defenses and knee jerk reactions I used to protect myself. I am more confident, satisfied, and happy in my day to day life.”

— Anonymous, 60+ year old male

"After the first session, I came home and was aware of a deep feeling of well being."

I had been experiencing cervical spinal inflammation for several years that was manageable with occasional Advil, homeopathic remedies, and non force chiropractic therapy. Suddenly, the nerve pain increased to excruciating debilitating level 12 pain.

I went to the emergency and an MRI was done and medications were prescribed.

The MRI showed that there is every physical reason for me to have nerve pain every day. The medications only reduced the pain partially while I was taking them. After therapy appointments with my non force chiropractor, the pain was reduced to the manageable discomfort level. It was evident that there was more than a physical cause to the pain increasing suddenly. My chiropractor referred me to Marta for Somatic Experiencing.

During the SE sessions Marta makes observations and helps one to be aware of words and mannerisms that need to be addressed, and gives tools to use that help release old habits of thinking and acting that are counterproductive. She also offers tools to use to help you and your traumatised young self feel safe.

I have felt very safe and comfortable in every session with Marta. After the first session, I came home and was aware of a deep feeling of well being.

As with every type of healing therapy, it is a process with some good days and some not so good. But with Marta's compassionate and knowledgeable support, you have a new set of tools to bring you back to balance. 

I have found the Somatic Experiencing sessions with Marta extremely helpful.

— Anonymous, J