My Work

Happy 2020, everyone!

Many people have asked me about the style of work I do now, and I have to admit that the clichés of the holistic world make describing my work challenging. The best way to answer this is to break it down into sections.

Body and Nervous System:

CranioSacral therapy is a light touch therapy that targets the fascial system and central nervous system. It releases restrictions in the fascia and helps reset the CNS so that the body can more easily self-correct. People who live with chronic pain, anxiety, depression, PTSD, lack of vagal tone, and trauma, all benefit from this healing modality.

Reiki is a Japanese style of light-touch energy work that supports the client’s natural healing process. It works well with other forms of treatment to help calm the body, emotions, and nervous system.

Mental and Emotional:

Somatic Counseling focuses on the internal body responses of the client as well as the mental and emotional processing of trauma. This therapy is great for clients who have difficulty recognizing their feelings, or how their emotions affect their body responses. The work of Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, Stephen Porges, and Michelle Chalfant, have greatly informed my practice.

I am LGBTQ+ affirming, and I work closely with this community. Together we address issues of (physical, mental, and emotional) trauma, neglect, anxiety, depression, PTSD, relationship issues, etc.

Psychoeducational Classes:

I teach classes that are designed to offer tools to handle life stressors. Some of these classes address the nervous system and Vagus nerve resilience, and others teach grounding and centering practices that help reduce anxiety and feelings of overwhelm. Classes are offered in Tupelo, MS, at Conscious Healing Therapies, and in Starkville, MS, at Soulflower Healing Arts Studio.

How you can work with me:

The beauty of my work is that sessions are designed specifically for each client, depending on one’s unique situation and needs.

If you would like more information, or if you would like to schedule time with me, feel free to email me at tupeloholisticcenter@gmail.com. We can set up a free phone consultation so that we can determine how I can be most helpful to you.

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LGBTQ Community

The LGBTQ community in Mississippi (and anywhere that my internet connection can reach) has allies at the Holistic Center in Tupelo, MS.

I have worked closely with this community for many years, and I feel that it’s past time to make my position as an ally very clear to the community that’s so close to my heart.

I am aware that making this statement may cause me to lose some clients, and I am at peace with that; but I know that I will be supported and loved, just as I support and love others, and I know that I have some amazing clients who will be very happy to read this post. I am grateful for my life; I am a married, white female, who is privileged in many ways. Last year, when I expressed a deep sadness for being so privileged when others were so not, one of my teachers said, “Dana, use that privilege. Use your privilege as a financially stable, white female to bring relief to those who are struggling. Look at your world. To whom are you in service?” I have always been an advocate for this population, as well as for women who are unsupported emotionally because of diverse spiritual practices.

A beloved family member reached out publicly recently, sharing that she felt she no longer had a family because of the way her immediate family treated her and her partner. I won’t go into details, but know that my heart was moved. Jack’s heart was moved as well, and we realized that we had not made our love for her and her partner clear. We immediately reached out to her, and we let her know that we not only accept her and her love, but we celebrate her and her love; there is no “tolerance” in this home.

There is also no “tolerance” in my practice. To me, the word tolerance has the connotation, “I don’t approve of what you’re doing, but I will be accepting of you to a point.” It also reminds me of the phrase, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” <– I have very strong opinions about that phrase as well, and I will not be using it on you or anyone else.

If you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or asexual, and you feel that you are not accepted by others, I am in service to you. If you suffer from stress, anxiety, grief, etc., consider working with me to get relief so that you can feel more whole and supported as you do your great, important work in this world.

If you are an LGBTQIA ally, truly an ally, you know what that means and what it can do to your stress levels and nervous system. Please reach out to me to get information on how you can be supported as you hold space and offer your voice on behalf of our amazing community.

If you are not familiar with my work, here are some ways that I can help support you:

In Person:

• CranioSacral Therapy (very healing to the central nervous system)
• Integrative SomatoEmotional Release
• Earth Medicine Healing Sessions (a style of shamanic healing)
• Hypnotherapy, Guided Imagery and Titration
• Compassionate Listening (donation based service)
• Breema (coming this summer)
• Reiki

Remote Sessions (online via Zoom platform):

• Earth Medicine Healing Sessions
• Guided Imagery and Titration
• Energy work (including Reiki sessions and Reiki training)
• Compassionate Listening (donation based service)

If you have never worked with me before and you are dealing with stress, I suggest you begin with a Compassionate Listening session (linked above). There I provide a gentle, non judgmental space for you to begin to unpack the chaos in your life. Click the link to read more about it.

If any of these offerings interest you, or if you know of someone who needs support, send me a message below. ♡

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Resources for LGBTQIA and Allies:

The Icarus Project: Radical Mental Health in a Crazy World
From the website: “The Icarus Project is a support network and education project by and for people who experience the world in ways that are often diagnosed as mental illness.”

Trauma-informed herbalist, Kirsten Hale, has an amazing website and blog where she works with survivors of trauma. The Crazy Herbalist

Herbalist Kelli Hughart uses Sycamore tree essence for people who “feel like the outside and the inside of them doesn’t match.” Personally, I wonder if Sycamore essence could also assist with conflict between “how you feel internally (emotionally) vs what you present to the world.”

Queering Herbalism has a great list of herbal recipes: http://queerherbalism.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html

Jon Keyes has a great closed Facebook group called Herbs for Mental Health. He’s an herbalist and counselor based in Oregon and he shares some amazing wisdom over there. Jon’s website is Hearthside Healing.

More resources coming as I find them for you.

***Personal Disclaimer***

At the time of this post, I am not a licensed counselor. I am working toward that goal, but I want you to be very aware that I am not in any way using counseling skills or any kind of mental therapy in my practice at this time. I have amazing colleagues to whom I can refer you if that’s what you need.