Meet Margery
If you're here, you've probably already read a little about how I work.
You may be wondering something simpler now:
Who is this person?
Can she understand what I'm carrying?
Will she know what to do when words aren't enough?
Those are good questions, because therapy is a relationship before it's a methodology and long before I became a therapist, I was listening.
Before I Was a Therapist, I Was Listening
For thirty-five years, I was a dancer.
A choreographer. A theatre director.
I founded a dance company and spent years gathering stories—from communities, performers, and from life itself—shaping them into original works.
At the same time, I worked as a bodyworker.
People came to me carrying trauma, illness, grief, stress, and histories that had settled into their bodies.
Something fascinating kept happening.
The body would release. Tension would soften. Symptoms would shift.
And then they would begin talking about their lives.
Their history. Their heartbreak. Their losses.
And suddenly everything would come rushing back.
The body had changed, But the story hadn't.
I became captivated by the relationship between the two.
How does the body carry experience?
Why can someone understand something with their mind and still feel trapped by it?
What helps a person not just survive what happened—but make meaning from it?
Those questions eventually led me to earn a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology and become a somatic psychotherapist.
Not because I wanted to leave the body behind.
Because I wanted to understand the whole person.
What I See
Over the years, I've come to believe something very simple.
I don't see people as broken. I see people as whole.
Even when they're hurting. Especially when they're hurting.
Every person thinks differently. Feels differently.
Perceives the world differently.
To me, that isn't a problem to solve. It's something to be curious about.
Something to honor. Something to celebrate.
Pain can make us forget who we are. Trauma can narrow our world.
Loss can make us feel disconnected from ourselves and from the people we love, But underneath all of that, there is still a person there.
Still a life. Still a self trying to emerge.
If someone can't see your depth while you're in pain, how are you ever going to be revealed?
How I Work
My work integrates somatic psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Body-Mind Centering®, developmental movement, attachment work, and expressive arts.
But the modalities aren't the most important thing.
The relationship is.
Whether we're working in individual therapy, couples therapy, a therapy intensive, movement therapy, or EMBODY™, the goal is always the same:
Helping you feel safe enough to come home to yourself.
my Credentials
Licensed Professional Counselor — Oregon (#C9542)
Licensed Professional Counselor — Texas (#84460)
Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (ISMETA)
Body-Mind Centering® Practitioner and Teacher
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Levels 1 & 2
Intimacy From The Inside Out (IFIO) Couples Therapy
Infant Developmental Movement Educator® (IDME)
Certified Pre and Perinatal Birth Attachment Practitioner
Master's in Counseling Psychology, Goddard College
Founding Director, Family Somatic Program, São Paulo, Brazil
Practical Information
I work with individuals weekly or every other week. Together we'll choose the session length that best supports your work, with appointments available in 53-, 75-, and 90-minute formats.
Available:
• In person in Portland, Oregon
• Virtual psychotherapy throughout Oregon and Texas
• Somatic Movement Therapy and Whole Body Recovery Coaching from anywhere
Licensed Professional Counselor Oregon #C9542 • Texas #84460
If you're ready, I'm here.
Ready to Begin?
If something in these words feels familiar, I'd love to hear what's bringing you here.
