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Sessions

Joan Small Sessions

What does a session look like?



Clients discover new ways of feeling, thinking, and living in their bodies.

I approach each session without a predetermined agenda - there are no character maps or templates.  The awareness tools are the connection between what the client is saying, to how the body is responding.

Each client is an inseparable combination of
bodymind, emotion, and spirit, and has a unique story that is remembered in the body’s structure.

The chapters of the story contain joyful or painful experiences, accompanied by their thoughts, emotions, sensations, and feelings, making the body a great source of information for me and for the client.
I journey with the client by integrating compassionate touch and dialogue. As a caring facilitator I provide a safe place of listening and validation so that clients can realign and find relief  from anxieties and physical pain. Clients discover that the stories they have known for years can move into a new understanding. Listening to one’s own words and sensations acknowledged and reflected by me can introduce self-compassion and curiosity. They feel supported in creating  their own strategies in dealing with stressful situations.

Sessions are conducted with the client fully clothed on a Synergy treatment table, sitting, or standing.  Clients who are unable to attend in-office sessions, online or phone sessions may be scheduled.

I welcome you to contact me for private in-person or on-line sessions.

Our Body Tells the Truth



Our body will take on what is happening in our lives. The happenings could be the stresses, the upsets from trauma, grief or just feeling stuck in some aspect of our life. And when we focus our attention to our body, we find out that the body tells the truth of what is going on!

In one typical session , my client who I will call Mary, was feeling emotionally overwhelmed in her life. One of my favorite ways to help Mary connect with understanding her emotions was to use
somatic (body) movements. I was cradling and moving her left leg, as she was laying on my treatment table.

I asked her, “What are you noticing in your hip?”  She replied, “It seems to be moving okay.” In actuality her hip was hardly moving!  So, I encouraged her to bring her awareness to her hip and just notice its movement.

To her surprise, she stated that it was hardly moving at all! This awareness led Mary to sharing a story about having to home-care her very controlling mother and Mary’s inability to emotionally and physically feel nurtured and
move freely within her own home.

At the completion of the session, Mary was amazed at how much lighter she felt and how much freer her hip moved.
Joan Small message
Metaphorically, her hip told the truth of what was happening in her life. It actually took on the stress she probably wouldn’t have been aware of had she not experienced this bodymind connection.

(At a later date, Mary shared how she had a stronger sense of freedom,  as she had created her own nurturing space within her home.)
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