I offer a grounded, soul-rooted container for grief, shadow, and transformation. Here, you are not asked to choose light over darkness, or healing over hurting—you are invited to bring your whole self.

Integrating the unseen, embodying the whole

“She who reconciles the ill-matched threads
of her life, and weaves them gratefully into a single cloth–
it’s she who drives the loudmouths from the hall
and clears it for a different celebration

where the one guest is you.
In the softness of the evening
it’s you she receives.”

–Rilke, The Book of a Monastic Life, I, 17
(Translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy)

Modalities Rooted in Body, Soul & Liberation:

Our work lives in the space between the seen and unseen—where memories are held not only in the mind, but woven into the body, breath, and bones. Trauma, love, lineage, and longing all live in the soma. Together, we listen for what the body remembers and what the soul is ready to reclaim. This is not about fixing what’s broken, but embodying what has always been whole.

Whether it’s grief that longs for witness, a dream that won’t let go, or a nervous system learning how to feel safe for the first time, our sessions become a space to soften, remember, and reweave.

This map weaves together the diverse approaches I offer, organized by their primary orientation—Body, Psyche, Soul, and Collective—while honoring the deep interconnectedness between them. Each modality reaches across multiple realms, but is placed where it most clearly roots and anchors the healing process. This living map reflects the wholeness we’re tending together—where no part is separate, and every thread is part of the greater weave.

  • ✧ Polyvagal-Informed Practice & Somatic Regulation

    • Tracking nervous system states (fight/flight/freeze/fawn)

    • Building capacity for felt safety, co-regulation, and presence

    • Supporting trauma integration through pacing, titration, and grounding

    ✧ Relational Somatic Healing

    • Co-regulation through safe attuned relationship

    • Exploring embodied relational templates and attachment wounds

    • Restoring safety and connection through body-based presence

    ✧ Authentic Movement, Breathwork & Neo-Reichian Expression

    • Following the body’s spontaneous impulses to move, shake, sound, and release

    • Working with muscular armoring and emotional suppression

    • Liberating held energy through expressive somatics

    ✧ Mindfulness, Self-Compassion & Somatic Attunement

    • Practicing non-judgmental awareness

    • Restoring the ability to feel, rest, and track internal experience gently

    • Building inner safety and emotional resilience

  • ✧ Parts Work (IFS-Inspired)

    • Mapping inner protectors, exiles, managers, and critics

    • Building relationship with each part through the Self

    • Healing through curiosity, compassion, and internal trust

    ✧ Inner Child Healing & Reparenting

    • Connecting with younger parts who carry unmet needs

    • Rebuilding safety, love, and belonging from within

    • Offering internal parenting and emotional repair

    ✧ Dreamwork, Active Imagination & Archetypal Inquiry

    • Uncovering unconscious material through dream symbols and imagery

    • Engaging in dialogue with inner figures

    • Exploring archetypes and metaphors as soul-guides

  • ✧ Soulcraft & Deep Imagery

    • Entering the imaginal realm for soul retrieval, purpose, and integration

    • Working with symbols, visions, and metaphors beyond ego

    • Honoring the sacred in the messy, profane, and unseen

    ✧ Transpersonal Integration & Psychedelic Support

    • Preparation, journey, and integration of altered states

    • Grounding expanded awareness into embodied insight

    • Walking the thresholds of initiation and transformation

    ✧ Grief Tending, Ritual & Relational Presence

    • Holding grief as sacred and necessary for wholeness

    • Engaging in ritual and community-based witnessing

    • Making space for joy, rage, sorrow, and reverence

  • ✧ Liberation Psychology & Decolonial Frameworks

    • Naming systemic oppression and internalized survival strategies

    • Reclaiming cultural identity, ancestral wisdom, and belonging

    • Healing at the intersection of personal and collective trauma

    ✧ Ancestral Healing & Lineage Repair

    • Tending to intergenerational trauma and resilience

    • Listening to ancestral stories, grief, and gifts

    • Reweaving the roots to move forward in truth

    ✧ Life Counseling & Existential Integration

    • Navigating thresholds, transitions, and identity unravelings

    • Offering presence and practical insight during soul awakenings

    • Making meaning in a world that often forgets the sacred

Here we are ⏳🌞🌙

Taking care of yourself includes tending to your mental and emotional well-being. My counseling practice offers a safe and supportive space for you to explore and grow. With the right container, a counselor can gently challenge you to examine how you perceive the world and uncover the patterns shaping your life. At its heart, healing is a path to more fulfilling relationships—with yourself and with others.

Trauma is not what happens to you. It's what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you… Healing is therefore the restoration of that connection, the restoration of wholeness.”

- Gabor Mate

My approach is somatic, relational, and experiential, meaning we will connect with your body to explore how it holds memories and emotions, while also developing non-judgmental awareness around your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We’ll work together to understand how early beliefs and unconscious patterns shape your experience, creating space for healing, insight, and lasting transformation.

This website gives you a glimpse into who I am and how I work. If you’d like to see whether we’re a good fit, I invite you to schedule a free 20-minute consultation. I look forward to connecting with you.

How I Work

Every person carries a unique constellation of experiences, longings, and inner truths. I meet you exactly where you are—with care, curiosity, and deep respect for your pace and process.

My approach draws from an integrative blend of depth psychology, mindfulness, somatic awareness, and dream, image, and archetypal exploration. This means we explore not only thoughts and behaviors, but also the deeper emotional patterns, body sensations, and symbolic language of the psyche—including dreams, metaphors, and inner images.

Together, we create space for paradox—where mind, body, and spirit meet. Healing is not about fixing what’s broken, but listening to what’s been waiting to be heard.

At the heart of our work is the creation of a space where paradox is welcomed—where healing is not about solving or fixing, but about making contact with the places where mind, body, and spirit meet. It is in these moments of presence that we begin to untangle patterns, reclaim lost parts, and come home to wholeness.

Areas of Focus:

  • Anxiety & Stress Regulation

  • Developmental & Complex Trauma

  • Attachment & Relational Healing

  • Work Burnout & Boundaries

  • Spirituality & Meaning Making

  • Feminine Embodiment & Gender Exploration

  • Racial, Ethnic & Cultural Identity

  • Psychedelic Preparation & Integration

  • Intergenerational & Ancestral Healing

  • Inner Child Work & Shadow Integration

My Offerings

Individual Zoom and In-Person Somatic Counseling Sessions (50 Min)

I offer sessions both online (Zoom) and in person, creating a space where you can feel safe to slow down, feel, and explore. With care, cultural awareness, and deep respect, we tend to the complexity of your inner world—body, heart, and mind.

People often come to me when they are:

  • Moving through a life transition, loss, or threshold

  • Feeling lost, disconnected, or unsure of who they are

  • Struggling with burnout, overwhelm, or deep fatigue

  • Carrying shame, inner criticism, or self-doubt

  • Navigating relationship patterns or attachment wounds

  • Wanting to reconnect with their body, intuition, or inner child

  • Holding grief—personal, ancestral, or collective

  • Exploring identity, belonging, or cultural trauma

  • Integrating profound or altered states of consciousness

In our work, we begin with the present moment. Together, we follow what arises—thoughts, emotions, sensations—at your pace. When it feels right, we trace these threads back: to early relationships, protective patterns, or the environments that shaped your nervous system.

This isn’t just about individual healing. We honor how race, class, gender, culture, and lineage shape the way we survive, love, and express ourselves. These experiences live in the body—and healing is something we do with tenderness and truth, together.

Psychedelic Journey Support: Preparation, Integration, and Embodied Remembering (8+ Hours)

I offer a grounded, safe, and non-judgmental space to support your journey through altered states—whether you're preparing for, navigating, or integrating an experience with plant medicine, breathwork, or other transpersonal practices.

Together, we move through three sacred phases:

  1. Preparation – We begin by exploring your intentions, trauma history, relationship to touch, and what safety means for your body and nervous system. I offer education on the medicine, dosage, and setting, as well as emotional and relational support. This is a time to ground, get curious, and build a foundation of trust—especially if you are learning to reconnect with your body, your boundaries, or the unknown.

    Journey – The moment you cross the threshold. Whether I’m supporting from afar or in collaboration with a guide, this is the space where everything softens. What’s been hidden may rise. What’s been exiled may return. You are held by the sacred container we’ve built together.

  2. Integration – The place where the real work begins. Together, we help your insights land—in the body, in your relationships, in your choices. Through somatic presence, ritual, and reflection, we create space to process grief, release what no longer serves, and align with what’s true.

My role is not to direct or interpret your experience for you, but to hold space with reverence and care—helping you listen to what’s arising from within. This might include symbolic imagery, ancestral echoes, protective parts, or moments of clarity that want to root into your life.

This process is nonlinear and body-led. Sometimes it moves through silence, movement, breath, or emotion. We make space for what’s surfacing—memories, symbolic images, ancestral threads, or parts of you returning home.

People come to this work feeling stuck, lost, curious, or changed. They may be carrying grief or numbness, seeking meaning after a difficult journey, or wanting to reconnect with their body and spirit.

This is not about fixing.
It’s about remembering.
It’s about returning to wholeness—gently, slowly, together.

About Joanna🌱

Hi, I’m Joanna, a trauma-informed relational somatic counselor.


My goal is to support you in cultivating deeper fulfillment, connection, and freedom in your relationships—with yourself and others.

Clients often describe me as warm, grounded, and non-judgmental. As a Bay Area native plant, I grew up in Fremont and relocated to Berkeley in 2024. In my free time, I enjoy reading, hosting tea gatherings, exploring contact improvisation and authentic movement, discovering scenic spots, and basking in the California sunshine playing music with my handpan.

Before stepping into counseling, I explored a variety of careers—from financial analysis at a high-growth startup to co-founding a company teaching coding fundamentals, and working as a UX/UI product design consultant for Fortune 500 companies. These roles shaped my understanding of how we build foundations—both internally and externally. After taking a year off to embark on a spiritual journey of self-discovery and wholeness, I found my calling in counseling, mindfulness meditation practices, facilitating various support groups, holding ritual space, and a passion for psychedelic guide work.

In my practice, I help clients cultivate a cohesive and confident sense of self. Together, we’ll explore the narratives and beliefs that may disempower you or obscure your truth. By strengthening your inner foundation, you can navigate life with clarity, resilience, and alignment with your values—creating a life that feels sustainable and deeply fulfilling.

Having sought belonging in various cultures and communities, I ultimately discovered it within myself. I bring this understanding into my work and am particularly passionate about supporting people of color, holding an intersectional lens to explore identity and the impact of oppression. I value authenticity, safety, integrity, empathy, humility, transparent communication, and the transformative power of relationships.

Together, we can co-create a space where your inner wisdom is honored, and your unique path unfolds with intention, care, and authenticity.

Why Relational Integral Somatic Coaching?

Intergenerational patterns affect our daily lives. Together, we’ll identify and move past cycles that no longer serve you.

Break Cycles

Wholeness

Life throws us curveballs. In our session, you are invited to examine life’s paradoxes: beauty and pain, shadow and light.

Heal Trauma (Unhealthy Coping Strategies)

If your nervous system is stuck in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn, we can slowly reprogram it together to achieve rest and promote healing.

We will work together to enhance the way you take care of yourself. By examining and refining your survival strategies, we’ll pave the way for personal transformation.

Improve Self-Care

Life can be overwhelming. We will develop strategies together to manage stress and anxiety, helping you find balance and peace.

Manage Stress and Anxiety

Enhance Relationships

Building strong, healthy relationships is crucial. We’ll work on improving communication, understanding, and connection with those you care about.

Together, we will work on building your confidence and self-worth, helping you recognize and appreciate your true value.

Self & Nervous System Awareness

Build Boundaries

Exploring your needs, desires, and dreams takes courage. We’ll work together to help you learn to advocate for yourself from a place of inner love, trust, and respect.

Riding the waves of emotions together.

Meeting you where you are means exploring and embracing all your parts together. There is no story too deep, too painful, or shameful. Your stories and interpretations whether dreams or actual events, carry deep feelings and significance. Together, we will learn to experience your emotions not just intellectually, but also physically, through the sensations in your body.

“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge”

— Audre Lorde

In my practice, I bring a relational, grounded, warm and discerning presence to every session. Things I hold onto with great regard:

  • Emotional Safety: Creating a secure and supportive environment where you can explore your innermost thoughts and feelings without judgment or fear.

  • Compassionate Engagement: Providing empathetic and direct communication to foster mutual understanding and trust.

  • Insightful Reflections: Guiding you to uncover and understand patterns in your emotional and relational life. Together, we explore the roots of your experiences and work towards deeper insight and growth.

Building emotional intelligence and resilience takes time and practice. Like riding a bike with training wheels, or surfing for the first time, you will learn to ride these waves of emotions in a safe container.

Come work with me

I offer a space for visionaries, survivors, and sensitive souls who carry contradiction in their bones—grief and joy, silence and rage, longing and wisdom. For those who have learned to perform, caretake, or endure in order to survive, this is an invitation to return to the parts of you that were left behind. Through somatic integration, parts work, dream alchemy, and archetypal inquiry, we tend the quiet places—the body’s knowing, the soul’s signals, the shadow’s truths. This is not a space for self-optimization or spiritual bypassing. It is a sanctuary for soul retrieval, where we honor complexity, beauty, and the slow unfolding of wholeness. You are not too much. You are not too late. You don’t have to carry it alone.

  • Women face unique challenges and transitions throughout their lives. I am here to support women in finding their true sense of self, navigating societal expectations, and empowering them to live authentically and confidently.

    I Support You in:

    • Enhancing Mental Health and Emotional Well-being Working with you to get to the root of your anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, or other mental health concerns to improve overall well-being.

    • Navigating Relationship Challenges Together, we will navigate relationships with your partner(s), family, friends, or colleagues by improving communication and setting healthy boundaries.

    • Guiding Through Life Transitions Supporting you through significant life changes like marriage, divorce, parenthood, career shifts, or loss, providing guidance during adjustment periods.

    • Facilitating Self-Discovery and Personal Growth Exploring values, goals, and aspirations to foster personal growth, resilience, and a deeper self-understanding.

    • Healing from Trauma Providing a safe space to process emotions, develop coping strategies, and rebuild a sense of safety and empowerment after experiencing trauma.

    • Exploring Identity and Culture Supporting exploration and affirmation of identity, including gender, sexuality, cultural heritage, and spiritual beliefs, in a non-judgmental environment.

    • Coping with Health Challenges Managing the psychological impact of chronic illness, pain, infertility, or other health concerns to enhance coping strategies and regulation.

    • Navigating Work and Career Challenges Addressing work-related stress, burnout, career transitions, discrimination, or finding fulfillment in your professional life, supporting you in achieving work-life balance.

  • As a POC, 2nd generation immigrant who grew up in a predominantly white culture. I understand the growing pains of assimilating into a new culture. I have experience working with clients on a variety of concerns. These have ranged from:

    • Healing from Racial Trauma: Address the emotional and psychological impacts of racism, discrimination, and oppression.

    • Coping with Microaggressions: Learn coping strategies for navigating daily microaggressions and biases in various environments.

    • Navigating Cultural Expectations: Navigate cultural expectations, family dynamics, and societal pressures while staying true to yourself.

    • Processing Intergenerational Trauma: Heal from the effects of intergenerational trauma passed down through your family or community.

    • Building Self-Identity: Explore and affirm your sense of self, identity, and belonging in a world that may not always affirm your worth.

    • Creating Social Change: Gain tools and resources for advocating for social justice, equity, and systemic change in your community.

  • I offer a compassionate and inclusive space for individuals within the LGBTQIA+ community. As a cisgender woman with a history of relationships, I want to be transparent about my background and acknowledge that I don't have lived experience as an LGBTQIA+ person. However, I am deeply committed to providing a safe container for you to explore your sexuality and gender identity.

    • Navigating Coming Out: Explore your identity and navigate the coming-out process in a safe and supportive environment.

    • Addressing Internalized Shame: Work through feelings of shame, self-doubt, or internalized homophobia/transphobia.

    • Processing Discrimination: Heal from experiences of discrimination, microaggressions, or hate crimes.

    • Navigating Relationship Dynamics: Address challenges related to dating, relationships, or non-traditional family structures.

    • Exploring Gender Identity: Receive support and validation as you explore your gender identity and expression.

    • Coping with Minority Stress: Develop coping strategies for navigating minority stress and societal stigma.

    • Building Self-Acceptance: Cultivate self-acceptance, self-love, and pride in your LGBTQIA+ identity.

  • I help individuals explore their identity and tackle deeper questions about who they are, while also navigating the pressures of their professional lives.

    My support includes overcoming feelings of isolation, managing perfectionism, and finding a healthy balance between personal and professional commitments.

    I also assist with breaking through creative blocks and managing intense emotions, all with the goal of enhancing their overall well-being and creative productivity.

    • Navigate the ups and downs of the creative journey, including self-doubt, perfectionism, and fear of failure.

    • Address past traumas, rejections, and setbacks that may be holding you back from fully embracing your creativity.

    • Cultivate mindfulness practices and self-care rituals to support your emotional well-being and creative flow.

    • Explore the deeper meaning behind your creative work and align your artistic endeavors with your values and aspirations.

    • Develop resilience and coping skills to navigate the challenges of the creative industry and maintain balance in your life.

  • If you’re struggling with overwhelming feelings, feel alone or misunderstood, feel confused by societal messages or aren’t sure how your path may unfold - I’m here to help.

    I work with young adults who are forming their identity, healing their trauma and finding their path in a mindful, inspired way.

    • Identity Formation: Explore and embrace your unique identity in a safe and supportive space.

    • Trauma Healing: Heal from past traumas and break free from patterns that no longer serve you.

    • Mindful Living: Cultivate mindfulness and self-awareness to navigate life's challenges with grace and resilience.

    • Purpose and Direction: Discover your passions, values, and aspirations, and create a roadmap for your future.

    • Navigating Relationships: Learn healthy communication skills, set boundaries, and build fulfilling relationships.

    • Managing Stress and Anxiety: Develop coping strategies to manage stress, anxiety, and overwhelm.

    • Building Confidence: Boost self-esteem and confidence to pursue your goals and dreams with courage.

    • Coping with Transition: Navigate life transitions such as college, career changes, or moving to a new city with confidence and resilience.

    • Navigating Technology and Social Media: Address the impact of technology and social media on mental health and well-being.

  • Having worked in the tech industry for seven years, I deeply understand the hustle and competitive culture of Silicon Valley. I empathize with analytical minds—whether they are engineers, scientists, operational professionals, or others.

    I recognize that accessing emotions can sometimes be challenging, and I am committed to guiding you at your own pace to help release blockages and foster emotional healing.

    Here are some areas where I can assist you:

    • Managing burnout and stress in high-pressure environments

    • Balancing work-life boundaries and preventing overwork

    • Addressing imposter syndrome and feelings of inadequacy

    • Coping with the fast-paced nature of the tech industry

    • Dealing with the uncertainty of job security and frequent changes in the industry

      Navigating career transitions or pivots within tech

    • Managing conflicts and interpersonal dynamics within teams

    • Coping with isolation and loneliness, especially in remote work settings

    • Addressing mental health stigma in the tech community

    • Developing healthy coping mechanisms for handling setbacks and failures

    • Finding purpose and meaning in their work beyond financial success

    • Cultivating resilience and emotional intelligence in leadership roles

    • Addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace

  • I offer specialized support for individuals in leadership positions, such as CEOs, upper management, and business owners.

    Understanding these roles' unique pressures and responsibilities, I provide a safe space to explore and address the stressors and emotional challenges you face.

    • Work Boundaries: Managing multiple responsibilities and demands is taking a toll on your mental and emotional well-being.

    • Empathy: Build more intimate relationships

    • Conflict Resolution & Communication Skills: Facing difficult decisions, managing conflicts, or navigating power dynamics within your organization.

    • Work Life Balance: Struggling to find time for personal life, hobbies, and self-care amidst the demands of your leadership role.

    • Managing Inner Critic: Experiencing symptoms of burnout, such as exhaustion, cynicism, or decreased performance.

    • Authenticity and Embodiment: Seeking personal growth and development to become a more effective and fulfilled leader.

    • Managing Transitions: Dealing with organizational changes, transitions, or crises that impact your leadership role.

    • Building Emotional Intelligence: Wanting to enhance your emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills to lead better and inspire your team.

My Approach

  • Compassionate Guidance

    My approach is rooted in compassion and empathy. I strive to create a nurturing environment where you feel heard, understood, and supported. By providing a compassionate presence, I help you feel safe to explore even the most challenging aspects of your experience.

  • Insightful Reflections

    I offer thoughtful and insightful reflections to help you see your experiences from new angles. These reflections can illuminate patterns in your thoughts, behaviors, and relationships, fostering greater self-understanding and opening the door to meaningful change.

  • Collaborative Meaning-Making

    We will work together to create a shared understanding of the issues you face. This means eploring patterns that shape your relationships, emotional life, and sense of identity. This collaborative meaning-making empowers you to take an active role in your healing process.

  • Individualized Support

    I meet you where you are on your journey, recognizing that each person’s path is unique. Whether you are just beginning to explore your inner world or are well into your healing process, I tailor my approach to suit your specific needs and goals. This individualized support ensures that you receive the care and guidance that is most relevant and beneficial for you.

Location

Hybrid Online and In-Person Located in Berkeley, CA

Email
zenithnorthstarhealing@gmail.com

 

Get in Touch

Finding the right match is important. Book a free consultation to see if we're a good fit. In a free consultation, we can talk about…

  • What’s bringing you towards greater healing?

  • What are some of your goals?

  • How can I help?

  • My style and availability

  • Any questions or concerns you have