About Me
Hi There. I’m Darla.
My Practice and Focus
I have spent the past ten years working privately with a range of clients from parents of children with autism and complex “mystery” symptoms to adults with PTSD, pain, environmental illness, misophonia, chronic fatigue, and more.
What I Do
I’m a somatic experiencing practitioner, transforming touch therapist, safe and sound protocol facilitator, and wellness coach.
From what I’ve culled out of ten years of study, clinical experience, and my own personal journey, I teach people how to heal with the simplest and most effective tools and modalities.
I support my clients along the way to healing, and I’m always honored to witness the impact of this life-changing work.
My Mentors and Teachers
Deb Dana, Peter Levine, Stephen Porges and polyvagal theory—which are all cornerstones to my practice.
What I’m Passionate About
My passion lies in creating safe spaces for connection and teaching co-regulation, attachment repair, healthy relating, and nervous system wellness, as well as day-to-day simple tools born out of the polyvagal theory that can have a huge impact on health and wellness.
What Brings Me Joy
The joy in working with clients is seeing them make connections, re-discover things they’ve known to be true all along, find—sometimes for the first time—safe connection and how important that can be. The reward is in being able to share with them and support them in ways that they can gain from what I’ve learned from my own journey and how I used that journey to propel me to train in the work I do. Seeing people turn their lives around, find answers, and really heal is the most rewarding work of my life.
A Few More Bits About Me
Most of my time is spent researching, learning, and working with clients. Outside of that, I enjoy yin yoga, writing, homeschooling my 12-year-old daughter, and hiking with my hilarious Standard poodle, P. Arlo.
My Training and Experience
Martha Beck’s life coach training, 2011, with a focus on mind-body studies and chronic illness including mind-body syndromes (Sarno/TMS, Alan Gordon, and others) and The Work of Byron Katie as well as Brooke Castillo’s Model.
Safe and Sound Protocol training, 2017,, I began studying polyvagal theory more in depth, along with practicing on myself and my daughter and providing case studies with clients to Integrated Listening Systems.
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner training, 2017-2019 immersed in trauma studies, attachment theory, the human nervous system, anatomy, polyvagal theory, and complex PTSD.
Focus on “Syndromal,” presentations—folks who have complex trauma histories including early developmental, medical, relational, and generational and who are now experiencing a range of chronic health issues.
Deep dive, 2020, I took a deeper dive into my own personal healing work, and studied the work of Richard Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Janina Fischer (structural dissociation), as well as Bert Hellinger, participated in individual and group Family Constellations, and regular individual and group case consultations.
Ana Dovalle’s SEGAN training, 2020, (Sensation, Emotion, Gesture in colors, Action, and Narrative)— a study in for use with the Safe and Sound Protocol.
Stephen Terrell’s Transforming the Experience-Based Brain (TEB) training, 2021 working with healing early developmental trauma and integrating retained primitive reflexes.
Most recently, I am on the waitlist for Richard Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems training and have taken an in-depth look at Neurodiversity with Susan Cain, Jenara Nerenberg, Steven Silberman.
I’ve also been using the amazing technology of bio-energetic frequencies with AO Scan, both in my practice, and with myself and my family.