Tele-therapy Discount and an Important Announcement Regarding COVID-19

In response to the queries I’ve been receiving about whether to attend in-person therapy sessions when/if someone in Lancaster County is diagnosed with (or presumed to have) the COVID-19:

I want YOU to feel comfortable and take care of yourself in the way you best see fit.  Ordinarily, I maintain a policy of requiring 72 hours notice for rescheduling or canceling sessions. However, now through April, you have three options if you are symptom-free:

1. Keep seeing me in person. You are absolutely welcome as long as I remain symptom-free (which I intend to be)! I will let you know if anything changes.
2. Reschedule, without paying a fee, for a date when you feel confident coming to my home office. (You can do so right from the confirmation e-mail you received when scheduling—or reach out to me for assistance with this.)
3. Schedule or switch to a video session. I use a HIPAA-compliant app (or web site) called Spruce Health to facilitate tele-therapy sessions. The connection is secure and more stable than that of FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom.

Tele-therapy

Spruce Health is easy to access and use. If it’s your first time connecting with me by video, join Body Talks Therapy on Spruce Health. Create a login username and password. You can either download the Spruce Health app or receive my calls from the Spruce Health web site at your scheduled appointment date and time.

ALL CURRENT AND FUTURE VIDEO CLIENTS: Please download my new Tele-therapy Agreement and Consent form. Sign and return it online, through the Spruce Health app, or via postal mail. Contact me for the mailing address. You may send it via regular e-mail at your own risk (since regular e-mail is not guaranteed secure).

To cancel or reschedule an appointment, use the “Change/Cancel Appointment” button that appears at the bottom of your confirmation e-mail. You’ll receive reimbursement for the cost of the session you purchased (if canceling) minus PayPal’s credit card fee ($2.90 + $ .30 per transaction), within 24 business hours.

Precautions

Most of you know I experience allergies to pollen, dust, and other allergens, throughout the year. I sneeze frequently. I will not be shaking hands, hugging, or touching people until we’re in the clear. (I will instead give air hugs.)

I will also conduct energy healing sessions remotely ONLY—until further notice.

If you are experiencing a compromised immune system, please seriously consider video sessions.

If you are sick or exhibiting symptoms of influenza or respiratory illness, you may either cancel and be refunded minus PayPal’s fee, reschedule for 14 days later, or switch to a video session.

I will also leave non-latex size Large gloves just outside my front door for those who would like to use them. Don’t be shy. You may also wash your hands when arriving or before leaving your in-person session. I’ll be disinfecting all door knobs between in-person sessions.

Session Discount

I’d like to offer everyone a $10 discount to try out a video session with me. Even if you’ve engaged with me via video before, you too can use the code WEREALLOK when purchasing your next session or package.

Encouragement and Solace

Now…practical issues aside, let’s talk about fear.

(Read more tomorrow.)

— By Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

November Full Moon Circle: It’s All About You (And Us)

We’ll continue our monthly Women’s Full Moon Circle on Sunday, November 18, 5pm to 7pm, in rural Lititz. Rather than following a theme this month, we’ll use this gathering as an opportunity to connect a little more, sharing our intentions for what we’re releasing, and getting to know each other a little more.

You can still count on our usual combination of silly (think “magical tea” and giggly meditations), serious (journaling and oracle cards), and sacred (dancing and fire ceremony, which I promise not to forget to include this time!).

So bring your journals, forget your makeup, and wear your pajamas if you’d like (yeah, really). Let’s take this Sisterhood to the next level!

Cost is $10. RSVP right here. I look forward to spending another evening with you all!

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

October Full Moon Circle: the Sacred Feminine Rises

October’s Full Moon Circle will be held Saturday the 27th, from 5pm to 7pm. Join us for the first time, or return to the Sisterhood we’ve created and be held in safe space as we heal, honor, and allow the Sacred Feminine to rise, stronger than ever, within each of us.

Bring a pen, paper or journal, and an object to represent and/or honor the Sacred Feminine. (A $10 donation is suggested but not required.) RSVP here if you plan to attend. Space and parking are limited, so please let us know in advance if your plans change so that another person can fill your spot.

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

Celebrate the Full Moon With a New Monthly Women’s Circle

Photo by Amber Johnston Photography

Body Talks Therapy (BTT) will host our first women’s Full Moon Circle on Sunday, September 23, from 6pm to 8pm. (These will replace the former new moon circles.)

Aligned with BTT’s mission to support people in carrying out their soul purpose, our full moon circles will feature ceremonies of release and letting go of who we are not and what no longer serves us so that we may step fully into and remember who we really are.

Drawing on the power and intensity of the full moon, we’ll allow our inner wisdom and creativity to illuminate aspects of ourselves we’ve outgrown and that which wants to be purged. We’ll engage in meditation, song, journaling, drawing, fire ceremony, and somatic exercises or dance to facilitate release.

September’s Harvest moon is in the sign of Aries, a time for looking forward and taking initiative. At the same time, the full moon asks us to pause and reflect. We’ll do both in this ceremony, engaging our intuition, inner guidance, and heart longings to determine where we’re called to take our next step. We’ll meet and engage with our Future Self or Higher Self; and for those of you for whom this is the first time you’ll make contact we’ll get to know these aspects of ourselves via journey  into the subconscious.

Bring a journal and pen, markers or colored pencils, and an object to represent your Future or Higher Self.

Please also RSVP here in advance and save your confirmation e-mail, which will contain the address and directions on where to park at this event. Most importantly, update your RSVP as soon as possible if you cannot attend, because space is limited to those occupying 9 parking spaces.

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

Country Roads, Take Me Home: I’ll Be Working Soon From Lititz Only

Some of you are already aware that since last summer, I’ve been engaged in some deep physical healing. I’ve postponed workshops and new moon gatherings for a least a year as I cultivate deeper inner stillness and silence in my down time. I’m not training to be a monk; I’m listening to my body.

She (my body) has added to her list of requests. With spring approaching, she wants some home-grown, organic food and more time with my fingers in dirt and skin in the sun.

There is no more beautiful a place to fulfill my body’s longings than at my own home in rural Lititz. There, I’ll be learning for the first time how to garden vegetables and herbs and able to take walks along Cocalico Creek between therapy sessions. After living in Philadelphia for 17 years, I’m excited to watch the earth shake winter from her slumber come March.

You’re going to love having sessions with me here in the countryside, where this magical land supports your healing as much as I do!

So you’ll notice that between now and July, I’ll offer more therapy appointments in rural Lititz. By July 1, I’ll no longer practice in downtown Lancaster. All appointments will be from my home office, a 7-minute (or 3.8-mile drive) from Route 222.

Please reach out to me between now and July if you have any questions or concerns. And I will continue to offer online sessions for those who prefer it—especially during inclement weather.

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy

Turn and Face the Strange: Changes at Body Talks Therapy and August’s New Moon Solar Eclipse and Healing Circle

Let’s connect once again on Sunday, August 20, at 6:30pm, to celebrate the New Moon Solar Eclipse and all she reveals, at my residence in Lititz, PA. Parking spots are limited, so you must RSVP in advance. Cost is $10.

 

The New Moon Solar Eclipse peaks on Monday, August 21. The eclipse will be visible from the Northwest to the Southeast of the United States. We won’t see it here in Pennsylvania, but we’ve likely begun to notice a shift well in advance and will continue even after.

A new moon solar eclipse brings into our awareness all that we’ve hidden from ourselves that we didn’t want to see. It’s time to return to wholeness and balance.

My ancestors believed that while in the astrological sign of Leo, we’re encouraged to acknowledge our inner royalty and honor ourselves in more dramatic ways. We’re called to become better friends to ourselves, set healthier boundaries, focus on self-care versus abandoning our own needs to meet others’, and step into our power.

When we spend time immersed in the drama of government corruption or arguing with people who live in fear and intolerance, we become drained and give away our power. We forget that our light is alchemical and can transmute hate. If we remembered and lived each moment as though we are the changemakers, here to share our gifts and create a new reality (because we are), what would we do differently? With whom would be share our precious time? Where would we plug the leaks?

With so many inner and outer changes upon us, it may be helpful to ask ourselves what’s important to hold sacred, how to stay centered, and what’s important to release. We could re-evaluate our requirements for those we allow in our inner and outer personal and professional circles and whom to respect as fellow human beings then simply bless and be on our way.

Time Has Changed Me 

One effect of the person transformation in which I’ve been engaged this summer is a desire to orient myself differently as a healer. While I’m proud of my hard work in obtaining my credentials as a clinical social worker and the financial and educational investments I’ve made to maintain licensure in Pennsylvania, the current paradigm of psychotherapy feels a bit weighted and outdated to me. I’ll continue working with current clients in that role for as long as you ask.

Meanwhile, I’ll work with new clients in the capacity of bodyworker (or somatic therapist), energy healer, and/or coach, which will afford me the freedom and creativity to construct the truss of a more effective way of practicing so that I can later bridge the divide between old and new. I’m not abandoning psychotherapy; it is a mix of science and craft that has served humanity well for decades. It simply requires an upgrade.

Further, to ensure the sustainability of Body Talks Therapy as a community offering one-on-one services in an era that has become a bit chaotic for some, I’ve made changes to some policies (which you can read and download here). Engaging in inner exploration, growth, and integration with me by your side is an important personal and financial commitment to Self. I promise to continue to prepare well in advance for and respect our time together and ask clients to do the same. I consider it the highest privilege to be a part of your journey.

As of next week, I’ll require payment when scheduling sessions, and I no longer offer refunds for sessions canceled within 72 hours of our planned time. Clients have the option of engaging by phone or video when unable to see me in person.

Ch-ch-changes 

(Thank your for patience as I get ridiculous with the theme here.)

I’ve never seen so many monarch butterflies in one summer, and it’s not over yet. Meanwhile, I’m still in a cocoon phase, dreaming of what’s to come with regard to workshops and group gatherings here at Body Talks Therapy. Surely as I change, so too will my approach to facilitating community. You can look forward to more news on that before harvest time.

Now I’d like to encourage everyone to frolic and play as a Leo would, basking in the August sun, swimming in sweet summer waters, and connecting more deeply to your own inner fire. Join our next New Moon ceremony and healing circle. It’s going to be a potent one.

—Allison Brunner, LCSW, RM, Body Talks Therapy

Spiritual Director Erin Miller Shrader Now Offers Counseling at Body Talks Therapy in Lancaster

Spiritual director, yoga teacher, Registered Nurse, mother, wife, and friend Erin Miller Schrader

“One of my first memories occurs around the age of 4. I am on the swing set in our backyard in the hour just before sunset. I feel the breeze on my sticky summer skin and watch the last golden rays of sun dancing on the treetops. Suddenly a sense of deep recognition fills me. It feels like home. Like belonging, and peace, and incredible joy. Like a deep exhilarating sigh through my whole being.

For the rest of my life, I have been finding ways to re-experience the magic of that moment and to help others have that experience. I have come to understand that I was resting in our true and eternal nature in those precious moments.

“As a spiritual director, yoga teacher, registered nurse, mother, wife and friend, I find ways to move in the world that help us all to experience the homecoming and the joy of our true nature. I have also had many experiences of feeling deeply exiled from this joy, what has been termed the Dark Night of the Soul, or Spiritual Crisis. Even in those times, when I had no felt sense of the Holiness of my nature, I blessedly carried the memory of my child self and drew hope from it like an amulet.

“It is my great joy in this world to aid others in accessing their own experience of deep joy, peace and belonging. My work is to help you create your amulet, something to hold when the darkness sweeps through, as it inevitably does in this Earth life. One of my favorite quotes from Ram Dass captures my work exceptionally well: “We are all just walking each other home.”

— Erin Miller Shrader, Sacred Grove Wellness

For more information or to schedule an appointment with Erin at the Body Talks Therapy office in The Lancaster Trophy House at 237 N. Prince St., Suite 303, Lancaster, PA, call (717) 870-4225 or e-mail onesacredgrove@gmail.com. 

From Dark Night to Rebirth: Psychotherapy and Counseling for Spiritual Awakening and for the Spiritually Awakened

“When I get through this, I will help others do the same,” I vowed on a chilly December afternoon as the winter-white light barely shone between thick raindrops pouring against my bedroom window. Huddled beneath blankets and feeling lost in mental darkness, I focused on my breath and tried to create space for the emotions that were arising. The future reality I’d just created with my heart and mind—that one day I’d offer others the comfort I longed for in that moment—brought me peace.

For this was my Dark Night of the Soul (also known as a spiritual depression), on the heels of the most profound spiritual experience (or kundalini awakening) of my life.

About a half-year prior, I’d awakened from the dream in which I’d played the role (as we all have) of someone who was unlovable or not enough, that I was a victim, and that I was unsafe. It was more than life-altering; it was lifetimes-altering. For weeks after, I wandered around as though I was watching a movie in which I’d once been an actor who didn’t know I was acting and mistook each scene for reality.

Upon realizing the truth of who I was (perfect, holy, divine, powerful, and so much more), I experienced a shift in my sense of Self. I’d broken through Abraham Maslow‘s apex ceiling of self-actualization and reached self-transcendence.

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

 

Everything beautiful outside of me I perceived as a reflection to my own beauty and an expansion of my Self. Peering into the eyes of a cottontail rabbit, hearing a coyote call at dawn, watching the moon rise at dusk, or gazing at bright-white clouds against sunlit-blue skies, I could easily cry or laugh with the kind of bliss we feel when in love!

I was in love with myself. Madly. Passionately. For the next several months, I was on a honeymoon with the All-That-Is.

Because I had allowed in so much light, literally and figuratively, by summer’s end I sensed my inner shadow elongating. What had remained unacknowledged or lay dormant in my subconscious, cells, energy field, and ancestry was illuminated, calling out to be healed.

My experience was more intense than it needed to be; I learned later that this had much to do with some deep-down beliefs I held regarding personal transformation and growth having to be painful (more on that a few paragraphs later). If you can relate, though, to some of what I describe following, please know that it is temporary. Seek the support of a spiritual healer, shaman, or a transpersonal psychotherapist trained in kundalini syndrome if your symptoms are similar. (They can be easily misdiagnosed.) [i]

I began to doubt my recent peak experience, wondered if I’d made it up or was tricked. I grew increasingly uncomfortable. I was ultra-sensitive to sounds, tastes, light, color, smells, texture, and other people’s emotions. I seemed to have sprouted antennae that sensed the subtle differences in the vibrations of people, places, and things. The grit, grime, and angst I once found endearing in the city where I lived for 16 years aggravated my nervous system. It mirrored what within me was releasing as I shed layers of who I was not.

Spoken words and even thoughts projected colors and images in my mind; those that were negative affected me physically and emotionally. I lost interest in my friends and in the activities that once inspired me.

Fortunately I’d read books, letters, and personal accounts by Thomas Moore, Adyashanti, St. Theresa of Calcutta, Pamela Kribbe, Eckhart Tolle, St. John of the Cross, and others during years prior, which described experiences similar to mine—so I understood that I was not crazy.

Yet I had expected miracles, a diploma for acing Earth School, a portal to exit the matrix of human existence (not yet understanding that my role was to anchor “heaven” on earth).

“The miracles you seek are in the mundane,” said a shaman who became my guide. She too had once traversed the Underworld and, like Persephone, emerged intact. “You want to see heaven? Look in a blade of grass.”

Her laughter and her calm certainty that I was going to be OK were the soothing balm for my soul and medicine for my heart. As the months wore on, she not only reminded me of sacred mysteries I felt I’d once known, she sat shiva by phone as I grieved my former self.

On Good Friday, the day collective awareness was on death and resurrection, she told me gently, “The belief that this has to be hard is just a belief.” No one expected me to carry a cross and be crucified, she pointed out. Light pierced through the darkness. I laughed. She laughed with me. And when we hung up the phone, I laughed myself to tears.

The spell was broken.

I’ve kept my promise to extend a welcoming hand to you too as you cross the bridge between harsher duality-based living and the world that together we are birthing. I understand that it can feel disorienting at times, but I also know that our intentions are powerful enough to navigate this transformation with grace and ease.

I write this now for two reasons:

1. To encourage you to put up lights in your Dark Night, to rename it Bright Night or whatever name you choose, and celebrate. We’re not Jesus. We’re not Persephone. We’re the co-creators of a new reality filled with peace, joy, unity, and unconditional love. And we can make this fun.

2.  You don’t have to “wake up” alone. Yogi, spiritual director, Registered Nurse, and awakened supermom, wife, and friend Erin Miller Shrader of Sacred Grove Wellness has begun offering counseling and energy healing part time at Body Talks Therapy‘s Lancaster office.

I too will continue to offer somatic, psychospiritual depth work and energy healing to assist you (whether awakened or awakening) in bringing compassion into your own shadows and fully embodying your Higher Self. I’ve found that the more healing work we do in preparation for our awakening, the easier it is to navigate the purification process when it occurs.

Meanwhile, know this: What you feel now is an indication of what’s leaving you because it no longer resonates with how bright you’ve become; the discomfort is not who you are. Breathe. Try not to think of how long it will last, for the mind can create more suffering. Stay in the present moment; it is a portal to healing past and future.

Sing. Cry. Take salt baths. Cook gourmet meals. Dance.

You are not alone. And you are so loved.

— Allison Brunner, LCSW, RM, Body Talks Therapy

[i] Spiritual transformation impacts us physically, emotionally, and mentally, so trust your instincts, heed your inner wisdom, be kind to yourself, and use caution. Take good, physical care of yourself, because being human is divine. Safe and slow can be the most powerful way to accessing the ultimate love within.

 

Highly Sensitive People, Now More Than Ever the World Needs Our Medicine

The timing of this announcement, given what we have been facing in our communities, our nation, and internationally, feels significant.

Years of planetary chaos seemed in late-2016 to reach a crescendo. All that lay hidden in our shadows with regard to what in humankind wants to heal (greed, violence, hatred, separation or the illusion of “the other”) moved into the light of our collective awareness. The crisis, like a global-scale Herxheimer Reaction, prompted some of my friends and clients to ask how we can take responsibility for and help soothe the world’s woes and bring us back into balance.

Moved and inspired by your displays of tenderness, compassion, and commitment to serve, I’ve felt a soul yearning to support you bearers of light to ensure your missions are accomplished. In order to create a community for and attract more who are similar in characteristics and attributes, I’ve reflected on what you all have in common. I came to the conclusion that you (and I) are what clinical psychologist and researcher Dr. Elaine Aron refers to as Highly Sensitive People (or HSPs).

We process stimuli more thoroughly than the average person and feel more intensely than others. Often this means we’re more artistic, observant and conscientious, exhibit greater empathy, notice subtleties in our environments, identify imbalances as well as solutions, put others at ease, and hold a vision for what is possible in creating a better world. We’re artists, guides, coaches, healers, empaths, intuitives, inventors, philosophers, thought leaders, and sages.

Many HSPs are not aware that their sensory processing sensitivity trait, when acknowledged, understood, and honored, is a strength—nor the fact that it is the very medicine Earth and its inhabitants need now more than ever. When an ailing child cries out for comfort (as humanity seems to be doing more and more desperately these days), it is the embrace and nourishment of the wisest and most nurturing caregiver that can most effectively lull the little one’s pain.

That is the gift that you possess, HSPs. When our own nervous systems are balanced and our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs met, we’re an unstoppable force for positive transformation in our families, communities, and beyond.

And this is where I feel called to serve, beginning now, in this auspicious hour.

I’ve narrowed my niche, serving those among the 15 to 20 percent of the human population who identify as highly sensitive, by offering virtual and in-person emotional healing services, coaching, education, community, even transformational dance classes, so that you may heal yourself to heal the world, find support and power in numbers, and dare to shine your light far and wide.

Body Talks Therapy, the name of my new practice, is more than a nod to my somatic (or body-centered) approach to facilitating your self-empowerment; it acknowledges the sacredness of that which allows our spirits to live in form, where we can connect with our breath, with our five senses, and with our emotions, and experience the wonder, mystery, and miracle of being alive—even during turbulent times.

No one knows precisely what’s in store for the human race and for Earth, our beautiful home. But because of you, I am optimistic. With the unfolding of current events, I’ve witnessed your journey from shock and devastation to a willingness to peacefully rise up, embody your best selves, and to love others (regardless of their background or beliefs) with every bit of strength and resilience you have.

Since I was a child, I possessed a deep knowing that once I worked through my own pain and integrated much of my personal shadow with my light, I would play some kind of role in helping others do the same and to steer us in a direction that would serve humankind’s highest good. Often I felt isolated, unaware of those around me who were doing the same, and longed for a community of folks with a similar life purpose.

The Hopi elders have said that we, this generation, yes, we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.  From where I sit, you are the ones I’ve been waiting for. I bow to you; for the light in me recognizes the light in you.

 

—Allison Brunner, LCSW, Body Talks Therapy