Transformational Coaching
&
Mystical Healing
Philosophy
My wish for each of us is to find true presence.
In true presence, we are no longer reacting to life but responding. We are no longer living in the past, seeing every situation through the lens of an old wound or long ago hurt. We are able to see reality more clearly and are able to make decisions based in love, spontaneity, and joy, instead of defensiveness, old wounds and projections. In true presence, we can begin again at every moment. We can choose love and beauty and peace right now. And now. And now. No matter what came before.
In our work together, we heal old traumas by gently going into them and feeling them -- unblocking the old, stuck energy so it can flow freely. We unwind the old stories that held the blocked energy in place. The young parts of us that are holding old burdens or defending us unnecessarily are freed from their roles. Our higher selves come on line and begin to guide us.
Through meditation, somatic therapies, Internal Family Systems and various Earth Allies, we rewire your nervous system to a place of calm. With a calm nervous system, the world doesn't look so frightening. The darkness feels more sacred than scary. It no longer runs our lives.
In our work together, you are your own healer. I simply guide the process compassionately to help you rewire your patterning so that your life becomes more peaceful. Which is your birthright.
Transformational Coaching
I work along two paths: the personal and the transpersonal. I offer somatic therapies and Internal Family Systems work that lead you to a deeper awareness of your own psyche, allowing you to see the unconscious processes that make up your personality. We work with them to find their origins and to rewire them.
I also offer a psychospritual education to help you navigate the terrain, including the teachings of wisdom traditions and my own studies in the transpersonal realm.
These teachings show us that we are not separate beings, but rather souls that incarnated to learn certain lessons and to offer our own unique gifts. And that all is energy and vibration, including our own thoughts and feelings. Our energy flow is either blocked and dense or free and flowing, and this determines our behaviors and responses to life around us. As we heal, our vibration rises and we attract other, higher vibration energies into our lives.
We begin to realize that we have unconsciously been co- creating our reality all along. Now we begin to co-create consciously, bringing forth the life we want as the hero of our story, not the victim.
We work with various herbal allies (teas, tinctures, medicinal mushrooms and psychedelic medicines in places where it is legal) to guide you through both the transpersonal realms and your own subconscious.
As you develop a relationship with these natural ways, a deeper understanding of both your own psyche and the greater cosmos emerges. Your own inner healer begins to awaken, and a deeper connection with yourself and others forms. We identify less with our thoughts and more with our feelings and our hearts. We begin to feel the interconnectedness of all things. The mystical teachings of the sages are not just words on a page, but our lived experience.
Eventually an ease in traversing these mysterious realms grows, and we find that instead of unconsciously creating our reality, and being a victim to it, we are now consciously creating our lives, with great beauty, reverence and knowledge.
As our relationship to ourselves and our souls deepen, so to does our relationship with the natural world. We reinvoke the sacred contract between humans and the Earth. As we heal ourselves, we heal the Earth. As we heal the Earth, we heal ourselves.
Mystical Healing
Herbal Allies
With the help of microdoses of natural medicines and herbal allies, we can access more joy, more presence, and sometimes more of the grief and pain that have been stuck inside us for years and years. We can start to feel our long-buried emotions and process them within a safe container. As we do so, we begin to connect with ourselves again and find that underneath the grief, despair, and heartache, is our life force. Our soul.
I can help guide you, with the help of a medical practitioner if needed, to taper off of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, should that be your goal.
Supplementing that course of treatment with herbal allies helps to ease the process by introducing more serotonin, as well as deeper introspection, to the system. Although many of my clients choose, wisely, to stay on their medication, many decide over time to taper. Both decisions are honored and respected.
Many Western psychotropic medications work wonderfully to help numb us from our difficult emotions and grief. This can be life-saving for many. But they can also numb us from good feelings. They can disconnect us from the vast intelligence of our own bodies.
I can also guide you through a treatment for anxiety and depression using herbal allies even if you aren't on any medication.
Ceremony & Ritual
I work with ceremony and ritual to connect us back to our own wisdom, and back to the Earth itself. Steeped in the teachings of shamanic healing, I offer grounding rituals, honoring rituals, cord-cutting ceremony, soul retrieval, and work with animal and Spirit guides.
I offer ceremony to the ancestors and ceremony on the land. Simple, self-designed rituals that bring us back to ourselves and place us in the larger context of the cosmos. We work with the moon to guide us into periods of introspection or activity. We get very still and quiet so we can begin to hear the innermost parts of ourselves and begin to trust that wisdom. Instead of mindlessly "doing," we learn to ask for guidance from our intuition, our own knowing, and the forces of the universe. We listen deeply. We follow signs.
We refine and rework, stepping on the path as it appears and rises to meet us. We offer the work we do in the world so that it may be in right relation to all. In this way, we prepare ourselves to become what we wish to create in the world.
May it be so.
About
My healing path began in an effort to heal myself from a decades-long struggle with anxiety and depression. After years of being on and off various psychotropic medications, I finally gave up and began seeking help from the natural world. In 2015, I started working with herbal allies in a ceremonial context and experienced the deep healing and vast intelligence the natural world offers.
Eventually I began to return to a state of peace and began a deep exploration into my own psyche and the true nature of consciousness. I began working with meditation and contemplation, exploring the teachings of mystics and wisdom traditions. At the same time I studied and experienced personally various therapeutic modalities including Internal Family Systems, in which I hold a Level 1 certification. I also looked to indigenous teachings: apprenticing to soul work through Vision Quests and land-based practices, learning shamanism with with Rose Khalsa, and sitting in deep meditation with the moon and the mountain. I am currently a student in the Synthesis Institute Practitioner Training, which offers a new paradigm for mental health care and have completed the Rainbow Bridges School for Evolutionary Guides.
I bring humility and humor, honesty and compassion, skill and and curiosity to my work with clients. It is my great honor to work with you in this way.
Testimonials
"I’ve struggled with anxiety since I was in my thirties. After decades of talk therapy and meds, I’d made little headway and was still anxious and increasingly frustrated. A friend suggested I speak with Stefanie. I found Stefanie to be very knowledgeable about the history of various modalities, the emerging science, and the different treatment options available. She’s an excellent communicator and a compassionate, respectful and practical guide who helped me to make informed choices. Working with Stefanie has been a very positive and meaningful experience."
Alex, Tarrytown, NY
"Exploring these new places was a daunting challenge for me, but Stephanie’s calm and thoughtful presence, her empathy, curiosity, and attentiveness, the cozy room overlooking a field that bows to a bowl of Maples, provided the ideal setting to safely explore my deepest interior."
Mary, Hudson, New York
At the start of the pandemic, my dearest friend was diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer. At the same time, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. He died within six weeks, I survived but withdrew from friends and family. Over the next two years, it was difficult for me to discriminate grief from the impact of the pandemic and my own cancer. All I knew was that I had lost the will to live.
Many years of practicing psychotherapy and spiritual teaching, in addition to my own in-depth therapy and a daily meditation practice was ineffective in penetrating my depression. I finally reached out to my previous psychotherapist to ask for a recommendation for anti-depressants. To my surprise, she instead encouraged me to watch Michael Pollan’s Netflix special, “How to Change your Mind” and to consider microdosing instead.
Research and Grace led me to Stefanie and and her co-facilitator Michaela. From my first contact with them and the decision to do a Guided Journey, to the follow up session afterwards, I was impressed with
Stef and Michaela have such a beautiful glow of energy between them that I immediately felt at home in their presence. The space they hold is safe and loving, creating a softness where your vulnerability can spread its wings - allowing you to peel back the layers, to heal and to let your deepest truths emerge.
My journey and experience with them was both luminous and expansive, revealing the deep connection to myself and to the world around me - and I am so grateful.
Danielle, Rhode Island
their professional skill and caring approach toworking with medicine: a combination of internal family systems work and deep spiritual consciousness. It is nothing short of brilliant! They provided holding on the physical, emotional, and spiritual level. With their guidance and the medicine, I was able to reclaim the joy of life and reconnect with the depth of my own consciousness, something I thought I had lost forever.
The work of integration has continued since my journey, supported by the wisdom gained over years of my own psychological work and spiritual practice. The shift in perspective that occurred during the journey has stayed with me. A few days ago, I told my husband that I was happy, truly happy again, and grateful for the opportunity to work with Stefanie and Michaela.
Liz, Psychotherapist and Spiritual Teacher
I worked with Michaela and Stefanie to uncover and heal buried childhood trauma. They created a safe space sensitive to my needs and fears. Beginning with preparation sessions and following up with watchful integration, their keen perception, breadth of knowledge, and non-judgmental approach guided my healing journey. Michaela and Stefanie’s concern and care helped moderate a challenging process; with each step, I felt surrounded by their love, empathy, and compassion. To say I’m grateful our paths crossed is an understatement. They are a gift that has forever changed my life.
Mark, Cape Cod