About Julisa
 first became interested in psychology as a child because I really wanted to understand what life was like for other people. When I was 18 I had a near death experience from hypothermia while skiing which opened me to spirituality and permanently changed me. From then on I've been studying consciousness. I became a religious studies major in college. I really wanted to understand the whole human experience, especially the event which changed my life and made me lose all fear of death. After graduating, I knew I wanted to make a career of not just understanding the inner world, but helping people to change, to heal and to realize their potential as human beings. In 1989 I left Boulder and went to San Franciso to study at one of just a handful of graduate schools that integrated the spiritual, or "Transpersonal" dimension of the human experience into the healing process.
This led to working with altered states of consciousness, which led me to learn hypnotherapy. I have spent my whole adult life studying religions, mysticism, meditation, yoga and psychology.
I did a year long internship at the Boulder School of Massage as I continued to learn about the complex and profound relationship between the physical body, the unconscious, the nervous system, consciousness and health. I wrote my master's thesis on a holistic model of treating adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. This began my long exploration of the dynamics of body-centered presence versus dissociation and other defense mechanisms which limit awareness. As I deepened my study of trauma, I went on to learn EMDR and to integrate it with hypnotherapy and Hakomi style body-centered psychotherapy. Soon I found myself modifying EMDR to make it more organic and fluid, which flowed naturaly into learning Brainspotting.
Over the years I noticed a strong connection between unresolved trauma and body/mind disorders such as addictions, depression, autoimmune disorders, weight issues, insomnia and chronic pain. It made sense to me that stuck emotional pain in the body (which is also the unconscious) would, over time, become physical problems. Research is now validating that observation that many therapists have had, and there is now a phenomenal amount of information about trauma, dissociation, the immune system, the nervous system and chemistry, including eating and lifestyle habits.
Along this whole journey, each new thing that I have learned has led to more questions, more reading, more trainings and a continuously evolving way of working with people. My focus has always been to understand each person deeply on as many levels as possible to really get to the bottom of what interferes with the greatest happiness and joy that a person can have. This has propelled my non-stop study of the human experience. So I start my process of working with people with an extensive questionaire to understand the big picture of your life. Choosing to work with me can be a profound life-changing process for you if you are open to it. I bring such passion to my work that I also have some requests for my clients. To really make use of what I can offer, it also requires a level of engagement from you. This means making the therapy an important part of your life and commiting to coming to sessions, preferably on a regular, weekly schedule.
Methods and Specialties
Training & Experience
|
1987 |
BA, Religious Studies and Sociology
University of Colorado
|
1989-1991 |
Attended The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco
in the Integral Counseling Psychology program, studying traditional, Transpersonal
and holistic counseling
|
1990 |
Training in hypnotherapy at Heartwood Institute in Garberville, CA
|
1992-1994 |
MA, Counseling Psychology
Vermont College of Norwich University (This program is now a part of the Union Institute.)
|
1993-1994 |
Internship at the Boulder School of Massage Therapy; counseling massage students
|
1992-1993 |
Assistant teacher at The Transpersonal Hypnotherapy Institute
|
1994 |
Training in Hakomi therapy with Ron Kurtz
|
1994-1998 |
Training in Process Work or Dream-body therapy with Zoë Zimmerman
|
1998-2004 |
Leading retreats combining psychology with body-centered spiritual practice
(The Dances of Universal Peace)
|
1998-2004 |
Training with Atum O'Kane in a Sufi/Jungian model for working with the psyche
and soul
|
2003 |
Trained in EMDR
|
2004 |
Advanced training in EMDR
Training with Russ Hudson in the Enneagram
Trained with Byron Katie in "The Work," a form of cognitive therapy
Trained with Devi Records in Hakomi therapy for couples
|
2005 |
Reiki I Certification
Trained with Mila Ahu and Ann Laney, Diamond Heart teachers, in working with the inner critic
Trained in Diamond Heart Work
|
2006 |
Reiki II Certification Working with NeuroScience in Targeted Amino Acid Therapy, a natural treatment for depression, anxiety, ADD, PMS, weight issues
Self study in nutritional and herbal medicine
Training with Peter Levine in Somatic Experiencing
|
2008 |
Training with David Grand in Brainspotting, Levels I & II
|
2009 |
Advanced topics in Brainspotting with Lisa Schwarz
Training in NVC with Robert Gonzales
|
2010 |
Body Oriented Psychotherapy, Trauma Work and Gestalt with Jaylynne Chase-Jacobsen, L.C.S.W., and Betty Cannon, Ph.D.
Training in EFT
Self-study in Functional Medicine
|
2011 |
Training with Susan Aposhyan in Somatic Psychology |
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