“ This is your body, 
  your greatest gift,

  pregnant with

  wisdom you do 
  not hear, grief
  you thought was

  forgotten, and joy

  you have never

  known ... ”


     - Marion Woodman

Specialty Areas


Stress  Life is full of stress, and yes, some stress is good. However, too much stress tends to impact us negatively. When we experience more stress than what we are comfortable with, we run out of energy, our minds get tired and we feel tired. Ideally, the problems and dangers we face are easy to figure out and can be dealt with in a relatively short period of time. However, many of life’s problems
and dangers are complex and may take a longer time to resolve.
The unresolved stress of facing chronic, difficult-to-resolve
problems can leave us feeling fatigued and anxious. Because the
world does not stop for us to recover, many of us end up living our lives in a state of perpetual, unhealthy stress. Our bodies remain in
a constant state of tension and dis-ease; and this prolonged state of stress affects our immune systems.


Dr. Candace Pert, neuroscientist, research professor, and author of Molecules of Emotion, has shown that receptors for the molecules
of emotion are housed in most every part of our bodies, including
our digestive tracts and immune systems. Mental stress definitely affects our bodies. Ignoring the signals (fatigue, tight jaws, back
and joint pain, irritable bowels, etc.) only prompts our bodies to
emit signals more intensely. Relaxation, expression of feelings,
guided imagery all help greatly in resolving/dissolving these
harmful stresses locked in our bodies.


Depression & Anxiety  Anxiety and depression have a similar
basic underlying emotion: strong negative and tense feelings.
These negative feelings are often caused by the anticipation of
trouble and feeling unable to control the events in one's life.
Traumatic events, growing up in a dysfunctional and/or addictive family situation, as well as what we might term mid-life crises,
can cause these type of emotions.


As discussed above, our emotions affect our physical well-being
as well as our behavior and the choices we make in life.
Ignoring/denying the physical symptoms of pain and stress, or our “dis-ease,” only encourages these symptoms to become more and more intense until they demand our attention.


Talk alone may help us remember and understand our problems. However, the addition of touch engages both the body and the brain, which can lead to a cellular release of our emotions, creating body awareness, or a “felt” sense, of the truth of these emotions. Such a mind/body awareness is more likely to lead to positive change than simply having a cognitive awareness.


Trauma  It is when physical and emotional events overwhelm our system, we experience trauma. Many of us think of traumatic events
as “big events,” like being in an earthquake, being raped, molested, or being a soldier in battle. Yet traumatic events can include surgery, disease, accidents, abandonment, or simply the wrong words heard at the wrong time. Depending on the nature of the event and the state of individual, an experience becomes traumatic when it is too much for our biological and/or psycho-physiological systems to process in the moment. This experience then becomes held in the body.


The structural changes we experience as a result of traumas in our lives often result in decreased circulation, which may lead to diminished nervous system communication and decreased endocrine and organ function. Where circulation between body systems is diminished, it becomes more difficult to carry nutrients and oxygen
to the area. Emotionally, we may exhibit a type of constriction – of holding tight – noticing feelings of paranoia, entrapment, and nervousness. As a way of controlling or “buffering” such feelings,
we may tend toward anger or withdrawal from self and others.

Rubenfeld Synergy has helped many clients resolve/dissolve the trapped forces creating such patterns of imbalance and distress as a result of trauma in their lives. A Synergist facilitates and acts as witness to a client’s somatic awareness while maintaining ground
and creating time and context for the experience.


Creativity  Dark moods, distressing love relationships, or feeling life’s demands are overwhelming or impossible are a few states that can create what is commonly referred to as “artist’s block.” Synergy invites clients to personally evaluate (with congruency of body and mind) their own experience in the world with their own criteria
rather than with society’s criteria – in other words, to discover first themselves and then creatively make their own uniqueness concrete
by reconciling apparent incompatibilities with self and society.


Personal Growth  Personal growth is a process – a journey –
of becoming self aware, and of living our lives as authentically as possible. We work toward wholeness (or health) by exploring the connections of mind, body, emotions, and spirit. Rubenfeld Synergy facilitates such exploration and helps us to integrate and be present to self in deeply meaningful and helpful ways.


Cancer/Chronic Disease  As a cancer survivor and member of
a family with a long cancer history, I am well aware of the trauma caused by a positive diagnosis. Life is no longer the same. Choices must be made almost immediately and often repeatedly, even if the choice is not treatment.


How does one cope? And how does one live as a survivor, never knowing when or if she/he will be facing a recurrence? How does
one come to terms with her/his decisions and where does one find support? How does one find healing for the soul while searching
for a cure for the body?


Contacting emotions of fear, anger and love can be especially
difficult for cancer patients/survivors and their caretakers. Many
feel they are “frozen in time” after diagnosis or re-diagnosis; they listen to doctors and to family members and friends, often without
ever truly taking the time to assess their own feelings. Many are terrified and feel helpless or overwhelmed.


The Rubenfeld Synergy Method is not a “miracle cure” for cancer.
It is a dynamic system of therapy creating awareness of body, mind, emotions, and spirit. I believe this method can help many cancer patients, survivors, and caretakers bring their fears about their life
with cancer into the light and to enable them to wholly participate
in their struggle to survive – and to thrive – by gaining a new sense
of  “peace within” on their journey forward.