Annalise Oatman, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Look, I know you’re here because you’re in hell, or you’re feeling alone, or afraid, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. It can be really lonely to be a woman or feminine being with a creative fire in their soul and to have no idea what you’re supposed to do with that, or where in the world all of you are welcome. It seems like no one gets it because no one talks about this stuff and everyone’s social media profiles display their 'apparently' blissful lives. To put it in a tiny little nutshell, my approach is humanist, integrative, and spiritually oriented. That means I am a completely real human with my clients, dorky jokes, snorty laughs, and all. I integrate a number of evidence-based approaches (like EMDR, KAP and Somatic Experiencing principles) and I draw on each aspect of my training intuitively in session, and I always hold my clients in warmth, genuine compassion, and non-judgment. I bring a feminist and social justice lens to the work. If you want to know more about spiritually oriented-therapy, check out my blog for more information. Self-love and self-compassion are highly emphasized in my practice. I always have oracle cards by my side in sessions as a way to help more visual clients get to the root of what is coming up in the session and in life, and I sometimes weave astrology into my strengths-based approach.

We will create a healing space of warmth, honesty, and humanity where you feel super comfortable and know that your internal life matters. I also provide psychedelic integration for anyone who has had an entheogen-induced non-ordinary state of consciousness outside of my office and before the beginning of our work together. This kind of integration work is similar to trauma work because it involves the integration of an experience that is incredibly difficult to put into words.

This process feels nothing short of sacred to me. It is sacred to hold a confidential space where anything can be shared in non-judgment, where vulnerability is skillfully held, and transformation occurs, for both of us. I love that I can practice service with so many people. I think of service as finding ways to truly give people their power back. There is a transpersonal space that gets created in the therapy relationship from which intuitive insights can emerge for both of us. It reminds me of how precious each person is, and how much magic and mystery shimmers through each life, despite what can seem like a lot of pain and hardship. My clients remind me of this all the time, and it is an absolute privilege.

My role as a therapist is to help you find your own inner knowing, your inner authority, your sovereignty, your soul-voice, whatever you want to call it, and then cherish that as the highest spiritual authority in your life. I view myself as merely a skilled facilitator of your own self-healing process and your own discovery of your potential, your intuition and your personal power. I always have the image of people coming to me with a broken bone. I know how to safely set the bone, but then the bone heals itself. It's really amazing to watch.