Alexandra Whitney, PhD, SEP  (she/her)

My personal encounter with complex and medical trauma revealed a difficult truth: the path is arduous, and true sanctuaries for somatic-based trauma healing are rare. Fueled by this lived experience and my longing to find a place to heal, I was compelled to create my own nurturing space—a holistic Somatic Experiencing program immersed in nature—to serve as a guiding resource for others on a similar path. 

In 2018, this vision led to a formative collaboration with Dr. Peter A. Levine to develop a specialized Somatic Experiencing protocol for military-related PTSD. I have since served as the Retreat Director for Dr. Levine’s landmark "Returning Home" retreat, and lead as Principal Investigator for "The Returning Home Project," a quantitative research study born from our 2019 Returning Home retreat in Northport, Maine. 

I am an SEI-approved Assistant for SE trainings and Dr. Levine’s Master Classes, In my private practice and group work, I integrate Somatic Experiencing® with my background in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Herbalism, Buddhist Psychology, Meditation, and Social Presencing Theater. 

I hold a Ph.D. in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Emma Schurink, BA, SEP, CLC,  (she/her)

Emma is a healing and empowerment facilitator, supporting people in restoring their vital rhythms and embodying their authentic Self. She is a Certified Life Coach (CLC) and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP). Emma also has years of experience organizing and coordinating for non-profits and community initiatives. She loves to make things happen, especially healing and empowering opportunities. She earned her BA in Sociology from Kenyon College and minored in Visual Arts. Additionally, Emma creates charcoal drawings of trees and the natural world. You can view her artwork here.

Annie Blair ,(she/her) uses body-based awareness practices to  support personal and collective change processes.  She works with  individuals and small groups.  Her background includes Processwork’s  Deep Democracy methods and the practice of Authentic Movement. 

Carol Zahner, (she/her)  has a multi-disciplinary career in Human Factors Engineering, Aquaculture, small business, and psychotherapy.  She is co-founder of Processwork Latinoamérica and adjunct faculty with La Escuela de Trabajo de Procesos in Barcelona and the Process Work  Institute in Oregon. Authentic Movement and artistic expression have been constant threads in her life and work. Her current research also includes ways of working that honor cultural differences and somatic approaches to trauma.

Marcy Pollitt - LCSW-R, SEP, EMDR, HVPI, Psychodrama Practitioner (she/her)

Marcy is an experienced practitioner of Somatic Experiencing (SE), EMDR and  Psychodrama. She uses body based action methods to bring clients into the  heart of their stories.

Psychodrama is a rich modality that naturally integrates with Somatic Experiencing. By inviting clients to show their stories through  reversing roles with characters in their lives, both interpersonal and intra-psychic, clients quickly come into the somatic senses of the  character in their personal narrative. Once we become embodied into the memory, we are more easily able to tune into our senses. and begin to heal the wounds in our hearts and in our relationships by unraveling the knots that prevent us from being settled in our bodies and present. We have the power to rewrite our story by bringing in the healed self.

When Psychodrama and SE are woven together it enables a rich and engaging healing process that facilitates the re-organization of our lived experience with a renewed sense of empowerment, self love, and a deeper connection with ourselves and our loved ones. 

Lynn Teo, LAc, MSc, DACM (she/they)

Lynn has worked in complementary medicine for over 20 years. As a licensed acupuncturist and shiatsu therapist, Lynn specializes in trauma healing, stress, anxiety, chronic pain, and  chronic conditions. Focusing on cultivating resilience and burnout /  trauma recovery, Lynn is completing her training to be a Somatic  Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). She holds an MAOM from the New England  School of Acupuncture and a doctorate in acupuncture and Chinese  medicine from the Pacific College of Health and Science.  As well, she  is the resident acupuncturist at Foundation House in Portland, Maine.

She trained as a yoga teacher in the Scaravelli tradition of Esther Myers (750 hour) and has been teaching yoga, Vipassana meditation and somatic awareness for  over 25 years and focuses on teaching embodied practices for radical  rest, resilience, and trauma / burnout recovery particularly for  helpers, healers, artists, and activists. She brings her background in  theatre and clown to her classes, encouraging curiosity and playfulness  as a means to cultivate embodied wisdom, resilience and joy.

As a researcher,  Lynn has published several systematic reviews on complementary medicine.  She holds and MSc in pain studies from Tufts University School of  Medicine where she focused on the effect of empathy and mindfulness  within the patient-practitioner relationship.

Pernilla Smith, J.D (she/her)

Since  2011 Pernilla has been the student of a Chinese Tea Art Master in  Malaysia. She has been a traveler, tea seeker and meditator in the remote regions of Nepal, Tibet and Malaysia. She currently is a lawyer and appreciates tea in Sweden while her heart belongs in Asia. She is completing her first  book on the art of tea communication.

Nina Maria Mudita, M.A. (she/her)

Nina Maria Mudita, M.A. (she/her)

With a lifelong passion for visual storytelling, Nina has been deeply engaged in photography and video production since her teenage years. In 2000, she discovered Miksang Contemplative Photography, a practice that profoundly shifted her perspective and approach to seeing the world. This transformative experience led her to become a certified Miksang teacher in 2005.

Today, contemplative photography remains a cornerstone of her daily practice, significantly shaping her work as a creative portrait photographer and videographer based near Munich, Germany.

Nina’s academic journey includes a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and a Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies with a focus on Dharma Art from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.

At the heart of her work lies a deep appreciation for the intersection of mindfulness, creativity, and self-expression. Nina seamlessly weaves these elements into her practice as a Life Coach, where she offers self-empowerment tools designed for women. She views healing as a journey of self-discovery and creative expression—a process that harmonizes the awakened mind with the awakened heart.

Through her photography and coaching, Nina invites others to embrace their authentic presence. She sees the camera not merely as a device for capturing images, but as a powerful mirror for self-reflection and personal transformation.