Waiver Release from Liability, and Indemnity Agreement 

Welcome to my Somatic Experiencing® practice ~

Somatic Experiencing (SETM) is a naturalistic form of healing that will help you learn how to settle and release physiological activation from your body. Very often this process helps people to reduce stress and return to a sense of regulation and mastery in their lives. SE will support you in learning how to attend to uncomfortable sensations in your body and gently unwind them through your conscious attention. SE is particularly useful in managing stress because so many of the symptoms are physiological. If you would like to read more about SE, visit Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) at www.traumahealing.com or read In an Unspoken Voice by Dr. Peter Levine. During an SE session, I may also draw upon therapeutic movement, and Somatic Touch/NeuroAffective Touch. 

I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) certified through Somatic Experiencing International (SEI). I am trained in Somatic Touch and NeuroAffective Touch. I am a 500-hour yoga instructor and trainer. 

If you are working with a therapist and would like to work with me somatically, I may ask you to sign a release so that I might discuss your progress with your primary therapist. This is to ensure that we function as a good team working for your benefit.

Benefits and Risks 

SE may offer you many benefits such as an increase in your ability to self-soothe, feel embodied and empowered. However, there may also be risks as there is with any treatment that focuses on healing trauma. Although SE is designed to help you resource and work with manageable amounts of discomfort, you may experience challenging feelings, images, or thoughts. Furthermore, as with any stress reduction treatment, there can be no guarantee that you will reach your goals. That said, many people report that SE has helped them tremendously and has created positive change in their lives. Learning how to reorganize “body memory” is often vital to learning how to relax and calm your nervous system. 

Confidentiality 

Everything that you share with me will remain confidential. However, there are a few reasons I am required to break confidentiality by law: 

If you are of danger to yourself and have an active plan to harm yourself, I will contact emergency services for a wellness check and/or a 72-hour hold. If you are planning to seriously harm another person, I am required to contact the person threatened, if possible, as well as the police department. If I learn of child or elder abuse, I will contact protective services immediately. If I learn of a child abuser from a person’s past who is actively still around children, I am mandated to report him or her. If you are a minor, I am required to share important information with your parents regarding your emotional health. This is not the case if the information you share would put you at extreme physical risk from a caregiver. Breaches in confidentiality will occur along with the same guidelines for adults (see above) but will include a report if you are having a sexual relationship with an older peer or an adult, and you are under 16 years of age. 

With the wonders of technology, we can meet online. Please be aware that although it is unlikely, online communications are never fully secure. By signing this document, you acknowledge that you are entering into this format with awareness of its limitations. 

Phone Calls and Emergency Contacts 

** I provide non-emergency service.
**If you have an immediate emergency, please call your local emergency hotline or 911. 

For some clients, check-in messages {email/text} and responses can be helpful or necessary at certain times. Please keep these messages to a minimum and let me know if you want a call back or if we can wait to discuss the issue at our next session. 

In most cases, texts/emails/calls will be returned within 48 hours during regular working hours, Monday-Friday, unless I am out of town. I will generally tell you when I will be away from the office. 

If this level of contact in between sessions is not enough, we can discuss the possibility of bi-weekly sessions until you feel ready for once-a-week meetings.
These limits are important so that I can be fully available to you professionally and can have thoughtful, resonant, and meaningful interactions with you. 

Fees and Services 

Fees for services are due at the time services are rendered, unless otherwise discussed (cash app, paypal, or Venmo @rebekkamars are all accepted). 

50- 55-minute Somatic Experiencing session rates are $135 - $195 per 50-55-minute session. Please pay anything within this range that feels appropriate for your financial well-being. Phone and Zoom sessions are billed at the same rate as in-person sessions. 

Sessions begin at the time of the scheduled appointment and generally run 50-55 minutes. 

I offer 30- and 90-minute sessions which are prorated, please ask.

** I will reserve a portion of my practice for low-income persons who may be eligible for a sliding scale. Please let me know if there is a need. 

Cancellations 

If you decide that you need to cancel a session, please call/text me 24 hours before. If you do not cancel, I will expect you to pay for the missed session in full. This means that if you have an appointment at 11:00 am on Tuesday, you would need to cancel by 11:00 am on Monday. This will allow me time to reschedule other clients who could benefit from the availability. These policies apply to me also. I will call you with at least 24-hours-notice if I need to reschedule. If for any reason I miss our scheduled appointment without notifying you, I will provide your next session free of charge. 

True emergency situations that cannot be foreseen can be negotiated (sudden illnesses, accidents, or unpredicted loss of childcare). 

SE Session Format 

SE sessions are done seated in a chair or couch depending on your preference. You will be asked to share an impression of the sensations that you feel in your body, such as tightness, heat, shakiness, expansion, relaxations, etc. I will teach you ways to track, or follow, these sensations with your awareness and come to a place of rebalance. 

Touch-Informed Consent {in person & virtual}

Somatic Experiencing, NeuroAffective Touch and Somatic Touch are not a form of massage. Somatic Experiencing and Somatic Touch are a vital therapeutic bridge to mind--body integration. The use of Somatic Touch creates an environment of Somatic support, attunement, and safety for the body-mind. I may offer you touch support for the following reasons: grounding, containment, support, mobilization, or awareness building. I may also offer table work if I feel it would be therapeutically supportive. Using touch can often reconnect clients to their breath and a deeper sense of aliveness. 

Consent is extremely important to me. You will always be asked before being touched and have the right and my full support to decline. If you do not feel comfortable with touch, or if the session does not call for it, session work will not include touch. 

Confirmation 

It is a great honor for me to work with you Somatically and support you in your healing. I hope to teach you skills that will help you reduce stress in your life, increase your sense of stabilization and increase your emotional capacity. It takes strength and courage to explore greater self-awareness, and I feel privileged to support you in reaching your goals.