WELCOME
—
Hi, I'm Julie!
I believe that a body-based approach to therapy helps resolve trauma from abuse /neglect as a child, harsh training in organized sports or academia, impacts of generational, cultural and religious patterns, and traumatic events. My clients feel stuck in fight, flight or freeze, unworthy of love, anxious, and overwhelmed. I use Somatic Experiencing®, a body-based modality, to assist clients in connecting with what is going on inside: attuning to their inner experience, learning to release stored tensions from their nervous systems, rewiing and regulating their emotions to find ease with themselves. This is called embodiment, and it is a state of being that is full of wisdom, safety and joy.
Therapy with me looks at lot like this: First, we'll find connection and safety, and I'll provide the understanding and space for you to feel seen. I will direct your focus to the present moment, encourage curiosity about your inner experience, and support you through what comes up.
We’ll work on breaking down old patterns and stories about self and past, growing new pathways that feel different and safe. We’ll move at the pace of your nervous system - it takes time to adjust to changes.
Using Somatic Experiencing®, IFS, Mindfulness, Trauma-Informed and Solution-Focused modalities, we gently explore your history and the presentation of your symptoms. We will work with the feelings, sensations, behaviors, thoughts and meaning associated with what you are experiencing. Somatic exercises are meant to improve the coherence between disparate beliefs, and help you to feel more centered and connected inside.
If you are ready to grow, I will stand beside you as a gentle guide as you navigate the path back to balance and a sense of sustainable, inner healing.
See my FAQ page for more about the modalities that I use.
I believe…
That in order to show up fully for others, I practice self-care, including getting outside, biking, walking, and painting. Family time and cat-petting are important tools for me to wind-down. I’m a mother, daughter, partner, sister, and friend.
MY ethics…
I am a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Colorado, and strive to maintain the highest ethical standards. You can find the Social Work code of ethics at www.socialworkers.org
I stand…
Against discriminatory societal norms concerning race, gender, sexuality, and class, and the negative impact they have on sense of self and mental health.
More about my approach.
Julie Preston Schilling, LCSW
Colorado License #00000745
Background:
BFA Dance, BS Psychology -University of Utah MSW - University of Denver
Somatic Experiencing ®(SE®) Practitioner
My approach uses a variety of techniques and tools that increase balance in your life and allow for both psychological and physical movement of unresolved trauma and stuck patterns. These skills also help you deal with hard emotions, tolerate distress and be effective interpersonally. My sessions always include mindfulness or “orienting” practices, which clients can use outside of sessions to find calm on their own. When we are stressed, we can lose our sense of “embodiment,” or a deep connection to what feels right and good. When doing somatic work, I guide you to ask what your body is feeling and telling you, and help you learn to trust these messages. Finding and using the “felt sense,” will be a part of our sessions. This means traveling to the inner awareness of your sensory/energetic/emotional landscape. As a therapist, I invite you to pay attention to the sensations of the present moment, be curious about what these bring to you, and return to your internal knowing. Together we will work on releasing old stories about self, past, and others, and find new ways of looking at patterns and systems.
My clients typically come to see me weekly so they have consistent support.
Specific recent trainings: Somatic Experiencing International - Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine - Treating Trauma Master Series, Making Mindfulness Work, Expert Strategies for Working with Anxiety; PESI - IFS Immersion: Integrating Internal Family Systems (IFS) Across Clinical Applications, Certified Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Professional Training, Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing, Step by Step; The Center for Self-Leadership - IFS Online Circle, Foundations of the IFS Model.