About Me
I am a mental health counselor, yoga therapist, and yoga teacher with years of experience supporting individuals in their growth. I began as a yoga teacher, witnessing the ways in which this practice supported those who came to my class. From teaching, I realized I wanted to support individuals more fully - incorporating the mind and body into a holistic approach to therapy.
Throughout graduate school, I incorporated mind-body and expressive therapies in my work with adolescents and adults with trauma, anxiety, and depression. In this work, I noticed ways in which my knowledge of yoga could provide additional support to these individuals. I decided to pursue a training in yoga therapy as well so that I could combine the ancient wisdom of yoga with the clinical skills I developed.
I hope to support individuals in whichever way resonates with them, always honoring that each one of us knows what works for us and what doesn't. Above all, I am happy to offer a safe and relational therapeutic space to promote self-discovery and ease suffering.
My approach is founded in the belief that clients are the experts of themselves. What works for one individual may not work for another. Together we can explore ways to connect to self and others, to understand your own internal landscape, and to live a more authentic and present life.
My body-based, trauma-informed approach to treatment is founded in neuroscience, relational dynamics, and yogic philosophy and sciences developed centuries ago - long before neuroscience could explain how or why it worked. My approach draws from Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems, Motivational Interviewing, and somatic therapies. I support clients in discovering safety in their own bodies and in developing internal resources to explore and navigate the full range of human emotional experience.
My Approach
Qualifications & Certifications
Mental Health Counseling
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Lesley University
Suicide Assessment and Intervention, Riverside Trauma Center
Advanced Master Program on the Treatment of Trauma, NICABM
Healing Through Somatic Attachment Therapy, Embody Lab
Yoga & Yoga Therapy
Foundations of Yoga Therapy, Breathing Deeply Yoga
Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator (TCTSY-F, 300HR), CTFE
300HR Yoga Teacher Training, Down Under School of Yoga
200 HR Yoga Teacher Training, Kaivalya Yoga School (India)
©2023
Valerie Niklas Counseling & Yoga Therapy