Joy Faith Wellness

Joy Faith Wellness Psychotherapy · Embodiment · Groups
For sensitive adults tired of self-abandonment
Stay with yourself ↓

Much of my work looks gentle: a drawing, a movement, a pause to notice what is happening inside the body.But gentle does...
09/07/2026

Much of my work looks gentle: a drawing, a movement, a pause to notice what is happening inside the body.

But gentle does not mean superficial.

I work with people who have learned to fear, punish, abandon, or distrust themselves. Together, we build the capacity to stay—with the body, with difficult feelings, with their own needs, and within relationships.

Over time, that can mean learning to care for a body once treated as an enemy. Feeling long-held defenses begin to soften. Recognizing thoughts as thoughts, and feeling an impulse without having to obey it. Remembering your own aliveness—and becoming curious enough to follow where it leads. Letting yourself be known in relationships without abandoning yourself in order to belong.

The art, movement, and imagination are not decorations around the “serious” work. They are part of how we reach places that words alone cannot—and how people come to feel safer in themselves, more at home in their own bodies, and freer to pursue what makes them feel alive.

The work isn’t choosing which parts of ourselves are acceptable. It’s increasing our capacity to remain present with all...
09/04/2026

The work isn’t choosing which parts of ourselves are acceptable. It’s increasing our capacity to remain present with all of them.

Altered/Altared BooksI call this The Bhagavad Gita of My Sacred Intuitive Life.I’ve been altering—or maybe altaring—its ...
09/01/2026

Altered/Altared Books

I call this The Bhagavad Gita of My Sacred Intuitive Life.

I’ve been altering—or maybe altaring—its pages for over 10 years. It carries physical pieces of my life: the red wing on the cover was a gift from a studio owner when I taught yoga on Long Island. I made the straw-rope collage when I left my first post-graduate job—a time full of turmoil and hope. Its pages hold landscapes of places I’ve traveled, invocations of the Empress and the High Priestess, things gathered from the earth—snakeskin, feathers, leaves—and pages and pages of writing.

I can open to a page and follow whatever curiosity or whim is there, without needing to know what it means or turn it into something finished. The book keeps each fragment safe and contained until I return and discover how it informs me.

I use altered books with clients, too. Because the pages already carry words, history, and wear, there is no pristine surface to protect and no perfect result to produce. One page at a time, they make room to follow impulse, play, curiosity, and desire.

In a life filled with pressure to perform, this is a place where we can arrive unpolished.

08/28/2026

Friday Morning Reflective Group

An 8-week online support group for slowing down, turning inward, and making space for your own experience through writing, art making, gentle movement, body awareness, and rest.

Fridays, 11:00–12:30 ET
September 25–November 20
(no group October 16)
Online via Zoom
$480 for the full series

This summer I had an epiphany:I’m not bad at relationships.Actually, I’m pretty good at them.Relationships often feel re...
08/25/2026

This summer I had an epiphany:

I’m not bad at relationships.

Actually, I’m pretty good at them.

Relationships often feel really hard to me. I’m not always good at asking for help or showing vulnerability. I’m working on that.

But I care. I love deeply. I’m honest. I ask for what I need. I consider other people. I know my feelings. I’m present. I’m accountable.

And maybe most importantly, I’m learning that I don’t hurt people just by existing. My existence isn’t offensive. The fact that I have needs isn’t offensive or hurtful.

I realized some of this on an Authentic Movement retreat this summer. I was moving with people I’ve known and practiced with for years, and I became aware of how attuned I felt to myself and to them. I could be close when I wanted closeness. I could take space when I wanted space. I could be sensitive to another person and sensitive to myself at the same time.

And this time, I didn’t judge myself for any of it.

I’ve also been thinking about how differently things move through me when I’m alone versus when I’m with another attuned person.

Alone, I can use nature, expressive arts, movement, writing—all kinds of things—to be with my feelings. Something can become more orderly, manageable, even peaceful.

But when I process something alongside someone who is present and accepting, something different can happen.

It’s like I take the elevator to a whole new floor.

The thing itself changes. It doesn’t live inside me in quite the same way anymore. Sometimes a feeling or belief that has been unconsciously shaping how I respond to the world actually transforms.

My lived experience changes.

Healing happens in relationship.

In my own life, SomaSoul® Somatic Therapy and the Discipline of Authentic Movement have provided these kinds of relational spaces for me to heal and grow.

And I love providing them for others.

Things I noticed…
08/23/2026

Things I noticed…

The thing about emotions is it’s really hard to shut them up- consciously deny they exist or matter. I guess we can try....
08/21/2026

The thing about emotions is it’s really hard to shut them up- consciously deny they exist or matter. I guess we can try. But the tension in the throat- the pit in the stomach- the fluttering heart, they happen anyway.

I might choose to feel less if I could- to be more defended from the world. I might choose to not wake up and cry because I feel grief over missing a person or place. I might choose to not forget everything else in my life exists because I’m captivated by the beauty of a butterfly or a tree. I might choose to take the blue pill. But it doesn’t work that way for me.

When the emotions come, I’ve learned to be their vessel, their channel, because that seems to work the best.

That’s what I do in my work. I help other sensitive people learn to channel and transmute their feelings. When shutting down only made you feel smaller, when overthinking only made you feel more confused, there is this other route. Embodied presence and expressive creativity finally led to some sense of wholeness.

I am undeniably sensitive and so art and beauty impact me in a delicious way. Dance taught me how to embody emotion. Art...
08/15/2026

I am undeniably sensitive and so art and beauty impact me in a delicious way. Dance taught me how to embody emotion. Art taught me about transforming energy. Music taught me it could hold my emotions. Some little kids had imaginary friends. In a way, if I had imaginary friends, they would be the arts. And since I’m so sensitive, I feel so deeply. Beauty and art are what make a difficult world worth it. Art is evidence of human capacity to be resilient – to be genius – to be reverent. I feel, when I’m in contact with beauty and art, that I’m in contact with God.

I’ve been wanting more intentional moments to slow down in my own life. There’s this precious state I can access more ea...
08/11/2026

I’ve been wanting more intentional moments to slow down in my own life. There’s this precious state I can access more easily when reflection is my main priority. Suddenly, I have space for myself. My energy returns to me. Things I’ve been worried about don’t seem quite so important. There’s more clarity in my mind and groundedness in my body.

This is what I’m making space for. Would you like to join me?

I woke up this morning wanting to go somewhere.The beach. The woods. Somewhere I could get away from myself long enough ...
08/08/2026

I woke up this morning wanting to go somewhere.

The beach. The woods. Somewhere I could get away from myself long enough to be with myself.

But instead of getting in the car, I slowed down. I wandered into the backyard without much of a plan and found this little place to sit.

And I realized I had been trying to find somewhere to be with myself when apparently I could be with myself right here.

I keep thinking about the difference between pushing toward what I think I need and becoming curious enough to receive what is already embracing me.

Sometimes what I need isn’t what I choose.

Sometimes I find the nook.

Address

Lanesborough, MA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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