Centa Therese, Ma, ITC, BASE, NaT
A poet, interdisciplinary teaching artist, a learning, literacy, creativity and neuroresilience specialist. Her poems have appeared in literary journals nationwide, and she has authored a collection of poems, a memoir, and has a manuscript forthcoming.
BIOGRAPHY
An “ internationally certified trauma care provider” ITC, with the International Trauma Center, Robert Macy, Ph.D. 2017
A “body and somatic education” BASE certification, from Dave Berger of Somatic Experiencing. 2018
First Year training in Somatic Experiencing. 2021
Safe and Sound Protocol Certified. “A non-invasive listening therapy for your client’s unique journey to better nervous system regulation.” Polyvagal-informed by Stephan Porges, Ph.D. who is the originator of polyvagal theory PVT and the research scientist behind SSP.
The Listening Program Certified to administer the protocol. A music listening intervention backed by neuroscience and used to address nervous system dysregulation in various learning, behavior, and emotional deficits.
Somatic Movement Educator SME, from Moving On Center, Carol Swann, Martha Eddy. 2019.
Comprehensively certified NeuroAffective Touch (NaT) practitioner. 2019-current.
Comprehensively certified Pilates Educator. Balanced Body. 2014
Trained to work with Neurological Conditions. Mariska Breland
Internal Family Systems IFS - Informed by the psychological modality, Richard Schwartz, Ph.D.
Integrative Trauma-Informed Teaching Artist. Addressing Trauma Through the Arts. Trained in trauma-informed pedagogy in the schools through the Kennedy School in collaboration w/ Sonoma County Office of Education.
Somatic Resiliency & Recovery Specialist Provide personal (online & in-person) sessions in Somatic Coaching. Address nervous system dysregulation, recovery from relational trauma,
neuromuscular conditions, addiction recovery.
FAQ
What goes on in a SOMATIC ARTS session?
Is the bodywork like a massage?
No. I use a very light touch if used at all.
How much talking happens in a session?
Though it is a body-centered practice, touch is not required and often is not part of the session. Mindful self-touch may be suggested. I ask questions or draw the client’s attention to certain areas of their body. I may suggest having a “body conversation” in which one part of the body speaks to another, such as the left side of the body speaking to the right, or the heart and mind may dialogue. I also will suggest expressive drawing or writing or subtle movement.
Is this energy work?
All forms of bodywork have an energetic component. This somatic approach is grounded in the body's sensations, nervous system, and felt experiences. I guide the process through attuned listening and asking questions that support your self-inquiry and through mindful attention to the relational field between us.
What is your somatic-related training?
I have completed an international certification as a provider of Trauma-informed Care; certification in B.A.S.E. (Relational Body and Somatic Education); year 1 of Somatic Experiencing; certification in Somatic Movement Arts Education, comprehensive certification in Pilates, and a comprehensive certification as a NeuroAffective Touch practitioner. Also, I trained at an early age and received a black belt in Tae Kwon Do; dance, and I have practiced meditation for much of my life.
I am polyvagal-informed and certified in Stephen Porges’ Safe and Sound Protocol and The Listening Program, both audio/music interventions used to bring the nervous system out of a traumatically fixated state and toward greater calm, trust, and social engagement. The applications are used for self-regulation and improved learning.
Much of the work mentioned above is informed by Peter Levine’s groundbreaking therapeutic approach to helping restore a traumatized nervous system, as well as Stephen W. Porges’ work on the embodied experience of safety, neuroception, which is essential for self-regulation, learning, and well-being.
This background is supported by years of study in Psychology, Communications and an Interdisciplinary graduate degree in Creative Writing and Studio Arts.
I have taught and coached therapeutic movement, Pilates for Neurological Conditions, poetry, tiny fiction, memofusion, and studio art in community settings to challenged and underserved populations.
I continue to study with the NeuroAffective Touch Institute and learn about collective and legacy trauma, white supremacy, and anti-racism.
As a body-centered practitioner, I ground the somatic aspects of my work in a lifetime of movement and body-mind inquiry, from early training in ballet to modern dance including Afro-Haitian, Contact Improvisation, yoga, gestalt bioenergetics, martial arts and Transcendental meditation, Authentic Movement, Pilates (certified), and a decades-long practice of Zen meditation (just sitting).
I am a devotee of creative practice. It is my god, or goddess, or more precisely, my channel to the divine or the essential.
My current practice is in formal poetry; having had a client who then became my mentor in formal poetry, Annie Finch, PhD., a unique and visionary teacher who locates poetry in the body and so, for me, has made what was formerly an intimidating study, a fun, delicious and congruent inquiry.