therapy intern,yoga & mindfulness coach
Camilla Coakley, LCSW, CHC
Holistic Psychotherapist, Health & Life Coach
Founder & Owner of SoundMind/SoundBody
Hi there! I'm so glad you are here exploring our backgrounds. It is absolutely essential to find a good fit and a trusting connection when choosing a therapist or coach. Let me tell you a bit about my personal history. As an overachiever and recovering perfectionist, I know far too well, the voice inside my head that pressures me to do and be more. The voice that obnoxiously made me compare myself to others and harshly reminded me that I am not enough, that I needed to do more and achieve more. While living in New York City during grad school it all became too much for my nervous system. The pressure I put on myself took its toll on me emotionally and physically. For a very long time, I did not know what feeling good felt like; I had grown so used to feeling depleted and stressed that I didn't realize how horrible I felt. I actually believed that brain fog, digestion issues, chronic exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and, at times, depressed was just my normal. Every day felt like I was pushing a gigantic boulder uphill... and I kept pushing until, thanks in part to my coursework in grad school, I realized my body was trying to tell me something. Tuning into the wisdom of my mind-body connection was transformational for me. My symptoms were a smoke signal from my body telling me I needed to slow way down and begin to nourish myself physically (good sleep, healthy food) and emotionally (take the pressure off and replace my inner critical thoughts with kind internal self-talk). I didn't experience relief until 1.) I made significant (and lasting) shifts in my diet 2.) I began working out for my mind (instead of just for my waistline), and 3.) I started seeing a therapist. This relief didn't happen right away, but over time it was as if a heavy, dark veil began to dissolve until it was completely gone. What I felt, and still feel, is a sense of well-being, a wellness that I didn't even know was possible, let alone something I could have as my new normal. It was an odyssey of starts and stops. I spent a lot of time and a lot money looking for that "magic bullet" that would "cure" me once and for all. Guess what? This was totally the wrong attitude to have. My attachment to the idea of a quick fix is ironically why it took me a decade to feel better. The metaphor I learned in childhood finally sunk in-- it's the tortoise, not the hare that wins the race. This lesson has since become my philosophy: the choices you make daily can either be like compound interest-- building you a solid wellness bank account or your choices can have the opposite effect-- depleting your reserves, leading to emotional and physical illness. Here's the thing, the behaviors that lead us to feel our best are often the ones that we have the most resistance to. Support is imperative for success. Reliable support is what helped me to overcome the physical and emotional obstacles that kept getting in my way of feeling better. My approach is an upgrade to traditional therapy. The results of my method can provide a stunning boost to your sense of self-worth, and a renewed sense of peace and lightness in your life. I look forward to connecting!
Camilla Coakley
My Background
I earned my Bachelors from Cornell University, my Masters from Columbia University, my personal training & health coach certifications from the American Council of Exercise and my certification as a mental health integrative medicine provider from the Mental Health Integrative Medicine Institute. I integrate therapeutic modalities such as cognitive behavior therapy, somatic experiencing, internal family systems, Buddhist psychology, nutritional psychology, nature therapy, walk and talk therapy, motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy, emotional freedom technique (tapping), psychedelic assisted therapy (or guidance) and trauma-informed therapy. In order to best holistically serve my clients needs I blend these modalities with my training in yoga for mental health, holistic health coaching, life coaching, embodiment coaching, mindfulness coaching, accountability and adhd coaching. I paid my way through graduate school working as a personal trainer in New York City. I led boot camps and individual training sessions in Central Park. It was during these training sessions that it became clear that I was offering my clients much more than just a workout. I was providing them with an opportunity to spend time nature (often pausing between sets to gaze up at the trees and clouds above) and also I was offering them the time, space and attention they needed to open up physically and emotionally to work through their life challenges. This was the seed that would years later, sprout my integrated mental wellness private practice. My years spent leading training sessions in Central Park solidified these two truths: a.) movement in your body creates movement in your life and b.) spending time in nature is essential for our emotional and physical wellness. Before starting my private practice, I worked at the Palo Alto VA Hospital. First as a clinician in the inpatient psychiatry ward and then as the director of the MOVE Weight Management Program-- a behavioral medicine clinic dedicated to helping Veterans lose weight. My time treating patients at the VA reinforced my belief that healing both the body and the mind is essential to lasting health and wellness. Patients looking for a quick solution repeatedly came back to my clinic until they were ready to dedicate the time and commitment needed to shift their mindset to making small and consistent positive lifestyle changes. I learned to help my patients to take it slow... aiming for 1% healthier shifts, that added up to amazing transfomations overtime. It was during my time at the hospital that I further cultivated my skills and solidified my passion and dedication for taking a holistic mind-body approach to helping clients work through issues of the past and move forward to living healthier, happier and more peaceful lives. I look forward to connecting!
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Kaitlin Battiste, RYT 200, MS
Therapy Intern, Yoga & Mindfulness Coach
Hi! My name is Kaitlin. I am currently an intern working toward my Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at West Chester University. On this wild, sometimes even scary, path of life, we might reach a point where we feel like we’ve been walking for an eternity and when we look around and observe our surroundings, we feel like we’re still not where we hope to be yet. We may compare ourselves to others, or even wonder where we made a wrong turn, contemplating, “Why did I choose this way instead of the other?” or “Why didn’t I just get off the trail when I had the chance?”. I know what it feels like to feel lost and in need of direction. When we finally realize that life is made up of an infinite amount of choices, we can learn that whether we are making the “right choices” doesn’t really matter. All that matters is that we keep moving forward and trust in our intuition to guide us. There are no mistakes, only lessons. How could you possibly know how things will turn out unless you try them? We make the best decisions we can based on what we know at the time. I know it can feel like so much pressure, and you likely don't trust yourself. I am here to help you build that trust so that you can get unstuck and move forward in the direction of your dreams. I am here to remind you that you are on your own timeline. I will hold space for you while empowering you through school, career and life challenges. Together, we will work to get you to a place where you feel more aligned with your purpose so you can walk through life with more conviction.
Kaitlin Battiste
My Background
My calling to be a healer stems from my own search for inner-healing. When I was a in my undergrad, I battled feelings of anxiety due to academic and societal pressures, and mostly, the daunting task of figuring out what I wanted to do for a career. I remember the things that truly helped me feel less lost were my support systems among my dance and yoga communities. The spaces in which I practiced dance and yoga made me feel like I belonged somewhere. I felt part of something bigger, and it helped me work toward feeling more whole. I decided to pursue my 200-hour Yoga teaching Certification in 2020 during the start of the pandemic. It was my hope to share the tools I learned from yoga with my dance students and co-workers in the community to help them navigate their mental and physical well-being through such a difficult time. I realized I wanted to continuing holding space for others, so I returned to school to become a therapist. In my yoga teaching and therapy work, my hope is to pass on these healing tools and foundational yogic and mindfulness principles to clients so they can be more present and ultimately, live happier, healthier, more balanced lives.
Loren Hall, CNC, CNHP
Nutritional Counselor & Homeopathic Practicioner
Loren Hall is a Certified Natural Health Practitioner and Certified Nutritional Consultant. Loren is passionate about living and thriving by natural means. She has worked and studied in the field of Natural Health and Nutrition for over 12 years and brings a unique approach to uncovering and approaching disharmony within the body by using Quest 4 Electro-Dermal Screening. Quest 4 is a computer based program that identifies areas within the body that are in and out of balance. Loren will then create an individualized program tailored to your body’s specific needs. Loren works with clients of all ages and specializes in weight loss and weight management, uncovering food sensitivities, allergies, restoring gut health, Lyme Disease, colon and bowel disorders, inflammatory conditions, depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, meal planning and health education.
Loren Hall
My Background
Nora Wright, LSW, CLC
Holistic Psychotherapist & Sound Healing Practitioner
Welcome! If you are here, I know it is because you are looking for more. I am grateful for the opportunity to introduce myself and share what ‘more’ in therapy means to me. As a young person, I found an interest in the mind-body-spirit connection. In high school, I studied meditation and practiced yoga. At Scripps College, I majored in world religions, and concluded that wellbeing comes, not from a cognitive understanding of love or peace, but from an experience of those things. That lived experience emerges from within us and stretches beyond us. More than a decade and a half later, I am a psychotherapist and life coach, drawing from both traditional and complementary therapeutic approaches to enhance well-being and improve communication and connection in key relationships. I work with adults, couples, and parents of young children facing life transitions and unexpected challenges. My therapeutic approach combines mind-body-spirit wellness and resiliency through Pravada Shamanic Sound Healing. The authentic use of one’s own sound early on in session creates a deep state of relaxation, making it easier to release fear and grief, in order to create the life you really want. Pravada Shamanic Sound Healing provides a powerful therapeutic experience of self-trust that enhances and restores inner peace through greater awareness and self-acceptance. I base my work with couples on the evidence-based research of the Gottman Relationship Institute as well as on the Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) created by Dr. Sue Johnson. Having taught Kundalini yoga for more than ten years, my classes integrate live harp and flute music to restore the body’s balance. In collaboration with Bachan Kaur, I offer kirtans -- healing music concerts, meditations and personal development workshops in the U.S. and Mexico. I trained with Eduardo Osegueda of Fuerza Integral in Mexico and have a daily Qi Gong practice. Whether I see individuals or couples, relationships are at the core of our sense of wellbeing. Enhancing family health promotes personal growth, while finding peace and insight as individuals helps heal our family systems. I have trained and worked as a communication coach and mediator, while serving as a teaching assistant at the Harvard Program on Negotiation. I am the co-founder of the Family Hive of West Chester. The Family Hive prepares new families to enjoy a calm and confident birth, and to thrive as a couple in early parenthood through the Bringing Baby Home program. Bringing Baby Home is an evidence-based and research tested program that prepares new parents for the predictably stressful transition from childless couple to family.
Nora Wright
My Background
I am an integrated psychotherapist and bring to my practice a blend of traditional and holistic approaches. I have a Masters Degree in Social Work from West Chester University with a focus on counseling, and a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from Cornell University. I hold a certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy and have received focused training on processing grief and loss, including studying complicated grief through Columbia University’s Center for Complicated Grief. As a couples’ therapist, I have trained with EFT founder, Dr. Sue Johnson and at the Gottman Institute for Relationships. I have extensive training in mindfulness and yoga practices, having lived and studied at spiritual retreat center and eco-village the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. In 2012, I began an apprenticeship to Pravada Shamanic Sound Healing Practitioner founder and director Nina Umai Spiro. Her unique approach has provided me with many years of one-on-one teaching and supervision. I am a founding member of the Center for Spiritual Ecology in Huatusco, Mexico. The Center focuses on cloud forest, and personal, restoration. We offer workshops on meditation, sound healing and cultivating a deeper connection to the natural world.
