Working With Energy in Therapy- FREE Workshop

The word energy once carried a heavy, elusive weight for me. In my past life as a right-wing conservative evangelical, it was tangled with suspicion and fear. In the circles I swam in, energy was seen as a tool of the devil—something meant to lure one into darkness and destruction. For years, I avoided it. Yet, it wasn’t until my own “energy” became unbearably heavy—so negative, so inwardly corrosive—while on the outside I looked like the picture of the perfect Christian wife and mother, that I could no longer ignore it. My energy was speaking to me, demanding to be seen. (More on this in my upcoming book “The Body Remembers” coming out next year).

Energy is most simply understood as the power that animates, moves, or influences. In science, it refers to the capacity to do work or cause change, taking forms like motion, heat, or electricity. In everyday language, we use it to describe vitality or stamina—our ability to get through the day. Psychologically, energy reflects our emotional presence and inner state, the way our mood and motivation ripple outward into the world. Spiritually, many traditions see energy as a life force or vibration that flows through and around us, shaping the way we connect to ourselves, others, and the divine.

In therapy, I often describe energy as the felt sense of what’s moving inside and between us. It shows up in posture, tone, breath, and the subtle ways our bodies speak even when our words can’t. Many of my clients come in carrying energy that feels constricted, anxious, or heavy with unprocessed trauma, while outwardly they appear to be functioning or even thriving. I can often sense—even through a screen—when a client is carrying a particular energy. It may not yet have words, but for therapeutic purposes it must first be acknowledged and felt. So how do we touch, give voice to, and honor what at times feels beyond words?

At Paradigm Wellness Collective, my team of therapists and coaches integrate somatic practices such as nonlinear movement, equine therapy, EMDR, breathwork, and parts work into the healing process. We invite our client’s energy to express itself rather than stay locked in. In psychedelic-assisted sessions, energy often reveals itself in vivid imagery, physical release, or emotional breakthroughs that point to what the body has been holding for years. When we honor energy as information, not something to fear or suppress, it becomes a guide: showing us where healing is needed, where life force wants to flow again, and how we can live more fully embodied and aligned.

I’m thrilled to introduce Carissa Lane, Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT #144999) at Paradigm Wellness Collective, who brings a powerful and deeply embodied approach to therapy that bridges neuroscience, shamanic wisdom, and energy medicine. Her path to healing, marked by overcoming addiction and traumatic brain injury, led her onto a soul-deep journey of trauma recovery grounded in mind‑body integration, nervous‑system regulation, and grounded in Somatic Experiencing®, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Polyvagal Theory, mindfulness, and equine-assisted psychotherapy.

In the next section of this post, Carissa will be writing about what it means to work with “energy” as a therapeutic pathway for connection and transformation. And later this month, we’re honored to co-host Equus & Embers: Rewinding the Soul Through Horse & Flame, a nurturing, small-group equine therapy intensive at Halo Ranch—where Carissa, alongside equine specialist Nancy Riggs and myself, will guide participants through somatic embodiment, horse energy medicine, smoke cleansing, and a sacred fire ceremony as the seasons turn toward harvest and release. We have 3 spots left for this event so please click here to reserve your spot.

There are places inside us that words alone can’t reach.

Talk therapy gives us language. It helps us understand the “why” behind our patterns, the storylines that keep circling in our minds. And yet—awareness doesn’t always bring release. Sometimes, no matter how much we talk it out, the weight in our chest remains. The nervous system keeps bracing. The body keeps whispering.

That’s where energy work comes in.

Energy work isn’t just mystical fluff—it’s the bridge between what your mind knows and what your body still holds. Trauma, anxiety, grief, stress… these don’t just live in our thoughts. They lodge in the tissues, in the breath, in the way we brace before love or flinch before rest. Therapy helps us name the story. Energy work helps us shift it at a soul level. Together, they unlock transformation that is gentler—and deeper—than either one alone.

Why Blend Therapy & Energy Work?

Because real healing is layered.Because the mind can’t release what the body still grips.Because the nervous system must feel safe before the heart can open.

When we weave these practices, we begin to:

Regulate our nervous systems instead of living in survival mode

Heal at the root instead of patching symptoms

Reconnect to the wisdom we forgot we had

Step into thriving, not just surviving

This is the work I live and breathe. And now, I want to share it with you.

Free Workshop: Where Therapy Meets Energy

I’m offering a free 1-hour workshop where we’ll explore:

The bridge between psychology and energy healing

Why the body must feel safe for the mind to let go

Practices you can use to feel grounded and more alive—today

We’ll move through somatic exercises, energy attunements, and reflective sharing that give you a taste of what it’s like to blend therapy with energy work.

If you’ve been curious about working with me—or simply want to feel a shift in your own body—this is your doorway in. Fill in your info below to join us for FREE on Monday September 8th at noon PST:

Equus & Embers: Rewilding the Soul through Horse and Flame

And if you’re ready to go deeper… I’m inviting you into something sacred.

Equus & Embers is a retreat where we gather with horses and fire as our teachers. Horses meet us in ways no human can—they reveal the truth beneath our masks, showing us where we’re aligned and where we’re holding back. Fire teaches us to release, to transmute, to rewild what has been tamed by survival.

Together, horse and flame help us remember who we are beneath the noise: raw, whole, alive.

Work With Me

Whether through 1:1 sessions, the upcoming workshop, or the retreat, my intention is the same:To create spaces where your nervous system feels safe enough to unwind, where your soul feels seen enough to emerge, and where you remember—you are not broken. You are becoming.

If you feel the tug in your chest reading this, trust it. That’s your body saying yes.

Next Steps

Learn more about Equus & Embers 1/2 Day Retreat September 28th (Only 3 Spots left)!

Work with me 1:1: Book a FREE consultation here

Come breathe with me. Come rewild. Come remember.

With Care,

Carissa