Client Feedback
"From Surviving to Thriving"
Alejandro Rodriguez, Deputy Executive Director of Artists Striving to End Poverty, (ASTEP) Miami, FL September - November 2020
I found Marian’s site in a moment when I was actively seeking to move beyond traditional talk therapy, and to address some of the habitual behaviors I was stuck in, the roots of which lived within my body and beneath my conscious mind. Through her use of Somatic Experiencing and the Comprehensive Resource Model, Marian has guided me to identify and begin to heal some of the open wounds in my psyche — retentions having to do with my childhood, my relationship to my parents and siblings, and to my understanding of my own gender and sexuality. In the months I’ve been working with Marian, I feel I’ve gained an inch or two in my stature —- I’m newly sensitized to sensations in my body, and I’m “feeling into” my back and edges in a way that makes me feel larger, stronger, more confident and more capable. I can’t recommend her enough! 🦋
Loren Davidson (she/her) MFA| Florida State University Pilates| Polestar Pilates Artist| Healing Duets @luckygoldrhino 2018 - Current
(Loren, a professional dancer and choreographer, was one of my first client when I started the SE journey. In that time she moved to Miami, got married, grieved the death of her best friend, moved again, received a life-changing medical diagnosis, etc. Our work together continues to evolve and blossom - as does she.)
"Working with Marian has been a pivotal time in my life for deep changes on many levels, most notably building healthy pathways of coping with past and current emotional stressors while sourcing an internal wisdom that remains a sustainable daily resource. For example, when dealing with the most intimate and deepest of losses, when I thought I couldn't go on, I was guided to gently "move" through it all and our work together continues to soften my heart. Marian supported and encouraged me in ways that I simply couldn't have imagined.
Through her clear and trustworthy guidance and my ability to collaborate in new ways we have found reliable tools that demand a beautiful attention to the sensation-rich relationship between the body and the mind. As a performer I assumed I had learned all there was to learn about developing strategies for re-patterning thought and its related physical manifestation. I was quickly and pleasantly reminded we cannot change and heal alone. In connection, with a guide like Marian, is where my authentic self began to emerge again. I have a wisdom that is filled with confidence, power, love and an essence of magic and I am so thankful to Marian for this sense of coming home.
An additional message from Loren:
You have supported and encouraged me in ways that I simply couldn't have imagined. As I was writing even this small amount I was flooded with memories of the loss of David and feeling like I just couldn't go on and to see how I've been guided to "move" through it all with you and your work softens my heart. And, thank you for kind words too. That is so touching and I love thinking about our time together as a bridge! What a generous feeling! Thank you for it all, truly. 🦋
Debra T, Fashion Executive, Miami, FL July - December 2020
(Debra received Somatic Experiencing, Intentional Somatic Touch and Comprehensive Resource Model Therapies. The following is from a series of emails I received during and after Debra's treatment which lasted 5 months )
The experience and benefits of working with Marian are really beyond words, but I will try:
Through Somatic Experiencing, including Somatic Touch, and now the beginning of CRM, and combined with Marian’s soothing and supportive presence, I have received the following benefits after four months:
- The ability to BE more and more with my environment and the ever-changing world around me.
- The deep sense of knowing that there’s nothing wrong me and that there’s nothing I need to fix.
- The ability to be more in my body and less associated with my thoughts.
- A more relaxed, less triggered nervous system.
- The feeling of always being supported.
- The ability to let things in, to allow and to receive more, especially from those around me.
- A reduction in the need to control.
- A more stable existence with less emotional ups and downs.
- A larger sense of inner wholeness and inner peace.
- Increased awareness and consciousness.
- Tools that I can use in my daily life outside of our sessions.
- The ability to process emotions on my own.
- A recognition of my personal power and the ability to set boundaries.
- The feeling of being safe in the world and in my relationships.
- An increased ability to securely attach to others.
- The removal of resistance towards moving forward in life.
- And lastly, a sense of freedom.
The therapy itself is incredibly gentle. There isn’t anything for you to do or think about, just follow Marian’s guidance and instructions. The therapy is permanently healing, as whatever is stored in the body is released and does not come back. And Marian herself, I feel, is part of the modality, as her presence and energy transmit the support and safety that is available to all of us regardless of our past and experiences.
I will add that all of our sessions have been virtual, even in my car sometimes due to my work schedule, and that has not diminished the power of the work.
I believe this was a therapy I was ready for, after years of doing other kinds of modalities. I wish I had found it sooner and I would recommend it to anyone.
Follow up from Debra:
I’ve been meaning to write you and share how I’ve been doing since our last session b/c I don’t remember the last time I felt this consistently good. Maybe never.
And by good, I mean at peace with everything. I have not had any triggers show up all week. I have not lashed out or reacted at anyone, not even my mother. My sister and I have been getting along so well, like never before, and genuinely caring for one another.
I feel a sense of relief in my nervous system. And I’m certain it’s permanent.
Last Thursday, I had taken the day off so that I could stay in the space longer after our session, instead of having to go back to work. I spent a few hours going through affirmations that I had been working on and in doing that, I was able to surface the memory that my six year old had been holding on to. It wasn’t one experience; it was just the overall feeling of feeling unwanted, of feeling like I was in the way, a bother. It is something I have carried my whole life in my subconscious. But it’s finally gone.
Thank you so much for everything.
I wanted to write to you and wish you a Happy New Year and just thank you again for your support and all the work we did together. I wish more people knew about this therapy and its wonders.
Another message from Debra:
Since our last session, I have had 3 additional releases of memories/traumas stored in my body. In the last one, the pre-verbal memory of not being held as a baby finally surfaced and I was able to hold and soothe my baby self. I say finally b/c I believe this has been the source of my inability to securely attach and get close to someone I love in an intimate relationship and it finally came up. I knew it was pre-verbal because I was asking myself to say things and I couldn't even utter a word. And I remembered what you told me at the very beginning of our work together, that you suspected my trauma was pre-verbal.
From Marian:
I asked Debra this question sometime after she completed her treatment. “Would you say it’s predominantly CRM that has made the greatest impact or the combination of all three modalities you experienced?”
Debra’s response:
“I would say the combination was important b/c they built upon one another. And the somatic touch allowed me to really feel supported and relax my nervous system. But it was the CRM in the end that was the most impactful. Because we were able to go deeper and access memories that I had forgotten consciously.
And nothing I had ever done before was able to do that.” 🦋
Two adolescents and their Mom - FM, Brickell Key, FL 2020
Our Experience with Somatic Touch with Marian started with our 13-year old son has some developmental challenges that include difficulty in his expressive language; slow processing speed; difficulty with attention, memory and social skills.
Over the years, we have done a variety of therapies for him, including speech and occupational therapies and a very comprehensive holistic program designed to support the development of the nervous system.
Last summer we discovered Peter Levine’s work and Somatic Experiencing and our son has been taking weekly sessions of Somatic Touch for the past 3 months with Marian.Since then, our son has been feeling “less angry and happier and more relaxed” and his teachers have reported increased attention span and focus at school.
Moreover, our 16-year-old son took 8 sessions of this same treatment with Marian to treat his fear of flying and these sessions allowed him to reduce his fear in a very significant way. Also our son reports that these sessions have helped him feel more confident about himself, allowing him, for example, to participate in class discussions at school in a new way.
Furthermore, during the course of our sons’ sessions, I realize that it made sense for me to try these treatments as well, specifically Somatic Experiencing and Somatic Touch. I wanted to treat anxiety. My experience has been very satisfactory because I have been able to release old trauma trapped in my body and also. I am learning tools to regulate the nervous system in a healthy new way.
I very much appreciate the positive impact that these treatments are having in our family and I would high recommend Somatic Psychotherapy with Marian for anyone considering trying this modality. 🦋
L, Advertising Executive, Miami, FL 2020
“I WISH I DID THIS SOONER! I saw Marian for help with my severe anxiety & panic attacks. I tried everything from hypnotherapy, emdr, meds etc. Nothing worked or even gave signs of relief. After working with Marian I am free from anxiety. I don’t understand how SE works, but that doesn’t matter. So grateful for the new found peace in my life.” 🦋
Rose, Graduate Student Tel Aviv 2018
After 3rd session:
"Before I began the SE process, I was skeptical. Spending years in therapy I wasn’t sure that this process would help me. But I entered into the experience with an open mind and I am already surprised. I have had three sessions with Marian, each diving a little deeper into the reasons that brought me to her. She is caring, empathetic, knowledgeable, and nonjudgmental. All of these characteristics make me feel safer and give me the ability to let down my walls and allow myself to be vulnerable. Both of which I had really struggled with in the past. In three sessions, I have become more aware of the messages my body is sending me and I already feel less anxious on a day-to-day basis. I am excited to continue my work and believe this process can help me." ~ Rose
Rose, after 5th session: Tel Aviv 2018
Anxiety has always been an issue for me in general, and in particular around the area of my neck. Since I can remember, I have never felt comfortable around my neck. I couldn’t wear a scarf, clothes that were too tight in that area, certain necklaces, and it was a constant source of anxiety. Anytime someone came close to my neck I would tense up and become increasingly anxious. One day, I even had a panic attack just because my significant other was too close to that area.
That is when I started thinking about the source of the anxiety. The only thing I could come up with was my birth story. When I was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. That is the only incidence I could come up with that involved my neck area. But I had trouble believing that something I couldn’t even remember was causing such a physical reaction.
I met Marian and she told me that she thought SE could help. She said the mind doesn’t remember, but the body does. I spent so many years in therapy working on things that I was skeptical about trying this. I constantly thought “how is it possible that this can help me wear a scarf?” But I went to the first session with an open mind and some willingness to try and I was pleasantly surprised. We began with some history and with setting a goal. My goal was to be comfortable wearing a scarf. For 30 years I felt trapped. I felt restricted on clothing and fashion. I felt this was never something I was going to get over. But I did; with the work I put in and Marian’s guidance.
Now, I finally feel a sense of freedom I never had. I no longer have this anxiety associated with my neck region. I am able to be who I am and not have worry about what will happen if someone comes close to that area. I no longer have a fear that I am going to break out in a panic attack just because someone touches me on the neck. I have decreased my overall anxiety, and how to listen to my body. Moreover, I can finally wear a scarf! I am eternally grateful that I was able to open my mind and put in some effort, because my experience shows how powerful the short treatment can be.
If I can have this experience, I really believe anyone else can too!" 🦋
Vanessa Duek, Marketing Tel Aviv 2017
"It's not a regular type of therapy where you start by investigating where your problems come from. Here you come straight to the point. I've had a fear for many years of traveling by car, why - it turns out - didn't matter. Being guided through a process, my issue got resolved in two sessions. If the fear comes up, I now know how to get rid of it. I tested it and it works! Thank you, Marian." 🦋
Anon, International Foods Import/Export Tel Aviv 2017
"I did three sessions with Marian and I'm very happy with the results already! Marian is a person you feel comfortable sitting with. She has a calmness around her that is very soothing. In the sessions we would focus on anything that came up that might need attention. It felt like she was guiding me to the answers by letting me find the solution myself. It gave me confidence to trust my gut feeling again. Although it’s a process that’s not nearly finished Marian gave me the tools to get me through the most “overwhelming” period in my life. I don’t get overwhelmed that fast any more by setting boundaries and taking my own time to deal with things. Without Marian’s help I wouldn’t have seen it this clearly." 🦋
Beverley, Special Education Teacher Tel Aviv 2017
"I found it so helpful and enabled me to understand how my body responds to certain triggers and how that manifests in pain or discomfort. I enjoyed your calm and kind approach and would recommend you highly." 🦋
JA, Dancer, Yoga Instructor Tel Aviv 2017
"I’ve become really mindful about what I'm feeling and my bodily sensations. I am a lot more aware and less judgmental. When I was noticing feelings of jealousy in my body, I was able to get relief by noticing the feeling and, with ease, the feelings passed quickly. 🦋