Welcome

I’m Chris
a perinatal somatic psychotherapist

(a what??)

I hope you’ll find this site helpful. If you’re ambivalent about therapy but in need of some resources, you might find this section of use. If you're seeking a therapist and are wondering how to choose, I offer you my support:

Hazy view of the ocean and cliffs in Big Sur, CA

There are many therapists to select from, which is both great, and can also feel overwhelming. Fortunately most therapists offer a free phone consultation to discuss what you’re looking for and how they approach therapy. If a clinician’s practice is full, or the fit doesn’t seem quite right to you, they can offer you referrals.

Therapy often explores challenging topics, so complete ease and comfort isn't necessarily the best indication of an ideal fit. That said, it is important to trust and feel safe with your therapist. Like most relationships, this can take some time, and there’s something to be said for your intuitive sense. A phone call or first visit can be helpful in feeling that out.

Please feel encouraged to contact me with any questions or to set up an initial session.

Who I Work With

You may be a good fit for this work if:

You’re pregnant or postpartum and feeling more anxious or overwhelmed than you expected
You’re used to feeling capable but something, or everything, seems unmanageable right now
You’re navigating fertility challenges, loss, or a complicated relationship to this stage of life
You feel disconnected from your body, your partner, or your sense of self
You want support to go deeper than coping strategies and find insight into what’s happening

Approach

I practice somatic psychotherapy, meaning I understand emotions as physical experiences, or that physical, emotional, and mental factors are crucially interrelated.

Somatic psychotherapy is a body-centered approach that supports bringing attention to your physical sensations, breath, movement, and nervous system patterns alongside your thoughts and emotions. It’s not about doing anything fancy or complex with your body, it’s about learning to listen to it. This kind of work can be especially helpful for working with trauma.

My therapeutic stance is holistic; I integrate many treatment approaches, including parts work, EMDR, guided imagery, somatic awareness strategies, mindfulness, attachment theory, and emotionally-focused psychotherapy. I listen deeply to you, in all of the ways you communicate, and value the regenerative potential of the therapeutic relationship. I view therapy as a tool with which we can gain or reclaim access to options, be they in behavior, feelings, or thoughts.

I welcome people of all races, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations. You may identify as queer, genderqueer, male, femme, gay, straight, pansexual, asexual, kinky, religious, spiritual, atheist, and I look forward to talking with you about how these distinctions of self, and more, inform your reality.

Specialties

Black and white photo of pregnant person from underwater

Perinatal Mental Health

Pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenting can bring profound physical, emotional, relational, and identity shifts. I bring advanced training in perinatal mental health (Postpartum Support International), a background in women's health, birthwork, and yoga, and my own lived experience as a parent who’s been through infertility and IVF. We’ll work together to better understand what’s emerging and help you feel more resourced and steady.

Stormy image of the sea with a hand reaching up out of the water

Infertility, Grief, and Loss

Reproductive loss and infertility carry a unique kind of grief, one that can feel invisible, cyclical, and hard to name. These experiences often affect not just your body, but your relationships and sense of self. I approach this work with trauma-informed care and clinical tools like EMDR.

Young black. couple laughing affectionately at the bottom of a waterfall

Relationships

I use Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a well-researched, attachment-based model that helps partners understand each other more clearly and reconnect emotionally. Sessions are also informed by my training as a sex educator through SFSI (San Francisco Sex Information). I work with many non-monogamous couples and folks in various stages of opening up. Sessions are active, compassionate, and collaborative.

Trauma

Somatic approaches to trauma can help support reconnection with body signals, shifting long-held patterns, and building a felt sense of safety from the inside out. I work with many queer, neurodivergent, and late-diagnosed ADHD women, folks who’ve spent years masking or adapting in ways that made sense at the time. I use EMDR, somatic tools, and relational work at a pace your nervous system allows, building stability and trust as we go.

Reasons for seeking therapy are as endlessly diverse and complex as people are and the urge is rarely a singular one.

People have sought therapy with me to explore things like: approaching birth as a survivor, relationship dynamics through infertility, recovery from infidelity, support with general challenging-to-navigate emotions, opening up relationships, examining a general sense of discontent or discomfort, wanting to better get to know oneself, communication challenges, marriage changes after major life events, differing sexual desire, and making decisions.

If you’re not sure how to put words to what you’re seeking in therapy, that’s ok too, we can work to figure it out together.

If you’re newly postpartum you can have your baby with you for sessions, we can have a completely odd and irregular schedule, and in addition to the relative ease of Telehealth, I can meet you for a stroller walk (if you’re in Fairfield County). I work with brand new parents in ways that make sense for this wild and deeply special newborn time.

About Chris

My background is in medical care and education, working in women's health, assistant teaching elementary-aged children, attending births as a doula, and teaching yoga. These experiences, along with my formal education, dance practice, and heavily used library card all inform my work as a therapist.

I hold a bachelor's degree in communications from Simmons College, a master's degree in somatic psychotherapy from John F. Kennedy University, and am a SFSI certified sex educator. I am perinatal mental health certified through Postpartum Support International and received my doula training through Natural Resources in SF. I have advanced training in EMDR and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. I’ve lived in the Bay Area for the past decade but you’ll still be met with East Coast candor.

I am dedicated to practicing respectful, non-pathologizing, culturally-informed, and community-relevant therapy.

If having a therapist with any of this lived experience is important to you, I’m queer, married, a parent, have navigated infertility and IVF, and am neurodivergent (ADHD). I’m also an active listener - you won’t be talking to a blank wall.

Professional Affiliations:
PSI: Postpartum Support International
CAMFT: California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists
AAMFT: American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy
Bay Area Open Minds
Poly Friendly Professionals

Contact

If this feels like the kind of support you’re looking for, you’re welcome to reach out to schedule a consultation. Email is the best ways to reach me and I usually respond within a business day or two.

415.390.2041
chrisparrytherapy [at] gmail.com

Location

I work exclusively via telehealth with clients in California.

For those in Connecticut, I offer both telehealth and limited walk-and-talk therapy in Fairfield County.

Fees and Insurance

50-minute sessions are 250.

I auto-send super bills every month for potential reimbursement through your insurance plan.

As of right now I’m accepting a few insurance plans, all through Alma

For Providers

I welcome referrals from doulas, midwives, OB-GYNs, and pelvic health providers, and am happy to coordinate care when helpful.