Joel Berdie

Hi there! Thanks for your interest in learning a bit more about me and what I love to do. I provide Post Traumatic Growth Somatic Therapy for adults (in English y Español), which is a relational and somatic (meaning 'body-focused') nervous system approach to resilience (bouncing back from hard things) and a return to essence (your TRUE SELF!) Calming and exploratory mindfulness practices are used to gain self awareness and identify root stressors in a compassionate way. By first finding relief and regulation in your physical body, your mental and spiritual well-being follow suit. It's honestly pretty cool stuff and I love it! What does this actually mean in practice though? It starts with understanding that everything we do is about feeling better. We call this "state management." We try to manage how we feel– in our bodies, emotionally, spiritually– by coping however we can. However when we've faced traumas, our bodies can get stuck in a state of always feeling on-guard, shut down, anxious, or disconnected. So, the calming somatic activities help our system regulate so that we can can feel more like ourselves. And to share a bit about the ethos I bring to my community-based work!...Since seeing how limited community-based behavioral health services are in the Southwest, I want therapy to be accessible for my clients. So, we can meet in your home, in my office in Durango, or virtually! Whatever is easiest for you. I'm also one of only a few Spanish-speaking therapist in our region, so I work frequently with the immigrant community. Although I am not Latino, I have worked alongside the Latine community for over 10 years and it is a cultural home for me (I've lived in Chile, Spain, Mexico). Whether I am speaking English or Spanish, my spark still comes through. Since 2016, I've also worked as a homelessness street outreach worker so I'm comfortable working with issues like housing insecurity, substance use, psychosis, suicidality & case management. Ultimately, we all have the right to feel peace, and I'm glad you're following a pull to get there. I'm here to complement any other healing modalities you practice, and whether you want to heal lasting trauma, deepen your spiritual path, find clarity in practicing non-monogamy, address substance use, or improve mood and sleep (and beyond!), I look forward to helping you feel more like your fullest self. So, what’s in the name, SOL Salud? Salud means “health” in Spanish and we want to normalize that our Spanish-speaking community is not just an afterthought. And we all can raise our glass to ¡Salud! SOL is a word understood in both English and Spanish and embodies the soulful nature in how we serve our community and clients. SOL means “sun” in Spanish, the light that provides life to our world. Our work and therapy is guided to do the same: provide light and restore brilliance to those who have been harmed by oppressive systems and traumatic experiences. Also, it’s an acronym in both languages and is our mission: S.O.L. stands for: Services, Opportunity, and Leadership. We provide community-based bilingual behavioral health Services & Opportunities for healing, grounded in peer Leadership