Tonia Heath

Hi! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in Santa Cruz, CA. My passion for social justice and equity issues led me to the field of social work. In my young adulthood, therapy, meditation and yoga transformed my own thinking, feeling and mind-body connection. I became passionate about working in community mental health in local immigrant communities, where I was a supervisor and manager for 20 years. For the last 7 years I have been focusing my experience and skills into helping my clients feel more accepting and at peace with themselves. While a safe and trusting relationship is the foundation, I am focusing on your own relationship with yourself. Are you hard on yourself? Do you dismiss your own feelings? Do you perseverate and work hard, only to feel exhausted and ungrounded? Or maybe you are having trouble in your relationships? Difficulty feeling motivated? Or just tense and unhappy a lot of the time? Tired of the chronic aches and pains in the body or your dislike of your body? I use a combination of very practical approaches and more intuitive and imaginative therapies to give you skills for success and relief in your daily life. Skills include: effective communication skills, mood regulation skills, positive thinking skills, calming and grounding skills. Trauma -informed Therapies I use that my clients love include Internal Family Systems in which you begin to appreciate how all your parts are actually trying to help you, even those parts you you want to get rid of (the procrastinator, the binge eater, the mean critic). Clients also love the Braisnpotting, in which we help you focus mindfully on your feelings and sensations and move through these together. Clients are really impressed when we use the cutting-edge TRIP method, which uses eye covering while processing, all with the goal of compassion and integration. I am confident you will feel better soon after just a few weeks of sessions. Book a consolation call now.