Bailey Drechsler, MA
Somatic-based Mental Wellness Counselor 01.805.801.7111 - eluminvie@gmail.com My Journey From a young age I have been drawn towards grappling with the Bitter-Sweet, that borderland where one location does not exist without the other, where opening to heartache can give way to heart-fullness. Loss and love, rupture and repair, empowerment and numbness are terrain I have come to hold with tender curiosity and appreciation; for these places deepen my sense of humanity, compassion, aliveness and beauty. I have found that the practice of somatic wellness provides a supportive and inspiring process when working through areas of despair and overwhelm. Growing up white and Jewish, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and raised by a white single mother, I experienced both belonging and an awareness of being an outsider. I came to understood that I could easily hide my Jewish identity when finding myself in an unwelcoming place, and that being white is the more advantageous skin color. But my understanding of my race privilege and white supremacy socialization was relatively superficial well into my 20s. While earning my Bachelor of Arts Degree (1987), I read J. Feagin's Discrimination American Style, and Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis. These publications, along with ongoing studies and trainings, have opened up greater insight into how race impacts my life, including how I have been socialized to ignore my racial privilege and maintain complicity (often unwittingly) in upholding racism. And yet, I still struggle with entrenched and tenacious patterns of racist patterns-- such is the insidious and deep-rooted nature of racism, and why antiracism must be a lifelong commitment. Continued education, somatic wellness practice, accountability and critique from my white community members anchor my antiracism somatic facilitation as well as my racial justice activism. |
Academic Qualifications & Teaching Experience
I hold a Master's Degree in Psychology from Antioch University (1999) and was granted tenure in 2003 at Cuesta College in the Applied Behavioral Sciences Division. I teach courses in Counseling Skills and Human Development, including Psychology of Women and Multicultural Psychology. In addition to teaching, I facilitate professional development workshops for campus faculty and staff. Most recent workshop topics include:
Additional Professional Qualifications & Certifications In addition to my work in academia, I have professional experience in providing counseling services within sexual assault and intimate partner abuse support organizations and hospice centers. Currently, I provide somatic wellness facilitation in private practice with individuals facing life transitions and identity crises, health concerns, and bereavement. Additionally, I facilitate White-Embodied Antiracism Practice ("WEAPing") to small groups from mental health services organizations and religious institutions. WEAPing is a group process model I developed that introduces participants to Resmaa Menakem's "Somatic Abolition" teachings and Focusing techniques.
Continuing Professional Development (recent)
|