Bio
Kelly Foss, MA, LMT, CST, SEP
Meet Kelly, a Somatics Practitioner with a background in CranioSacral Therapy, Somatic Experiencing and Intuitive Bodywork. She is a Certified Massage Therapist in California and a LMT in Hawaiʻi, and her professional training spans Eastern holistic modalities as well as Western therapeutic modalities.
Kelly is passionate about helping individuals to restore deep connection to their bodies, integrating the mind & body in recognizing and processing imbalances and lasting patterns that no longer serve them—on physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual levels. She blends her knowledge of neurobiology and psychology with spiritual and holistic models of understanding, drawing on attachment theory, Internal Family Systems, interpersonal neurobiology, polyvagal theory and Five Element Theory to create expansive space for her clients to heal. She found this work after surviving two life-disrupting injuries and it changed the course of her life, personally and professionally, allowing for greater self-growth possibilities than she could have ever imagined at the outset. She invites you to discover the ways in which somatic work might lead you into new, unexpected and beautiful territory.
The modalities she practices incorporate dialogue, active imagination, movement and emotional processing to disrupt unhelpful patterns and create new possibilities. She looks forward to the chance to work with you.
My Training
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McKinnon Body Therapy Center, Oakland, CA, 2015 to 2019
Completed the 500 Hour Massage Therapy program, which included: Five Element Acupressure, Shiatsu, Deep Tissue, Anatomy & Physiology, Trigger Point Therapy, Swedish massage, Touch & Trauma, and Healing with Essential Oils
Certified Massage Therapist in California (#78101)
Licensed Massage Therapist in Hawaiʻi (#17109)
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Upledger Institute, 2016 to 2021
CranioSacral Therapy 1 with Eric Moya in Sedona, AZ
CranioSacral Therapy 2 with Luvia Jane Swanson in Asheville, NC
SomatoEmotional Release 1 with Melinda Rowland in Vancouver, BC
SomatoEmotional Release 2 with Stan Gerome in Vancouver, BC
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Somatic Experiencing International, 2020 to 2024
Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner
Beginning Levels 1 to 3 with Dave Berger and Ariel Giarretto (Asheville, NC and Berkeley, CA)
Intermediate Levels 1 to 3 with Ariel Giarretto (Berkeley, CA)
Advanced Levels 1 & 2 with Dr. Abi Blakeslee (Bozeman, MT)
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Vital Psychedelic Training, Psychedelics Today, March 2023 to March 2024
Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Integration; one year training with a focus in harm reduction, preparation and integration, and several frameworks for interpreting and supporting the psychedelic journey experience
8 day training in facilitating journeywork for non-ordinary states of consciousness in Costa Rica, Jan 2024
6 day training in facilitating psilocybin journeywork in Jamaica, Sept 2023
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Implicit Dreamwork Training with Dr. Abi Blakeslee, Idyllwild, CA, June 2024
Specialization that uses Somatic Experiencing as the foundation; a novel way of working with dreams that weaves in Implicit Psychotherapy findings and strategies for listening to the body and the psyche to explore, interpret and integrate dream content across symbology, archetypes, shadow work and more.
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Masterclass in Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield, Summer 2024
A hands-on course in the dynamic art of Interactive Guided Meditation, with theory, demonstrations, case studies and clear practices for supporting healing and transformation
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Mental Health First Aid Certification, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Sept 2022
Certificate in emotional crisis response skills, made possible through funding from Vibrant Hawaiʻi, the nonprofit leading the Resilience Hub we participated in at Kalani Retreat Center on the Big Island
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Continued education in complex trauma theory & practice:
Trauma Coupling Dynamics with Kathy Kain, Jan 2023
NICABM Advanced Master Program on the Treatment of Trauma
NICABM The Trauma of Racism
NICABM Expert Strategies for Working with Traumatic Memory
NICABM Practical Strategies for Working with Deep-Seated Resentment
NICABM Helping Clients Undo Patterns of Pleasing & Appeasing
NICABM Strategies for Healing from Patterns of Gaslighting & Manipulation
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Kelly’s love of writing, creativity and complex problem solving, as well as her original conditioning toward a conventional life path, led to her earning a B.S. in Marketing with a minor in Psychology from Virginia Tech and later a M.S. in Mass Communications with a specialization in Strategy from VCU Brandcenter.
She's worked in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hawaiʻi over the past 16 years across a mix of advertising agencies, tech companies and nonprofits before calling Joshua Tree, California home. Some brands she's worked on include PAX, California Department of Public Health, LEGO, Google, Smartwool, Kona Brewing and Kalani Retreat Center. She has been self-employed for 9 of those years which has given her freedom to align her values to the projects she takes on, which this past year has spanned regenerative medicine, mental health, compassion research, new technology and craft whiskey.
She redirects these skillsets toward helping her clients explore internal conversations, visualize new possibilities and access their creativity to open doors in stuck places.
Commitment to broadening accessibility:
I am able to provide trauma-informed work, and welcome those who live with anxiety, depression, PTSD and Complex PTSD, and other forms of mental illness, since many of these impact the embodied experience. I believe a holistic approach to wellness is essential and should be accessible to those who need it most. While living in Oakland, I volunteered at a holistic clinic for women with cancer from low income backgrounds. While living and working at Kalani Retreat Center on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi I offered sliding scale sessions to our low income and LGBTQ+ community. Here in Joshua Tree, I continue to offer sliding scale options for those who otherwise may not be able access this work.
Hawaiʻi Board of Massage Therapy #17109
California Massage Therapy Council #78101
Insured through Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP)
Member of International Alliance of Healthcare Practitioners (IAHP)