Zara Drapkin Psychotherapy

01/14/2026

Sleep is meant to be a time when our bodies restore, rejuvenate, and repair.

But for many folks I work with—those living with chronic pain, complex trauma, or anxiety—sleep can feel anything but restful. It can be difficult to quiet the mind, calm the body, or not get consumed by inner pain (whether physical, mental, or both). For these folks, sleep rarely feels restorative.

Many have been told about sleep hygiene over and over again—by friends, family, doctors, and the internet. And while those tools can be helpful, you cannot out-hygiene a nervous system that does not feel safe.

In therapy, we focus on bringing nervous system regulation into the wind-down process. We work with ways to gently defuse from racing thoughts, bring calmness—or even just okayness—to a dysregulated body, and develop tools to work with nightmares when they’re part of the sleep disruption cycle.

Sleep is deeply impacted by physical pain, trauma, and emotional pain. And at the same time, sleep is a crucial part of the healing process. This can be a sticky, painful battle—but there are tools that can create shifts and help reclaim rest as restorative.

If this is a battle you’re fighting, it may be worth reaching out for support that goes beyond the simple (and still healthy) sleep hygiene tips that are regurgitated everywhere. There are more tools out there—and you don’t have to fight this alone. 💜💜

10/13/2025

Many years ago, after surviving a traumatic accident and beginning the long journey of recovery from a major surgery, a friend gave me this card (first image). It spoke of Kintsugi — the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold.

Rather than discarding what’s broken, Kintsugi honors the cracks, filling them with gold and transforming them into something beautifully whole again. It’s a practice — and a philosophy — that invites us to embrace our flaws, our breaks, and the imperfect moments of life as part of what makes us whole.

Over a decade later, I still have that card. Its message continues to guide me — personally, in my work with clients, and in how I move through the world.

Recently, while in Kanazawa — a city renowned for its craftsmanship and gold — I had the opportunity to take part in a Kintsugi workshop. It felt like a full-circle moment, connecting my own story of healing to this timeless practice of repair, resilience, and beauty.

08/20/2025

✨ Our bodies carry so many stories. Some are heavy with pain, grief, and trauma. And at the same time, our bodies also hold stories of strength, resilience, growth, and courage.

This retreat is an invitation to reclaim the stories our bodies hold—through art, movement, and connection with nature. 🌿

🌀 The Retreat Experience

Together, we’ll weave expressive arts, somatic (body-based) practices, and eco-therapy into a half-day retreat designed to help uncover, transform, and reclaim your body’s stories. Guided meditations, creative expression, and collaborative practices will support you in connecting with your body and the Earth in new ways.

You’ll leave with creative tools, practices, and a deeper sense of choice, autonomy, and connection.

✨ Details

Co-facilitated by two therapists (myself & )

Trauma-informed + inclusive space

All materials provided (just bring yourself + light snacks)

Open to all folks 18+

This is a space for honoring both the pain and the resilience we carry, and for stepping into new narratives with care and creativity. 💫

08/03/2025

Living in a body with chronic pain can often lead us to disconnect from it—dissociating as a way to cope. This protective response makes sense; when pain is overwhelming, it can feel like the only way to survive is to mentally check out. But over time, that disconnection can grow, leaving us feeling cut off not just from our body—but from our life, our relationships, and ourselves.

Many people come to therapy looking for support in navigating pain—whether it’s physical, emotional, mental, or all of the above. Often, they’re caught in a cycle: either feeling completely disconnected from their pain (and life), or overwhelmed by it and unable to feel anything else.

In my work with clients living with chronic pain or illness, a central part of the healing process is learning how to be with pain in a new way. Not to erase it—but to make space for it without letting it take over everything.

This is not easy work. Personally, it’s taken me years of mindfulness practice, somatic work, and art therapy to cultivate this capacity. And even now, it’s an ongoing practice.

I support my clients in finding tools that help them drop into their bodies and reconnect. Pain may still be present—but it doesn’t have to be everything, always.

For me, nature is one of the most powerful portals back into presence. When I step outside—especially into places like Yosemite—I become aware of the textures, colors, smells, and sounds. I feel grounded. I remember that I’m part of something bigger than my pain.

These photos I’m sharing were taken on film during a recent trip to Yosemite. When I look at them, I can still feel the settling in my nervous system that happened just by being there.

What helps you be present with pain?
What supports your system when you’re suffering?

For some, it’s nature. For others, it’s art, creative expression, animals, or connection with others. There’s no single path—but finding what helps your body soften and settle is essential.

And if you’re struggling to find it on your own, please know you don’t have to. Support matters. You don’t have to walk the path alone.

07/17/2025

Join us!

This half- day retreat blends expressive arts, body-based (somatic) practices and nature/eco therapy to create a space to uncover the stories our bodies hold and tell and reclaim new and transformed ones.

Building on these themes in the natural world of cycles of destruction and regrowth/ regeneration, we will gather the wisdom of our body’s pain/ trauma stories and uncover where we want to shift and reclaim the narratives we’ve carried in relation to them.

The retreat will include guided visualizations/ meditations, expressive arts exercises, somatic (body-oriented) practices, space to process internally and in small groups, and collaborative creating. Through this retreat, participants will explore our interwoven connection to the Earth and their bodies / embodiment and will leave with creative tools and practices to deepen into the process of claiming/reclaiming our bodies’ stories—from a place of choice, autonomy, and connection to others with shared and distinct lived experiences.

All materials will be provided- bring yourself and light snacks, and let the rest unfold before you.

This is a trauma-informed, co-facilitated and therapeutic space, held by two therapists. It is not intended to take the place of individual or group therapy. This retreat is open to all folks 18 years and older. We aim to create an inclusive space for all bodies, abilities, genders, sexual orientation, race, and culture.
Sign up here- bit.ly/earthbodies25

02/26/2025

“The opposite of depression is expression. What comes out of your body will never make you ill. What stays in there will.”
- Dr. Edith Eger

11/25/2024

MEDICAL TRAUMA - As someone who lives with chronic pain and chronic illness and someone who works with this population, I think this is an important thing to highlight and bring attention to.

I’ll start by sharing a little bit of my own history. In my medical chart, under the “problems list” among the various health issues I have, is something called “white coat syndrome”. This is the medicalized way to note I have medical trauma. For me, this meant that due to experiences in medical settings where I was dismissed and a glaring health issue was misdiagnosed and therefore ignored, my body learned to not feel safe in medical settings. It meant every time I entered a medical setting, my blood pressure would get significantly elevated.

My story is like that of many of the clients I work with. Medical systems can be deeply traumatic for folks with chronic health issues. Folks can develop medical trauma from traumatic interactions with the medical system due to traumatic medical procedures, new diagnoses, and from negative interactions with healthcare professionals in medical settings. We don’t talk about this enough...

While I can’t change the healthcare system- though I wish I could- I work with my clients who have medical trauma in the same way I work with any person walking in my door with trauma. In addition to reprocessing the trauma, I work with folks to access their own sense of power, personal agency and sense of having a voice. I work with folks to trust their body, trust themselves, and feel less alone in the system. Medical trauma impacts many and if you relate to this at all, know your experience is real, your pain is valid, and you don’t need to hold it alone.

11/24/2024

“I make art to show my soul that I’m listening”
-Pat Wiederspan Jones

10/28/2024

We can create such tangles of thoughts and stories in our heads and they can bring profound suffering. Much of therapy- at least in how I approach it- is about defusing from our thoughts and stories, connecting to our body, and having the ability to step forward rooted in our personal values and from a place of curiosity and compassion. This all sounds nice and lovely, but it’s a HARD practice. I call it a practice because we return to it time and time again.
Sometimes I find myself getting pulled into the tangled stories. When I catch myself, I practice using art as a way to observe my experience and as an opening for another way to engage. I like to bring in process based materials like alcohol inks and intuitive collage making. Art therapy can be a great tool to defuse from our thoughts and stories and bring an engaging curiosity to what we are experiencing.

09/19/2024

As the weather turns colder and the days lose sunlight, the change in seasons provides an opportunity for us to look inward and reflect on our own shadows. In this multi-modality workshop, we will explore in contained and mindful ways how we can turn towards our shadow selves. Led by a board-certified dance therapist and art therapist, this 1.5 hour workshop combines somatic movement and art-making to help us explore and process parts of ourselves that tend to stay hidden below the surface. You will experience practices where you can embrace discomfort and fear in a loving and compassionate way, which leads to a more integrated sense of self.

This experiential workshop is not intended to serve as therapy but to explore themes in a therapeutic way.

All materials will be provided but if you have favorite art or writing supplies, please feel free to bring them. To respect the movement space, no clay will be allowed.

For more info email zara@zaradrapkin.com or lisa@lisamanca.com

08/07/2024

https://www.lisamanca.com/blog/all-about-art-therapyguest-blog-with-zara-drapkin

had fun sharing about art therapy here

Guest blog for somatic therapy San Francisco written by Zara Drapkin, MA, LCSW

07/02/2024

NEW OFFERING-
A wellness retreat for those living in young bodies with chronic pain / chronic illness