Zara Drapkin Psychotherapy

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

07/01/2024

New offering!!