Hi, I'm Julie.
I believe that healing happens when we feel safe enough to slow down, become curious about our inner experience, and reconnect with the wisdom of our bodies.
Many of the people I work with have spent years trying to understand themselves and change patterns that no longer serve them. They may know where their anxiety, self-doubt, disconnection, or overwhelm comes from, but still feel stuck in the same reactions.
These experiences can be connected to childhood abuse or neglect, harsh training in organized sports or academia, generational, cultural, or religious patterns, or traumatic events. You may find yourself stuck in fight, flight, or freeze, struggling to feel worthy of love, or feeling anxious and overwhelmed even when you understand why you feel the way you do.
Understanding our history is important—but sometimes insight alone isn't enough.
I believe a body-based approach to therapy can help us gently explore what has become stuck in the nervous system. Through Somatic Experiencing®, I help clients connect with what is happening inside: noticing sensations, emotions, thoughts, impulses, and patterns with curiosity and compassion.
About Me
I grew up doing ballet, where I learned to strive toward a narrow definition of what was considered beautiful. Eventually, I found modern dance and discovered a deeper appreciation for each person's unique expression and way of moving through the world.
Before becoming a therapist, I spent 20 years working with people who had experienced significant trauma in the child welfare system. That experience deepened my passion for helping people uncover—and become comfortable with—their own unique expression of themselves, especially after experiencing childhood trauma.
I believe that healing is not about becoming someone else or fitting into someone else's definition of who you should be. It is about discovering who you are and finding greater freedom to live as yourself.
Outside of my work, I love spending time outdoors in Colorado, gardening, and petting my fluffy cat.
What therapy with me looks like
First, we'll build connection and safety. I'll provide understanding and space for you to feel seen and supported.
I may invite you to slow down and bring your attention to the present moment—to notice what is happening in your body, emotions, and thoughts. Together, we will develop curiosity about your inner experience and gently explore what comes up.
We’ll move at the pace of your nervous system. Change takes time, and I believe therapy is most effective when you have space to develop new experiences of safety rather than feeling pressured to move faster than you are ready to go.
Over time, we can begin to loosen old patterns and stories about yourself and your past while developing new pathways that feel safer and more supportive. We will work with the feelings, sensations, behaviors, thoughts, and meanings connected to what you are experiencing.
I draw from Somatic Experiencing®, Internal Family Systems (IFS), mindfulness, trauma-informed therapy, and solution-focused approaches. I tailor the work to you and your unique needs.
Through this process, you may begin to feel more centered and connected inside yourself. You may discover new ways of relating to your emotions, your body, your relationships, and your life.
For me, embodiment means being more fully connected to yourself—to your inner experience, your wisdom, and your capacity for safety, ease, and joy.
See my FAQ page for more about the modalities that I use.
More about my training
Julie Preston Schilling, LCSW
Colorado License #00000745
Background:
BFA Dance, BS Psychology -University of Utah MSW - University of Denver
Somatic Experiencing ®(SE®) Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing International Training Assistant (current)
Specific recent trainings: Somatic Experiencing International - Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine - Treating Trauma Master Series, Making Mindfulness Work, Expert Strategies for Working with Anxiety; PESI - IFS Immersion: Integrating Internal Family Systems (IFS) Across Clinical Applications, Certified Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Professional Training, Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing, Step by Step; The Center for Self-Leadership - IFS Online Circle, Foundations of the IFS Model.