Here's how we use the ACES Model to make self care actually feel good...
Assess
your needs, desires and goals in a supportive and non-judgmental way.
There is no ideal starting point as everyone starts in a different place.
It’s here that we first discuss familial, cultural and societal factors at play and any possible physical and emotional access needs that require extra support and care.
your needs, desires and goals in a supportive and non-judgmental way.
There is no ideal starting point as everyone starts in a different place.
It’s here that we first discuss familial, cultural and societal factors at play and any possible physical and emotional access needs that require extra support and care.
Cultivate
a care plan with measurable and achievable goals that challenge you without harmful tactics like shame. We work together to support you through the ebbs and flows with compassion and gentleness. Goals depend on what you need and where you're at.
Expand
your body mobility and peace of mind through the Mindful Movement for Misfits methodology including yoga, gentle movement, somatic awareness, reflection/writing, mindfulness, nature based practices, seasonal themes, simple art making, peer support and my own lived experience. Together, they and we foster greater harmony between body, mind and spirit. This step involves unapologetically listening to the parts of yourself you were taught to ignore and actively taking up space in your body.
your body mobility and peace of mind through the Mindful Movement for Misfits methodology including yoga, gentle movement, somatic awareness, reflection/writing, mindfulness, nature based practices, seasonal themes, simple art making, peer support and my own lived experience. Together, they and we foster greater harmony between body, mind and spirit. This step involves unapologetically listening to the parts of yourself you were taught to ignore and actively taking up space in your body.
Shift
from fighting yourself to exploring your relationship with yourself, your needs and the world around you. Shift from white supremacist culture and capitalist characteristics of overconsumption, people pleasing, perfectionism and control to freedom, self compassion, joy and pleasure.
from fighting yourself to exploring your relationship with yourself, your needs and the world around you. Shift from white supremacist culture and capitalist characteristics of overconsumption, people pleasing, perfectionism and control to freedom, self compassion, joy and pleasure.
If healing and spiritual spaces leave you feeling worse, Mindful Movement for Misfits is the space for you. We do connective, caring and healing work together so that you can...
- Center into your body and move towards your greatest desires without additional striving and fixing
- Divest from diet culture, fatphobia and perfectionism to find a place of acceptance for all that you are including the witchy, weird, neurodivergent, queer, chronic illness, mental illness, PTSD and/or fat identities you may hold
- Create a personalized care plan based on what you need (not based on a one size fits all method)
- Stop fighting your body and see it as your friend (or at least a thing you don't totally loathe)
- Cultivate safety in your body and build capacity for being with difficult feelings
- Dismantle oppression one radical act of self love at a time
Meet Your Companion and Guide
I’m Caitlin Doherty (she/her) - a small-fat neurodivergent mentally and chronically ill cis-gender queer white woman with PDA (pathological demand avoidance) who loves birding and creating art. I have managed and continue to manage some dark and heavy stuff, while still somehow finding the joy in the mundane. The natural world, cycles/seasons, and astrology greatly influence my work, and grief, liminal spaces and the dark places we find ourselves in have a special place in my heart. I am committed to learning, listening, messing up, repairing and learning some more, and creating spaces that are kinder, gentler, trauma-informed, more inclusive and less violent for all beings.
Training/Certifications/Work:
Lived Experience:
Guides/Mentors:
I love Kelly Diels' note about crediting folks - which I echo. "Important to note: just 'cuz I mention someone's work does not mean we know each other. It doesn't mean they even know I exist nor does it mean that they like me or approve of my work. Nor does it mean I endorse them unequivocally or that they endorse me. It means that there's a particular cultural thing that I'm trying to talk about and an idea or project of their's is relevant and I want to give credit where credit is due."
I’m Caitlin Doherty (she/her) - a small-fat neurodivergent mentally and chronically ill cis-gender queer white woman with PDA (pathological demand avoidance) who loves birding and creating art. I have managed and continue to manage some dark and heavy stuff, while still somehow finding the joy in the mundane. The natural world, cycles/seasons, and astrology greatly influence my work, and grief, liminal spaces and the dark places we find ourselves in have a special place in my heart. I am committed to learning, listening, messing up, repairing and learning some more, and creating spaces that are kinder, gentler, trauma-informed, more inclusive and less violent for all beings.
Training/Certifications/Work:
- 200 hour yoga teacher certification program - RYT 200 (2020)
- Accessible Yoga certification (2020)
- Yoga teacher in accessible yoga studio setting, in person and online (2021-2022)
- Intro to Somatic Experiencing (2022)
- Embodying Racial Justice, a somatics based course (2022-2023)
- Yoga and movement therapist in eating disorder clinic (2023-current)
Lived Experience:
- Diagnosed ADHD in late adolescence/early adulthood, individual counseling and therapy since 2016, personal mindfulness meditation and yoga practice since 2016, couple's coaching and counseling with partner since 2019, Embodied Emotional Support work with a somatic depth psychology practitioner, personal movement and mindfulness practice since 2016, diagnosed binge eating disorder in early adulthood (in recovery since 2020), diagnosed with PMDD, anxiety and depression, family system of emotional neglect and narcissistic abuse (lineage with physical, emotional and sexual abuse), cycle breaker, family estrangement, personal somatics and self attachment practice since 2022, participant of Creative Care for Neurodivergent Folks series (group based art therapy), late identified self diagnosed autistic and PDA adult
Guides/Mentors:
- adrienne maree brown
- Shauna Kaendo
- Tracee Stanley
- Dara Silverman
- Mary Oliver
- Carmen Spagnola
- Heather Walker
- Kelly Diels
I love Kelly Diels' note about crediting folks - which I echo. "Important to note: just 'cuz I mention someone's work does not mean we know each other. It doesn't mean they even know I exist nor does it mean that they like me or approve of my work. Nor does it mean I endorse them unequivocally or that they endorse me. It means that there's a particular cultural thing that I'm trying to talk about and an idea or project of their's is relevant and I want to give credit where credit is due."
Mindful Movement for Misfits is committed to helping you connect to, care for and take up space in your body, on your terms, so you can move towards more of what you desire without striving and fixing.
What people are saying about their experience...
"Through this work I'm remembering that my body is my vessel for living life and it doesn't have to be a certain way (like pretty, or ageless/youthful, or like a sleepless-doing-work-machine.) It's not here to be perfect, it's just here to let me live and have experiences and perceptions in this short life. Even with a chronic pain condition, there are ways, through this work, that I found that movement CAN be good for me."
-Arti
"Caitlin’s work is truly radical and transformative. Through working with her I have been able to find a connection and peace with my mind and body that I never thought was possible. The messages I received throughout my life were that my body’s purpose was to please others through body standards that caused me tremendous harm, and that my mind’s job was to be productive. I am just now learning that I have the right to feel pleasure and rest, and to have a relationship with my body and mind that are not based on fixing or punishing. I know this is a journey that will continue for the rest of my life. Along with the sense of liberation has been grief at the years I’ve lost trying to fit into a mold that wasn’t me. My only wish is that I had found Caitlin and Mindful Movement for Misfits sooner."
- Angela
"What an absolute magical experience to work with Mindful Movement for Misfits. Caitlin brings a comfort and ease that I’ve never experienced, in a beautiful space for community to come together mindfully and in full practice to hear our bodies needs and move accordingly."
-Juanita
Options for one-on-one work...
Drop-In Session: for folks needing just one session to reset, get started or check in with themselves. The investment for drop-in sessions is $100 per session.
3 Session Package: for folks wanting to maintain or refresh this work in their lives, or for those wanting a smaller investment. This package includes (3) 50 minute sessions to be used within four months of purchase. The investment for this package is $300 in full or two payments of $150 (other payment plans available).
3 Month Package: for folks who are doing this work for the first time, or for those who desire more time and support. This package includes (2) 50 minute sessions each month over three months. The investment for this package is $600 in full, two payments of $300 or three payments of $200 (other payment plans available).
Packages include:
Additional and flexible payment plans are available. Please let me know what you need and we can work to find something that works for both of us. If working with me is cost-prohibitive to you I offer reduced rate sliding scale options. No one, who wants to engage with this work, will be turned away for lack of ability to pay. Please include this information when reaching out to me or when scheduling a call. Physical and emotional access needs are welcomed, kept confidential and accommodated whenever possible.
Drop-In Session: for folks needing just one session to reset, get started or check in with themselves. The investment for drop-in sessions is $100 per session.
3 Session Package: for folks wanting to maintain or refresh this work in their lives, or for those wanting a smaller investment. This package includes (3) 50 minute sessions to be used within four months of purchase. The investment for this package is $300 in full or two payments of $150 (other payment plans available).
3 Month Package: for folks who are doing this work for the first time, or for those who desire more time and support. This package includes (2) 50 minute sessions each month over three months. The investment for this package is $600 in full, two payments of $300 or three payments of $200 (other payment plans available).
Packages include:
- 50 minute sessions for you to check in about where you're at, share your desires/access needs for our time together and notice what is shifting for you. During these sessions we'll make use of a variety of self care, embodiment, reflection and mindful movement practices, that I think will meet you where you're at that day. These can be aimed at helping you tune into your body, move your body or process emotions on a deeper level. Sessions will look a bit different each time, depending on what you need and your preferences.
- A compassionate space in which to be witnessed and to express your desires by tuning into your body, as it is, without changing a thing. We'll work together to meet you where you are and be open to the possibility that things and needs change. We'll check in often about how things are feeling. Consent, boundaries and communication will be at the forefront of our work together, informing everything we do.
- Unlimited support between sessions to hold space for processing, receiving support and staying accountable to yourself between sessions (because there's so much that happens between sessions and you don't have it go it alone). Depending on your needs, you'll have choice in the frequency and format for checking in whether it be text, voice messages, a messaging app or email.
- Downloadable Mindful Movement for Misfits journal for you to assess where you're at, cultivate personalized goals, try out different care practices and reflect often on your experiences. At the end of our time together you'll reflect on all that you've explored and notice shifts that are starting to take place in your life. You'll have a chance to decide how you'd like to move forward and how/if you'd like to keep this work relevant in your life.
Additional and flexible payment plans are available. Please let me know what you need and we can work to find something that works for both of us. If working with me is cost-prohibitive to you I offer reduced rate sliding scale options. No one, who wants to engage with this work, will be turned away for lack of ability to pay. Please include this information when reaching out to me or when scheduling a call. Physical and emotional access needs are welcomed, kept confidential and accommodated whenever possible.
What someone had to say about their experience:
“Before my first session with Caitlin, I'd been feeling more tension in my body than usual, resulting in pain along my spine, neck, and jaw. Daily meditation used to keep my stress at bay, but it’s not been helpful lately, so I wanted to be more intentional about bringing movement into my day.
I’d never had a 1:1 movement session before, so I thought it might feel too intense to have all that attention on me, but it felt really supportive. Caitlin has a really calm, grounding presence. I appreciate that she gave me full permission to do what I needed to do even if it meant answering her questions with "I don't know" or moving a different way than what she'd suggested.
When I come to these sessions feeling tired, I feel more awake afterward. I also find that I feel more grounded and present. I have a doable way to calm the spinning thoughts in my mind. I'm writing this about a week after our first session and still feel relief from that pain and tension.
I’d recommend working with Caitlin to anyone who has trouble turning off their work brain at the end of the work day or who finds meditation too challenging but still wants the benefits.”
- Karyn
© 2023 Caitlin Doherty Wellness, LLC. All rights reserved.