• Families, specifically children and parents - I give help and strategies to help parents work with God's design. I have done extensive work and study into the developing child's brain. I am informed Biblically and I integrate neuroscience research by Dan Siegel in The Whole Brain Child. I help parents to understand what is happening in their child's brain when big emotions are running rampant. I help them to be the calm, steady force and parent with their child's brain in mind. I also help children to understand what is happening when they get overwhelmed and work with them on coping strategies to calm down and understand their big feelings. I help parents to parent their children how Jesus parents us.
• Individuals who are navigating loss, grief, trauma, and major life transitions - Together we explore the loss, pain and hurt and uncover the resilience and hope that can grow out of grief. My approach is gentle, helping clients move through pain. I provide an empathetic, attuned and honest presence where their story can be processed safely. I help clients understand their internal world, regulate their nervous system, and reconnect with the parts of themselves that trauma has silenced. Watching clients reclaim their voice and sense of identity in Christ is one of my greatest privileges. 
• Individuals integrating their faith into their healing - For those who desire it, I create space for spiritual reflection, prayer, and Biblical truth at the core of the therapeutic process. I value the integration of faith and psychology and support clients in listening for God's truth in their story.

Sonja is a Christian therapist who specializes in working with children and families, parenting, trauma recovery, betrayal, grief and loss, identity development, and faith. Her therapeutic approach is relational, psychodynamic and attachment based. She incorporates attachment theory, somatic approaches, mindfulness, CBT, DBT, psychoeducation, sand tray therapy, and family systems modalities.

Sonja earned her undergraduate degree and teaching credentials from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has her Masters of Arts in Counseling from the Townsend Institute at Concordia University. Previously, Sonja was a teacher for 25 years, working with children and adolescents from Kindergarten to 12th grade.

Outside of the therapy world, Sonja enjoys fitness, nutrition and exercise, healthy cooking, meaningful conversations, time in nature, surfing and skiing.

By Phone or Text: +1 (858) 376-7850

By Email:  sonja@restoreandrebuildcounseling.com

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