Welcome. I’m Dawn.
As a board-certified clinical hypnosis practitioner, parenting support specialist, and educator, I create collaborative, attuned, and playful spaces that support people to make meaningful change.
I look through the lens of the nervous system and neurobiology to uncover and heal the effects of stress and habituated protection responses.
As a parent, artist, and museum & mindfulness curator, I believe in the power of the imaginative space as a source for vitality.
I bring unique experience to my work:
-
As a museum leader, educator, and meditation facilitator I curated award-winning, transformative experiences and installations inspired by sacred art and Buddhist and Hindu concepts. At the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC, where I was head of programming for over a decade, I had the honor of collaborating with meditation greats such as Sharon Salzberg, Tara Brach, and Lama Rod Owens, among many others. In this role, I also led organizational culture change and oversaw educational offerings for all ages.
-
As a parent, I understand that connection is key and behavior is communication. I have first hand experience with neurodivergent children, multiracial family identity work, nontraditional family structures, trauma recovery, foster care, and adoption. Parents, caregivers, children, and families thrive with group and individual support.
-
As an artist, dancer and theater maker, I have had a life-long relationship with the imaginative space as a source for vitality and the sensory body as a barometer of truth. I believe we are all creative in our own ways, and that creativity is a source of empowerment.
My approach & qualifications
I am a board-certified clinical hypnosis practitioner, parenting support specialist, and educator (CHP, M.S.Ed.) certified by the National Guild of Hypnotists and the International Association of Counselors and Therapists.
I also use tools from Internal Family Systems, polyvagal theory, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, mindfulness and meditation, somatic practices, Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Parents & Children (DBT-C), Ross Greene’s collaborative problem solving approach for families, Shauna Cummins’ Wishcraft and more.
I hold a Master of Science in Education from Bank Street College of Education’s graduate leadership program. At Bank Street, I specialized in adult learning and development, which I returned to Bank Street to teach to graduate students as an adjunct professor. I also hold a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
As a parent I have worked with kids who are bold and tender, sensitive and intense, and incredibly creative and loving. I have first hand experience with children who are in trauma recovery, have ADHD, learning disabilities, clinical anxiety, are autistic, and have experienced foster care and adoption. Partnering with them has been one of the most important learning experiences of my life.
Equity
In my work as a white, neurotypical practitioner, coach, and educator, I think it’s important to grapple with questions about equity and inclusion, especially around power, privilege, and spiritual bypass.
Here are some ways I am thinking about these ideas in relation to my practices.
Ethics & the hypnosis experience
Are you interested in the history, ethics and efficacy of hypnosis?