Winter is coming! Ondina’s Fall/ Winter Ezine 2018

‘Therapy Bytes’ Quarterly

~ for the Therapy Savvy + Therapy Curious Reader

In This Issue


“I Have Trauma? No Way!”

As a therapist I hear this statement frequently, and yet in my experience, most people have at least some degree of trauma lodged in their nervous system. Big traumas, like rape and war, will remain in our conscious awareness and are generally acknowledged by society as traumatic. However, there can also be smaller and more insidious traumas that, although they might have happened long ago, still affect us in our everyday lives. These traumas often lie just below our conscious awareness. They can be harder to pinpoint but they still have far-reaching effects on our quality of life, such as compromising our sense of safety in the world or our ability to relate to or trust others.

These more insidious traumas will often run us from behind the scenes. Traumas that go undetected and undiagnosed can have long-term detrimental effects on many aspects of our life. Or they can simply feed an ongoing sense of worry or hopelessness that hums in the background. A hum that we’ve grown so accustomed to that we consider it normal.

Read rest of the article


The New Science of Safety ~ Taming Your Inner Lizard

By Michael Westgate, NMT

In this article, my friend and colleague Michael Westgate attempts to give a summary of the groundbreaking and extremely complex Polyvagal theory. Not an easy task!

He makes this groundbreaking research accessible and explores how this new understanding of our nervous system can boost our ability to navigate through life more effectively and improve our resilience to stress as well as that of loved ones and community.

Read Michael’s Article Here

About Michael

Michael helps his clients live a vibrant and pain free life with Trigger Point Therapy and Neuromuscular Re-Programming He’s also certified in Neurokinetic Therapy and Nemerov Method. His practice has been voted ‘Best Sports Medicine Clinic’ In Marin County!

Visit Michael’s Website


The Astrology Eye

Happy Fall Equinox! Today the light and dark are of equal length. It is a pleasant day of balance and connection. A good time to connect with what you love and those you love.

This has been the Summer of retrogrades! 6 Planets + 1 Asteroid all moving in reverse means it has been a Summer of frustration and delays for many.

Here are all the retrograding planets with dates:

  • Mercury Retrograde (ended on August 18)
  • Mars Retrograde in Capricorn (ends on August 27)
  • Saturn Retrograde in Capricorn (ends on September 6)
  • Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn (ends on September 30)
  • Neptune in Pisces (ends on November 24)
  • Chiron in Aries (ends on December 9)
  • Uranus Retrograde in Taurus then Aquarius (ends in January 2019)

This much retrograde energy makes it hard to start anything new or get things off the ground. Instead it’s been an excellent time to slow down, find closure (in whatever part of your chart the retrogrades are happening) or retreat, revise, revamp…. You get my gist? Anything that starts with “re-“ is well aspected!

With Pluto in retrograde it’s an excellent opportunity to look at those habits, fears or patterns that zap your power center and keep you from living your fullest life. When it moves forward on Sept 30th you have a chance to release old baggage and move past those things or people that have been holding you back. Look at where Pluto is in your chart to see in what area of your life the plutonian energies of death, rebirth and transformation are at work.

Finally don’t forget the full moon in Aries this Monday 24th! Be warned that with the Moon squaring Saturn the fiery energy of Aries will be curtailed and this could lead to grumpiness or explosions for some. Breathe! And harness the equinox energy of balance to see you through.


Ondina Nandine Hatvany, MFT

Ondina assists traditional, alternative and queer couples with an approach that combines the latest discoveries in neuroscience with powerful and effective developments in couples research. She uses an approach called Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to help her couples get past blame and shame to a place of more understanding, trust and intimacy.

As former Director of the Eating Disorders program at the Community Institute of Psychotherapy Ondina advocates a Health at Every Size (HAES) approach that empowers women to befriend their bodies.
Ondina works with trauma/ abuse survivors using EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing,) hypnosis and somatic (body mindfulness) psychotherapy techniques with a high effectiveness rating.

Finally as a somatically trained psychotherapist and former yoga teacher, one of the ways she can assist you to make lasting changes is to foster body mindfulness. She uses somatic psychotherapies such as Hakomi and Somatic Experiencing to facilitate transitions and shifts that last.

Feel Free to call for a free initial phone consultation on Ondina’s confidential office line (415) 381-1065 or e-mail: Ondinah@gmail.com


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