About Masa Holle
My Compassion For Those Who Are Suffering Inspires Me In My Practice Today
My path to becoming a therapist was a long and winding one. As a child, I was very sensitive and curious about the world around me, in which I saw love, beauty, and splendor alongside death, cruelty, and suffering. I came to discover the possibility that we can live in harmony with these oppositions when we discover that what lies beneath all of our experience, our consciousness, never changes.
From an early age, I felt profound compassion for those who were suffering and a deep desire to alleviate their pain. I chose to become a therapist later in life, completing a formal education in psychology in my forties. Early on in my studies, I became fascinated by the relationship of the body and psyche and how they subtly affect one another. All of my work in psychotherapy is based on this relationship.
In my counseling practice today, I specialize in working with grief, trauma, codependency, and the healing of spiritual wounds. One of the focal points of my work is helping you understand how your life is informed by your early experiences. It’s difficult to navigate day-to-day life carrying the negative beliefs and ways of thinking—many of them implicit—formed when you were young. It takes work to free yourself from these burdens, but you don’t have to do the work alone.
In my counseling work, my hope is that I can lighten the burdens carried by your body and mind and help you experience greater inner freedom. As Marion Woodman, a well-known Jungian analyst, wrote: “A life truly lived constantly burns away veils of illusion, gradually reveals our essence, until, at last, we are strong enough to stand in our naked truth.” This quote sums up the core of my approach. My purpose as a therapist is to lessen your suffering and help you become who you really are.
It’s important to invite every part of yourself into the healing process. I want to help you be present with all of your experiences and find compassion for yourself in this presence. By befriending yourself, you can experience newfound openness to every part of yourself and unlock deeper wellsprings of potential and creativity. I am confident that strengthening your relationship with yourself can help you find peace in the midst of your struggles.
Who I Am
I am a native San Franciscan who now lives high in the Rocky Mountains of western Colorado. I am a lover of nature and the deep peace it brings me. I enjoy all of the arts, in particular music, which never fails to sustain me. After studying dance, art, and music for many years in my youth I spent two years at San Francisco State University as a piano major. I love a wide array of genres, in particular classical, jazz, and soul. As an adolescent in San Francisco during the 1960s, I had the privilege of attending many concerts in the midst of the wonderful explosion of music at that time.
My other loves are family, friendships, and travel. I am a voracious reader, a student of books, and a lifelong learner. I am constantly astounded and humbled by the mystery of existence. If you want someone with whom to embark on your healing journey, I would be honored to work with you.
Masa Holle received her bachelor’s degree in Buddhist/Western Psychology at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado and her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology through Lesley University of Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is certified in Integrative Body Psychotherapy and Jin Shin Jyutsu, a form of gentle and effective acupressure. She worked for several years in addictions at a woman’s halfway house in Boulder, CO. Her most recent studies have been in the field of trauma counseling, where she has been trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Her curiosity has led her to take many adjunctive workshops in EMDR and other trauma-focused modalities.
Marion Woodman (2001). “Coming Home to Myself: Reflections for Nurturing a Woman's Body and Soul”, p.93, Conari Press