A bit about me

Hello, I’m Eula Lys (pronounced “oi-lah leese”).

I’m a therapist because I believe in the healing strength of being with: Being with our feelings, our present moment experience, and each other. So often, we walk through life feeling alone and disconnected. Therapy is a place for you to feel and experience change, and to not be alone in navigating the hard and scary parts.

In addition to what you might think of when hear the words “talk therapy,” I also incorporate art, movement, and mindfulness into our sessions. I view my clients and myself as co-collaborators in the therapy process, and work with you to create a space that feels supportive for change.

I view therapy as a form of activism, and invite us to explore how systems of oppression affect our lived experience.

I take a non-pathologizing approach, honoring the strategies that got you to this moment, and supporting you as you unfold into your authentic self.

My Values

I center your lived experience in our therapy, but because therapists are not blank slates, here are some identities and values to help you land with me:

I’m non-binary and trans, and use they/them pronouns. I came out as trans in my mid-30s, and have navigated the process for gender affirming surgeries. I’m white, with German and Norwegian ancestry.

I believe in: land back and rematriation of indigenous land, Black Lives Matter, trans rights are human rights, harm reduction, mutual and direct aid, poly, kink and sex positivity, disability justice, anti-Zionism,anti-capitalism, critical race theory, sex work is work, and anti-carceral care.

We do not need to agree on our values to work together. In the therapeutic space your goals are centered. I believe in cultural humility and ongoing learning/ re-learning for myself. I believe that my clients are the the experts on their lives and lived experiences and define their own goals, and that my role ranges from support to collaboration. I strive to create a space that holds intersectionality, examine isms, power and privilege, and acknowledgement of intergenerational trauma and resistance.

I have experience in advocacy, social work and animal welfare. Prior to becoming a therapist, I spent years working as a humane dog trainer, and still love working with and rescuing fearful, senior dogs.

I lived in the Bay Area (San Francisco and Oakland) for 14 years, and now live abroad.

Me With You

The field of psychotherapy has a long lineage of colonization, and has historically not met the needs of many communities, particularly the BIPOC, queer and trans communities. While I honor the teachings and teachers who have guided me along the way, I also hold that most westernized healing frameworks, including many listed below, are appropriated from traditional indigenous healing practices, including somatics, storytelling, mindfulness, and movement.

As a human, I hold your cultural and relational needs as my primary focus. We collaborate together, holding your humanity above any particular modality. As a clinician, the below modalities and professional trainings inform my work:

Relational Somatic Healing: A modality that aims to heal relational and developmental trauma, helping folx develop and experience healthy secure relationships within themselves and outside the therapeutic setting

Internal Family Systems: A collaborative model that uses a parts work lens to heal trauma

Experiential Therapy: A form of therapy that uses present-moment awareness to foster new reparative and healing experiences in session

Emotion-Focused Therapy: An attachment-focused method of therapy for relationships that fosters connection and new, positive cycles of interaction

 

A little more about me

For many years, I worked in animal rescue and animal welfare in the Bay Area, including Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco. As someone who has loved and lost two senior dogs over the past several years, I understand the pain that comes with losing a companion animal. If your loved one passed over the rainbow bridge, you are not alone. This space will honor your grief and support you in your journey.