Meet Verdell

Verdell Jessup is a Somatic Experiencing & Developmental Trauma Specialist, in addition, is trained in the Feldenkrais Method. Verdell works primarily with the Autonomic Nervous System and the Vagus Nerve to help the Nervous System become more regulated through somatic touch work.  She lives part-time in Vancouver and in Kamloops, BC, Canada. For the past nine years she has worked with hundreds of individuals both in-person at her private practices and via Skype.

Unlike most holistic health practitioners or wellness coaches, Verdell specializes in a relatively untapped part of our complex human system – our Nervous System. Verdell is trained in the treatment of developmental trauma, nonverbal trauma, PTSD, adverse experiences, dysregulated nervous systems, attachment disorders/conditions, depression and anxiety, as well as in healing painful or mysterious body syndromes including pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, insomnia and chronic fatigue syndrome. She also has experienced a lot of success treating digestive disorders such as IBS, constipation, or gastroenteritis, as well as working with kids diagnosed with ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and children on the Autism Spectrum.

Verdell works with people of all ages, including new borns and infants. If you’re ready to work on the deep level of your nervous system so you can feel more calm, more alive, and better connected to yourself and others – contact her today to talk about a starting a personalized healing program that suits you. Click here to get started.

“Knowing oneself comes from attending with compassionate curiosity to what is happening within.”

Dr. Gabor Maté
“Everyone should consider his body as a priceless gift from one whom he loves above all, a marvelous work of art, of indescribable beauty, and mystery beyond human conception, and so delicate that a word, a breath, a look, nay, a thought may injure it.”
Nikola Tesla

My Story

Since I was young, I have been passionate about understanding the impacts of our thoughts and actions on ourselves. I consider myself an individual who helps people learn to heal, and who has an ability to help those who are suffering and struggling. I truly love what I do. My goal is to help individuals and communities reduce the compounding impacts of stress and trauma, and mitigate the debilitating nature of their resulting disease and illness.

My dedication and interests have led me to live abroad in various countries to expand this knowledge and to immerse myself in the art of healing. In particular, I have been drawn to mountainous cultures and countries as places where I can understand how to be fully present and engaged.

I was very fortunate to have trained under incredible mentors in the three highly regarded modalities of Somatic Experiencing (SE), Somatic Touch and the Feldenkrais Method. As a result I use my skills in both trauma counselling and mobility improvement with a wide range of people. Furthermore, I am constantly reading and learning about healing modalities, neurobiology, mental health as I believe that we must treat individuals as whole beings, which includes more than just moving well and releasing stress and trauma from the body.

When I first started to work on myself it was as though I was a frozen chunk of ice, lacking all emotion. My friends would have described me as even-keeled, with no emotional highs or lows, no pure joy or no pure sadness. It took my mother dying to realize that I needed help to start to learn how to thaw and become more alive. I am so thankful that I found SE; it has changed my life.

As an individual who works with bodies, I recognize that moving is life. Moving effortlessly is something very few people ever really master. We spend our infancy exploring surfaces and the environment that supports us. We learned to make the movement reversible, thus returning to our initial starting point. It is that simple and it requires very little effort. In order to improve or change our movement patterns, we must first discover how we move. It is really quite simple and brilliant at the same time. The Feldenkrais Method is an apprenticeship with yourself in learning how to learn. My responsibility and challenge is to pique your curiosity and to expand your movement repertoire.

My Professional Training

Training & Modalities

Somatic Experiencing® Professional Training, 2009-2010

Foundation for Human Enrichment, Boulder, Colorado, USA; Hoskinson Consulting, California, USA. Trainer: Steven Hoskinson.

Somatic Experiencing® Post-Advanced Level Master Classes, 2010-2013

  • Eye of the Needle 1 and 2 Master Class. Working with near-death experiences and anesthesia states. October 2010 & March 2011. Trainer: Peter A. Levine, PhD, founder of Somatic Experiencing®
  • Memories and Emotions Master Class. March 2012. Trainer: Peter A. Levine, PhD, founder of Somatic Experiencing®
  • Somatic Touch – Touch Skills Training for Trauma Therapists. September 2012 through August 2013. Trainer: Kathy Kain, founder of Somatic Practice – 3 modules
  • Somatic Touch – Somatic Resilience and Regulation (SRR) March 2014. Trainers: Kathy Kain, founder of Somatic Practice, and Stephen J. Terrell, PsyD, SEP – 6 modules
  • Aggression, Depression, Triumph and Breath Master Class. February 2014. Trainer: Peter A. Levine, PhD, founder of Somatic Experiencing®
  • Transforming the Experience-Based Brain (TEB) 4 modules in 2018 & 3 modules in 2019. Trainer: Stephen J. Terrell, PsyD, SEP
  • The Somatic Trauma Healing Immersion. Ergos Institute of Somatic Education and The Embody Lab. Feb 29 – Mar 4, 2024. Presenters: Peter A. Levine, Dr. Gabor Matte, & Dr, Bessel vanderKolk – San Diego, CA 
  • Eye of the Needle 1 Master Class. Working with near-death experiences and anesthesia states. May 16-20, 2024. Trainers: Ian Macnaughton & Joshua Sylvae

 

Professional Feldenkrais® Teacher Training, 2009-2012

Jeff Haller, PhD. Inside Moves LLC, Washington, USA; Learning Matters Ltd., Victoria II Accredited Training Program, British Columbia, Canada.

Professional Trainings

  • Esoteric Acupuncture – Intensive Foundation Training October 2015. Trainer: Mikio Sankey, Ph.D., LAc
  • Biosonics Sound Healing Training October 2016. Trainer: Dr. John Beaulieu
  • Biogeometry – Foundational Training and Advance Training 2016-2018. Trainers: Doreya Karim and Dr. Robert Gilbert
  • Healing your Relationship with the Masculine Training April 2024. Trainer: Lorin Krenn

Academic education

Bachelors of Tourism Management 2001-2004
School of Tourism, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.

Certificate Adventure Studies, 1998-2000
School of Tourism, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.

Certifications

Certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner
Foundation for Human Enrichment

Feldenkrais® Practitioner

Feldenkrais Guild of North America

The Feldenkrais Method

I believe that the unity of mind and body is an objective reality. They are not just parts somehow related to each other, but an inseparable whole while functioning. A brain without a body could not think.

– Moshe Feldenkrais | Founder of the Feldenkrais Method

 

This transformative method will help you create new neural pathways (neuroplasticity) so you can move more efficiently, improve physical limitations, have more energy, reduce chronic body tension and pain, and gain a better awareness of yourself through movement and thought.

Feldenkrais clients can range from high performance athletes, dancers, musicians, actors, seniors and the elderly, infants, toddlers and children born with developmental challenges, and patients recovering from stroke(s), neurological deficiencies, cerebral palsy, torticollis, spinal injuries, whiplash, multiple sclerosis, and many other debilitating conditions.

Below is a video created by a colleague that sums up this method beautifully:

Somatic Experiencing

What I do know is that we become traumatized when our ability to respond to a perceived threat is in some way overwhelmed. This inability to adequately respond can impact us in obvious ways, as well as ways that are subtle.

– Peter A. Levine | Founder of Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a form of trauma or resolution therapy which is based on releasing energy, sensations and/or pain resulting from trauma or injuries. This kind of therapy is highly beneficial to anybody who has developed chronic pain, autoimmune symptoms, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) years after a traumatic accident or event.

I’ve also had a lot of success treating people who have undergone surgeries, been in a car accident, become injured while playing sports, suffered from fibromyalgia, eating disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, frozen shoulder, early childhood development disorders, and/or child abuse.

Watch the video below to get a better understanding of this incredible method:

My Views

Our minds have the ability to heal, but they also have the ability to create disease in the body.

 

We must be careful what we spend time thinking about. Our minds are very powerful. Spending our time on positive thoughts is a worthwhile cause. This is where a mindful practice may be highly beneficial. This practice can be as simple as going for a walk alone or turning off all technology for 20 minutes to lie on the floor to tune into our own body and thoughts.

I feel that our societal well-being is influenced by technological advances: computers, television, video games, genetically modified foods, and a drastic influx of wireless and electromotive force (EMF) in our homes and in the outdoors. These can compound and often affect our health and livelihoods. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of clean air and reduction of chemicals in our environments and under our sinks. Toxins are invading our lives through our food sources, the water we drink and the air we breathe.

I like to incorporate whole food eating and nutritional education into my life, in addition to being physically active and spending quality time outside in nature with friends and family. Food and nutrition are so important – we are what we eat.

I continue to pursue advanced trainings to further my knowledge and understanding of the human body and mind, while continuing to be my authentic self.

I make a conscious effort to avoid being willfully blinded; knowledge is power! I spend time educating myself by attending courses and retreats and by discovering excellent resources available in books, videos, websites, online forums, and the work of other specialists.