Meet Gabby Rivas-Field

Who I Am

I’m Gabby, a trauma-informed somatic psychotherapist working with adults who are navigating relational and emotional difficulties—the kind that often live quietly beneath the surface but shape everything.

The therapeutic relationship is the most important part of this work. Trauma can be isolating, confusing, and lonely; it leaves us feeling out of control, powerless, and helpless. I’m here to collaborate with you to create a space where you feel seen, heard, and understood.

If you are a woman navigating Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and find that your mood, cognition, body, and identity are severely impacted before your menstrual cycle, check out my PMDD Therapy specialty page. I offer cycle-informed and holistic support to help with stabilization.

My Approach

My work is experiential, relational, and somatically grounded. I move slowly, curiously, mindfully, and collaboratively, helping clients build and develop the capacity to stay present with their internal experience in ways that feel safe enough and resourced. I don’t believe my clients are broken or in need of fixing. Our behaviors aren’t personal flaws; they are wise, adaptive, and intelligent responses, and there’s a wisdom behind every one of them.

Your body may be gently nudging you toward somatic therapy, guiding you toward deeper healing after years of talk therapy. You may have made real progress yet still feel stuck in patterns that don’t quite resolve. That’s often the body asking to be included in the conversation.

My hope is to cultivate a space where you can find your way back to yourself, a sense of empowerment and belonging, security in yourself and your relationships, and a return to the natural intelligence of your mind, body, and soul when met with enough care, patience, and attunement. My own healing journey informs my work with deep empathy, humility, and respect for the wisdom of every nervous system.

I work with individuals of all genders and provide a neurodiversity-affirming space.

ARE WE A GOOD FIT?

Clients often come to me when they struggle to say no or set boundaries. They feel ashamed around making mistakes, being vulnerable, having needs, or simply existing and taking up space. They move through the world burdened by people-pleasing, perfectionism, self-judgment, self-criticism, and a persistent sense of unworthiness—a quiet belief that healthy relationships, rest, or good things are not meant for them. 

Growth happens at our edges. When we meet challenges without pushing past them or pulling away, we teach the nervous system that intensity is safe at a pace that feels right for you. We expand through presence, not effort.

My work focuses on:

• Attuning to the wisdom and language of your body, nervous system, relational patterns, and survival patterns while building the capacity to stay present with your internal experience in ways that feel safe enough and resourced
• Cultivating self-compassion in place of self-criticism, self-judgment, and self-blame
• Processing and integrating grief, trauma, and the parts of yourself that have been hidden or stayed small
• Strengthening your relationship with yourself and others through feeling more secure and building trust so you can live an aligned, authentic, and empowered life
• Better understanding your needs and desires (they are legitimate and important!) rather than putting others first to maintain peace or gain approval

We may be a good fit if you:

• Believe that you are fundamentally flawed 
• Overthink, mentally loop, and struggle to create lasting change
• Desire deep connection with yourself and others, yet finding yourself running from it or avoiding it, perpetuating loneliness
• Tend to ignore your emotions or feeling emotionally blocked or numb
• Struggle with a strong and loud inner critic
• Often feel rejected, embarrassed, shy and/or humiliated
• Feel guilty when saying no and want to build self-trust and self-respect
• Sense a deep fear that connection, safety, or love will suddenly disappear

MY HEALING JOURNEY

From a young age, I learned to shrink, adapt, and hide parts of myself to belong. Between kindergarten and my freshman year of college, I attended ten different schools, creating a persistent sense that relationships, environments, and routines were temporary and uncertain. Being the “new girl,” constantly adapting to unfamiliar environments, and struggling to feel a sense of belonging felt deeply destabilizing and contributed to a chronic sense of unrootedness. I became highly skilled at being a chameleon, often molding myself to fit the expectations and dynamics around me while lacking a grounded sense of self. 

Living with complex post-traumatic stress shaped how I moved through the world from a place of shame and fear. My healing journey has helped me understand the body as both a place of pain and a place of profound wisdom. I know what it’s like to live in a chronic state of survival mode—flailing and disconnected from myself and purpose while longing for safety, connection, ease, and authenticity. I lived in my head, numbed myself from feeling through alcohol, substances, and partying, and avoided years of accumulated grief from childhood and adolescence. 

From a young age, movement has been a way for me to process, cope, and regulate. In 2015, I found yoga, which profoundly changed my life. At the time, I didn’t realize that my yoga practice was helping cultivate the mind-body connection my nervous system had always longed for. I taught yoga for five years and witnessed, both in myself and in my students, the therapeutic impact of breath, movement, and posture. That experience eventually led me to pursue a master’s degree in somatic psychotherapy, where I could study the body, trauma, and nervous system more deeply.

BEYOND THERAPY

Outside of therapy, I enjoy spending time in nature, reading (I’m a big fan of Kristin Hannah), strength training, practicing yoga, cooking, snowboarding, dancing, attending concerts, and spending time with my pup, Ellie, and my husband. I love nerding out and learning different trauma modalities through trainings, podcasts, and books. 

My community brings me a deep sense of joy, play, and balance. Healing continues to be an important part of my life through both self-study and my own therapy, and I value deepening my connection to myself and living in greater alignment.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me and my work. I know reaching out for support can feel vulnerable, and I deeply value the trust it takes to begin this process. I’d be honored to support you on your healing journey as we work collaboratively toward helping you feel more connected, grounded, and at home within yourself. I invite you to schedule a consultation so we can explore whether we’re a good fit to work together.

Curriculum Vitae

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Prosopon Therapy — Somatic Therapist
June 2024 – January 2026

Naropa Community Counseling — Clinical Intern
May 2023 – May 2024

Naropa Community Counseling — Clinical Practicum Student
March 2023 – May 2023

Yoga Instructor- May 2015 – October 2019

EDUCATION

Naropa University (Boulder, CO) — MA, Mental Health Counseling (Somatic Psychotherapy)
May 2024

Suffolk University (Boston, MA) — BS, Business Administration (Entrepreneurship)
December 2013

CERTIFICATIONS / TRAININGS / WORKSHOPS

• 300+ Hour Certified Yoga Instructor
• Diversity, Culture, and Psychedelics — Chacruna Institute (cultural humility, equity, inclusion in psychedelic-assisted therapy contexts)
• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
• Auricular Acupuncture Technician (AcuDetox)
• Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Externship
• Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga
• Strategies for Supporting Individuals with ADHD
• Parts Work for Memory Reconsolidation
• Motivational Interviewing for Mental Health Professionals (person-centered approach to ambivalence and change)
• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Level 1 Training

PRESENTATIONS

• Trauma Sensitive Yoga — Online presentation for Wonder Yoga teacher training (June 2021, Arlington, MA)
• Enhancing Body Psychotherapy: Using AcuDetox as an Adjunct Therapy — In-service for Naropa Community Counseling (April 2024, Boulder, CO)