Acupuncture & Relational Somatic Therapy

A place for what didn’t have space until now.

Start your journey

Karrin Cheifetz

Licensed Acupuncturist & MFT Trainee (under supervision)

Oakland, California

You’ve been holding everything together for a long time.
People rely on you.
From the outside, you look steady.
Inside, something is tired.

Maybe you feel anxious, shut down, or always bracing.
Maybe you go numb.
Maybe you cannot quite feel yourself when you are with others.

You learned to stay strong by leaving your body.
To perform connection, even when you were not home inside.

I offer acupuncture and relational somatic therapy for nervous systems shaped by complex relationships and chronic stress.
We slow down.
We follow your body’s signals.
We make room for the feelings that once had to be pushed aside.

Not to fix you.
To help your system feel safe enough to soften.
To let the parts of you that went quiet come back toward contact.

Over time, you feel less reactive and less collapsed.
Your body stops scanning for danger in every direction.
You no longer have to abandon yourself to stay connected.

Needs register.
Signals return.
There is more space to feel without crashing.

You learn to stay with yourself, even with others.

What Begins to Shift

When your nervous system feels safer, you don’t have to work as hard to hold everything together.

You may notice:

  • less bracing in your chest or jaw

  • fewer shutdowns when things get close

  • clearer signals about what you need

  • more room to feel without crashing

  • the ability to stay present in conflict

  • rest that actually restores you

Instead of disappearing to stay connected, you learn to stay with yourself.

These changes are subtle at first.
Over time, they become how you live.

My Approach

I work at the intersection of the body, the nervous system, and relationship.

Some people come to see me for acupuncture to support pain, fertility, stress, trauma-related symptoms, or nervous-system regulation.

Others work with me through relational somatic therapy, where we slow down, follow the body’s signals, and gently unwind the survival patterns your nervous system learned early on.

You’re welcome to choose either path.
You don’t have to combine them.
What matters most is that you feel safe and supported.

Underneath both approaches is the same philosophy: your body carries what your mind has had to manage.

When we listen closely, the system begins to settle.
And when the nervous system settles, more becomes possible.

My work is collaborative, consent-based, and paced with your capacity.
We don’t force anything.
We stay curious about how your body learned to survive, and what it might need now.

Whether we’re working with needles or with relationship, the goal is the same:
more space inside, more access to feeling, and less pressure to hold it all alone.

Feel more.
Stay with yourself.
At a pace your body can trust.

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When the nervous system is carrying too much:

Anxiety, overwhelm, and irritability
When emotions show up all at once, or not at all.

Grief, heartbreak, and big life transitions
When old wounds open during change.

Chronic stress, burnout, and nervous system dysregulation
When your system can’t find “off.”

Insomnia, fatigue, and survival-mode living
When your body stays alert, even when you want to rest.

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    Targeted high quality Chinese herbal formulas

    Carefully sourced synergetic blends of botanical medicine—powerful ancient combinations that harmonize your body’s resources to anchor your spirit and better handle the demands of modern life

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    Somatic Acupuncture

    Somatic acupuncture quiets the survival responses that keep you bracing.
    When the body softens, there’s more room for contact, rest, and connection.

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    Relational Somatic Therapy

    Relational somatic therapy helps you stay with yourself in moments when you would normally shut down, numb out, or disappear. We follow sensation and move at the pace your nervous system can trust. Over time, your body learns there is room to feel and connect without leaving yourself behind.

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    Hypnopuncture

    Hypnopuncture combines acupuncture and hypnotic guidance to shift your system out of survival mode. When the body feels safe, patterns that once held you together can soften, and more capacity becomes available.

Tell me More

You’re ready for more than surface level healing.

  • A gentle, no-pressure conversation where we get to know each other and explore what you’re seeking. It’s a chance to ask questions and sense if working together feels like a good fit for your healing journey.

  • 60 minute in person session / $150

    A full acupuncture session to support your nervous system, ease tension, and help your body settle. We focus on what feels most present that day, offering space for rest, regulation, and relief.

  • 60 minute in person session / $200

    A gentle acupuncture session paired with soothing hypnotic guidance that invites you into a state of deep relaxation. In this safe inner space, you can release old patterns and reconnect with yourself.

  • 50 minute in person or telehealth session / $70

    A therapy session that works with the places where you lose contact with yourself. We track your body and nervous system as feelings and connection come closer, building the capacity to stay present with yourself and with others.

  • 50 minute in person or telehealth/$70

    75 minute in person or telehealth/$100

    90 minute in person or telehealth/$125

    A session to help you communicate more clearly, soften defensiveness, and understand each other’s needs. We follow emotion and sensation, not blame, and create space for honest connection.

Book
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“Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.”

— bell hooks

Contact us.

The information on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical, mental health, or other licensed healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician, mental health provider, or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical or psychological condition.Do not ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you have read on this website. Reliance on any information provided here is solely at your own risk. No practitioner–patient or therapist–client relationship is created by your use of this website or by interacting with any of its content.Statements about herbal or nutritional supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.Psychotherapy services are provided by Karrin Cheifetz as an MFT Trainee under the supervision of Natalie Webster, LMFT, License # 126065

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