Therapy for Performing Artists: Rediscover your authentic voice
In-person in Waterbury, Vermont and Online across Maryland & Vermont
I work with creatives who feel caught between who they want to be and who society showed them they have to be.
This often manifests as perfectionism, imposter syndrome, rejection sensitivity, performance anxiety, and low self-confidence.
It’s not that you’re broken.
These patterns make sense when you’ve spent years learning to measure your worth through other people’s expectations while repeatedly putting your most vulnerable, authentic self on display.
Whether your art is your main gig, side gig, or a long held dream, I offer you a space to untangle the messages you’ve internalized and rebuild trust in your own intuition.
My clients are:
Artists | Musicians | Poets
Writers | Dancers | Singers
Therapists | Psychologists | Nurses
Theatre Performers | Actors
Creative Humans of all Walks of Life
Performing Artist Clients
Come To Me When:
They are tired of trying to “fix” themselves
Self-criticism runs high, no matter how much they accomplish
They feel stuck, wishing their life was different
Panic and anxiety run the show, every decision feels like walking a tight rope
Emptiness now fills the space where creative inspiration once lived
They’ve endured complex relational trauma or sexual trauma that continues to hijack their life, no matter how much talk therapy they’ve received
They want a therapist who can truly understand their experiences as a creative and highly sensitive being
Somatic Trauma Therapy & Music-Centered approaches Help You Work Not Only With Your Brain… But Your Whole Being.
You’ve likely spent years agonizing over times you fell short, measuring yourself against competitors, and anticipating when the next shoe will drop. This pressure may even have stopped your creative pursuits altogether.
Therapy is where we slow down and make space for your full experience. Together, we’ll look at what’s beneath the frustration, anxiety, and burnout to understand what’s really going on. My somatic, trauma-responsive, and creative approach helps you heal at the source- not just manage the symptoms.
Shame, creative burnout, and feeling disconnected from your emotions often has roots in early experiences… and not just the ones connected to performance and training.
Together, we’ll uncover your deeply held beliefs and the patterns that shaped how you relate to yourself, your creativity, and the world around you. I’ll help you heal and re-build feeling more aligned and compassionate towards yourself and your art.
Frameworks We’ll Use In
Somatic Trauma Therapy
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Strengthen emotion regulation and distress tolerance.
This body + mind approach helps you slow down and learn to work with your nervous system signals to understand and cope with intense emotions. Reducing urgency and reactivity so you feel more capable and grounded in daily life.
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Listen deeply and learn to respond in realtime to your own needs.
While music speaks the language of our emotions and body, the imagery and memories it evokes are how we understand its message.
This creative, empowering, music-centered approach focuses on using your own creativity and relationship with music to help you build greater attunement to your inner resources. It was founded out of early research in psychedelic assisted treatments. The main concept is music can be used in the same way a drug can be, to help you have a deeply spiritual and transpersonal experience targeted at supporting you in meeting your own emotional needs. Healing moments of misattunement that have occurred in relationship to others.
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Re-process trauma held in the body & mind.
This technique, born out of EMDR, is an experiential approach that works with your brain and body’s natural capacity to process and release what may still feel stuck- often reaching places that traditional talk therapy can’t. No need to find the perfect words, this focuses on your relationship with yourself and works through the neurological & biological systems connecting your field of vision to your limbic system.
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Rebuild your relationship with yourself.
This approach helps you conceptualize your inner world as a system of parts. Helping you understand and work with your inner world to soften inner judgment and realign inside. Building grace, patience, and respect for the brain and body you have.
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Understand how relationships shaped the way you relate to yourself and others.
We explore how early relationships, family dynamics, and experiences of connection or disconnection shaped your beliefs about who you are and how safe it feels to be fully yourself. Together, we’ll help you build more authentic, mutually supportive relationships.
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Untangle your authentic-self from the expectations placed on you.
We explore cultural messages, power dynamics, and expectations around gender, success, creativity, and identity that have shaped the way you move through the world. Together, we’ll make space for your own values, desires, and definition of success.
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Understand how early relationships shaped your sense of safety and connection.
We explore how your early experiences taught you what to expect from relationships and how those experiences may still influence the way you seek approval, navigate conflict, set boundaries, and respond to rejection. Together, we’ll create new experiences of safety, trust, and connection that allow you to relate to yourself and others with greater ease.
Therapy for Performing Artists
With Results
After therapy with me, clients report:
Less shame or self-criticism
Calm and clarity, even in the face of triggering situations
A greater sense of connection with their authentic voice and creative instincts
Feeling steadier in emotions and less overwhelmed by stress
Confidence in their decisions with no need for second-guessing
Relationships that feel easier to maintain without the insecurity and overwhelm that used to come with communicating a personal boundary or taking up more space
Fulfilled in their life, choices, responsibilities, and communities
They stop asking, “Am I enough?” and start embracing their unique talents, capacity for output, and potential.
LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor), LCMHC, & Nationally Board-Certified Music Therapist | she/her
Hi there.
I’m Alison Dagger, a somatic therapist for creatives, performers, and healers in Maryland and Vermont.
I believe that recovery from complex trauma, chronic anxiety, and imposter syndrome is possible - and that you are not defined by what happened to you, but by who you are.
I want to help you make peace with experiences of the past, reconnect with creativity, and feel more grounded, authentic, and fully yourself.
If you seek a calming, genuine, and kind presence to guide you on your healing journey, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome.
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
What makes me qualified to support you?
MA, Lesley University, Boston, Clinical Mental Health Counseling & Music Therapy
BA, Goucher College, Baltimore, Music Performance (Flute)
7+ years of experience as a trauma-responsive, music-centered, somatic therapist
Licensures
Trained in creative & embodied approaches to trauma recovery, including Brainspotting and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
You’re not alone. I understand because I’ve been there too. And your creative self isn’t lost- it’s just out on an extended coffee break.
Ready to begin your healing journey?
1) Click here to view my availability & book your first session. A brief screener will help me begin getting to know you.
2) Once I approve your request, I’ll reach out via email to introduce myself and see if you have any questions. You will receive paperwork, to be completed at least 24 hours before the session.
If needed, I am happy to hop on a brief call to answer any questions.
3) We’ll meet for your first session. I’ll introduce myself, explain my approach, and ask you questions. We will build a care plan that reflects your top priorities.
Moving forward, both of us will commit to a consistent schedule with intention and purpose.