Meet The Team
Work with me and my team 1:1 to connect back to yourself, regulate your emotions, and start to understand that you make sense. Working together in a 1:1 capacity prioritizes your healing to offer you specialized and unique support that is catered to you and what you are needing in the healing process. Our 1:1 work is rooted in safety, curiosity, and respect in which we use both top-down and bottom-up modalities to slowly untangle the ways in which your past shows up in your present day life. Clients will learn how to add more secure attachment to their life, accumulate tools to ride the waves of their emotions, and begin to feel safe in their bodies so they can make empowered choices in their life.
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a team of TRAUMA TRAINED SOMATIC practitioners
Hi! I’m Lauren Rasmussen.
I am a trauma trained somatic practitioner who specializes in complex trauma, disordered eating & nervous system regulation. I have a degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Behavioral Neuroscience. I am also currently working towards my second degree, a masters in Counseling Psychology. I have advanced training in the NeuroAffective Relational Model for Complex Trauma, Somatic Attachment Therapy, Inner Relationship Focusing, Attachment Theory, Polyvagal Theory, & Internal Family Systems. I also hold certifications in Intuitive Eating, Body Image in a Clinical Practice, Holistic Nutrition, & am a 500 hour E-RYT YACEP Yoga instructor. I am a multi-passionate practitioner who utilizes a combination of resources to help support clients through creating mental and emotional wellness.
If we put my professional career aside, I am also a human. My work is deeply rooted in my personal mission and what I have walked through in my own life. On my Instagram platform, @laurenrasmussen_, I share bits of my own story with the intention to remind others that they are not alone. Because healing can feel really, really lonely sometimes.
I work with clients from all walks of life to help them reclaim their bodies and create a life that they feel safe living. No matter what they’ve been through, no matter who has hurt them, and no matter how hard they’ve been on themselves–they deserve to heal. This is my life’s work, and I’m more passionate about it than anything in the world.
Lauren Rasmussen
Trauma Trained Somatic Practitioners
Founder, Trauma Trained Somatic Practitioner
AVAILABILITY | Please fill out the application to learn about how you can work with Lauren.
SPECIALIZATIONS | Complex Trauma, Disordered Eating, Somatic Attachment, Parts work, Nervous System Regulation
(she/her)
AVAILABILITY | Please fill out the application to learn about how you can work with Lauren.
SPECIALIZATIONS | Complex Trauma, Disordered Eating, Somatic Attachment, Parts work, Nervous System Regulation
I’m Suneeta Johnson but you can call me Sunny. I use she/her pronouns. I specialize in self advocacy, boundary setting & values based work with a foundation in empathy & recognition. I utilize elements of healing & trauma practices throughout all of my work with clients. I’ve been coaching within the personal growth world for 14 years. I really starting to hone in on trauma informed and counselling techniques for the last 5 years in my social work practice, meeting and working with Lauren as a mentor through her 1:1 coaching over the last year.
I hold a BA in Child and Youth Care Counselling with a specialization in Child Protection, and have just recently completed my MA in Counselling Psychology. I also have certifications in First Nations Social Work Delegation Training through the Aboriginal Perspective Society, Mental Health First Aid, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention.
I believe that each client is the expert in their own life experiences. Having been in the field of Social Work for 8 years, I have a passion for social justice and supporting equity and equality among people of all walks of life. I strive to guide clients through, any part of their healing journey, with empowerment and gentle support. Clients who work with me can expect to come to a safe space to process their life with the option to work through a variety of counselling techniques but ultimately, I will always meet client wherever they are in their journey and comfort level.
Outside of work, I am a heterosexual, cisgendered female, Canadian born to Fijian Indian/Australian settler parents. I acknowledge that I live and work on the unceded and traditional territory of the sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), sc̓əwaθenaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsawwassen), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) and S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō) First Nations people. I am a wife and fur momma to two orange tabby cats (Emry and Murphy) and one high energy Golden Retriever (Charlie).
Suneeta Johnson
Trauma Trained Somatic Practitioner
AVAILABILITY | Tuesdays & Fridays
SPECIALIZATIONS | Body neutrality & Internalized Fat Phobia, Disordered Eating, Complex Trauma, Pre & Postpartum Mood Regulation, Self Advocacy & Boundary Setting with Specialization in Systematic Environments
(she/her)
Suneeta Johnson
Trauma Trained Somatic Practitioner
AVAILABILITY | Tuesdays & Fridays
SPECIALIZATIONS | Body Neutrality & Disordered Eating, Complex Trauma, Self Advocacy & Boundary Setting with Specialization in Systemic Environments
(she/her)
Hi! I’m Emily Bitz. I’m a trauma-informed practitioner at The Simplest Self. I have a degree in Psychology where my course load focussed on Developmental Theory & Counselling Psychology. I am also a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN).
I consider myself to be a multi-passionate human! To further my educational background,
I am also beginning a Trauma Informed course in Somatic Trauma Therapy, where I am eager to learn about trauma practice even further.
I have previously worked in practice with many clients who saw amazing growth through boundary setting, self-awareness, and improved coping skills. I find this work deeply rewarding. Besides my hands-on experience, I have spent hundreds of hours reading scientific and theoretical based books on topics including developmental trauma, relational trauma, and nervous system work.
Overcoming my own personal challenges growing up made me realize my life’s work was to help others. Life can be better, and I am here to help guide you on your path to healing.
In my personal life, I used to be an avid traveler. Now I love to read books, cook, study herbalism, hike, and spend time with my friends and family. I now love to embrace my true-homebody self!
You can see more about me on my Instagram account @emily.bitz
I am so excited to join the Simplest Self and grow with the team!
Emily Bitz
AVAILABILITY | Mondays & Fridays
SPECIALIZATIONS | Food Freedom, Relationship Anxiety, Self-Worth, Somatic Attachment, Trauma
(she/her)
Emily Bitz
Trauma Trained Somatic Practitioner
AVAILABILITY | Mondays & Fridays
SPECIALIZATIONS | Food Freedom, Relationship Anxiety, Self-Worth, Somatic Attachment, Trauma
(she/her)
Emily is currently being mentored and supervised by Lauren.
Trauma Trained Somatic Practitioner
Hi! My name is Nikki Byster. I’m a holistic health practitioner and I take a mind-body approach to healing, both personally and professionally. I have my Bachelor’s degree in Science and Nursing. I worked as a nurse in the hospital setting for 6 years before I transitioned to helping people heal with a more holistic approach in 2019. After leaving the hospital setting, I went on to study yoga, bioenergetic medicine, reiki, trauma, and everything I could about holistic health and mind-body healing.
I have been on my own healing journey for years, and everything that I walk my clients through, I have personally walked through myself.
I believe great healing comes from gaining a deep understanding of our internal world, and reconnecting with our body in a way that feels safe. From here, we are able to develop a sense of compassion for ourselves, and agency over our lives, consciously responding rather than unconsciously reacting.
Through my own healing journey, I have found that the majority of our symptoms and suffering can be traced back to a dysregulated nervous system, which stems from trauma or chronic unrelenting stress. I believe that learning how to work with our nervous system is foundational to mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Everything I guide my clients in is through the lens of the nervous system, and I’ve found it to be highly impactful and effective.
Outside of work, I love to make music. I sing and play the guitar and drums. I love to read, write, and spend time in nature. The beach, mountains, and woods are three of my favorite places. I’m a new mommy as of March 2023, and my baby girl is my greatest joy at the moment.
If you’re interested in connecting or following along my journey, you can follow me on Instagram @nikkibyster
Nikki Byster
AVAILABILITY | Tuesdays & Fridays
SPECIALIZATIONS | mind-body healing, somatics, trauma, nervous system regulation, fostering self-compassion, creating self-awareness, emotional intelligence
(she/her)
Trauma Trained Somatic Practitioner
Administrative Team
Crystal is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor who focuses on body-image healing through an anti-diet lense. As a former professional dancer and fitness studio owner, Crystal's own journey began steeped in diet-culture, with body image and self-worth entangled in both her personal and professional approach to health. Through years of self-study as well as working with clients from all walks of life, she has grown passionate about sharing the Intuitive Eating framework and helping others shift from a weight-health paradigm into a Health At Every Size (HAES) mentality in order to pursue a more peaceful and aligned relationship with food, mind, and body.
Since first discovering The Simplest Self in 2019, Crystal has always been drawn to Lauren's mission of providing the most supportive Trauma Informed Care. She is both honored and excited to be working with Lauren and The Simplest Self team.
Crystal Sovay
Client Support Specialist
As the Executive Assistant, Sarah has had the pleasure of working with Lauren and The Simplest Self behind the scenes since 2020. She regularly gets to support the passion and care that continuously pours into this practice.
Outside of this community, Sarah works as a freelance digital video editor, videographer and photographer. She is the owner and creator of Solay Creative Media, working with various industries including arts entertainment and recreation. You can often find her hiding behind a camera, editing in the back of her '98 Honda Cr-V or cheering on a live drag show. Sarah identifies as a queer, cisgender woman who lives and works on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) [kwee-kwet- lum], Semiahmoo (semi-ah-moo) and sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen) [tsa-wah-sen]) First Nations.
Sarah Lay
Executive Assistant
Crystal is the face behind the emails when you first book a discovery call and helps you find the right practitioner to work with. She is here to support you throughout the onboarding process. We are very lucky to have her expertise and look forward to you being able to receive support from her!
Sarah is the lead behind the scenes. She is in charge of all support of our website, app and scheduling. She edits all videos, creates all the supplementary exercises and diagrams, and essentially helps Lauren with basically everything! She ensures the team at The Simplest Self is supported so they have the space to be with clients. We are incredibly lucky to have her on our team!
Monita is one with the numbers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from BCIT, and is currently working towards her CPA. Outside of the office, she spends her spare time reading suspense thriller novels, listening to true crime podcasts and attending hot yoga classes.
Monita lives and works on the traditional, ancestral and unceded shared territories of the ditay (Katzie), dwa:h/an (Kwantlen), kwikwadam (Kwikwetlem) [kwee-kwet-lum], Semiahmoo (semi-ah-moo) and scawafan masteyaxw (Tsawwassen) [tsa-wah-sen]) First Nations.
Monita Naicker
Bookkeeper and Billing Support
Monita helps take care of all our existing clients and team! She’s the face and voice behind emails when you contact us for any administrative or billing support. She ensures our clients and team are supported so we can focus on what we love doing most, which is holding space for our clients!
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within this coaching practice is to help humans feel safe in their bodies so they can feel empowered in their life. We are here to hold space in a compassionate and curious way. Using both top-down and bottom-up modalities, we begin to connect you back to yourself, regulate your emotions, and start to understand that you make sense so you can begin to walk forward in your life.
Our intention
She welcomed all topics of conversation, from childhood experiences to current relationship roadblocks, and helped me connect all things to presence in body and honoring my intuition. In such a short amount of time Lauren has helped me move mountains. I have started feeding myself, finding alternatives to shutting down when my emotions are elevated, and have found a type of movement that feels good and doesn’t trigger fantasies of weight loss. At the heart of her program is connection, and I cannot recommend this course enough.
TAYLOR
Client Love
More Testimonials
"My time working with Lauren was nothing short of incredible. She created the most warm and loving space for me to talk all things body, and I felt safe talking to her about familial diet culture, emotional and physical traumas, present stagnancy, and escapism from my body. "
anonymous
The meditations were golden and freed up space in my mind to be creative. The yoga was chill and so yummy for the body. The modules were filled with content necessary to prime you for the journaling that followed. In 1:1s, I broke down barriers I had let fester for 7 years. Lauren guided each session with curiosity and respect. If you are looking to learn more, to challenge more, and to gain more- The Simplest Self is right for you.
More Testimonials
"Working with Lauren allowed me to process emotions in new ways, unlearn fused thought patterns, and challenge assumptions I had been making for years about my body and food."
The meditations were golden and freed up space in my mind to be creative. The yoga was chill and so yummy for the body. The modules were filled with content necessary to prime you for the journaling that followed. In 1:1s, I broke down barriers I had let fester for 7 years. Lauren guided each session with curiosity and respect. If you are looking to learn more, to challenge more, and to gain more- The Simplest Self is right for you.
ANONYMOUS
Client Love
More Testimonials
"WORKING WITH LAUREN ALLOWED ME TO PROCESS EMOTIONS IN NEW WAYS, UNLEARN FUSED THOUGHT PATTERNS, AND CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS I HAD BEEN MAKING FOR YEARS ABOUT MY BODY AND FOOD."
Client Love
becky
I love who i am inside and out, and I respect my body. I learned how to respect and feel my emotions. I 1000% recommend this to others. This will get you thinking on a deeper level, and will help your personal growth so much. Lauren is so knowledgeable and she always pours her heart into her clients.
"I never thought that I would be where I am now. I went from being a person who had a vision in her head of what she thought she should look like, and I’m not this person who is just loving me for me."
More Testimonials
I love who i am inside and out, and I respect my body. I learned how to respect and feel my emotions. I 1000% recommend this to others. This will get you thinking on a deeper level, and will help your personal growth so much. Lauren is so knowledgeable and she always pours her heart into her clients.
Becky
Client Love
More Testimonials
"I NEVER THOUGHT THAT I WOULD BE WHERE I AM NOW. I WENT FROM BEING A PERSON WHO HAD A VISION IN HER HEAD OF WHAT SHE THOUGHT SHE SHOULD LOOK LIKE, AND I’M NOT THIS PERSON WHO IS JUST LOVING ME FOR ME."
Client Love
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