Chantaia

queer · neurospicy · multipassionate

"The biggest flex is a regulated nervous system."

— Regulated Resistance

MFT Trainee · Liberation Institute · psychospiritual guide

Regulation

is Resistance.

We live in systems designed to keep us dysregulated — hypervigilant, fragmented, and cut off from ourselves. Coming back into your body is not a personal project. It is a political one.

I am Chantaia, an MFT trainee practicing depth-oriented, liberatory psychotherapy. My work weaves together somatic awareness, Jungian and Buddhist psychology, and liberation frameworks — for people ready to go all the way in.

Liberatory Psychology Somatic Awareness Tibetan Buddhism Depth Orientation Queer Affirming Neuroscience

About Chantaia

Your(e) medicine.

Before any of this, I was an athlete. I played beach volleyball at UCLA and competed on the AVP professional circuit — a world that taught me everything about the body as instrument and teacher: what it means to perform under sustained pressure, to fail in front of crowds and come back, to recover from injury, to find your edge without losing yourself. That understanding is woven into every session.

My graduate training at Pacifica Graduate Institute, with an emphasis in depth psychology, gave me a language for what I'd always known: that the unconscious speaks, that symbols carry meaning, and that the psyche has its own intelligence worth listening to.

I am also a multimedia digital artist, fire performer, breathwork guide, ecotherapist, and filmmaker — and a person in ongoing relationship with my own depths. This work is not separate from who I am. It is the practice itself.

Education

UCLA · BS Cognitive Science '20, specialized in computer programming
Pacifica Graduate Institute · MA Counseling Psychology, Depth Psych emphasis '25
MFT Trainee · LPCC in progress

Athletic Career

NCAA Beach Volleyball National Champion, 2018 · UCLA
AVP Professional Circuit

Certifications & Training

Full Sensory Perception
Kundalini Yoga
Breathwork facilitation
Ecotherapy
Rudra Breath Meditation

Other Work

The Inner Compass Academy
Actualized Athlete Accelerator
Holistic Athlete Podcast
Dream Factory Sound Sanctuary

Who I Serve

You belong here.

LGBTQ+ & Queer Communities

Affirming care where your full self — not an edited version — is the starting point. Queer identity as medicine, not problem.

Neurodivergents

For the neurospicy, the ADHD, the autism spectrum, the sensory sensitives — your nervous system is not a problem to fix. Let's work with how you're actually wired.

BIPOC Folks

Therapy that names systemic trauma and takes seriously what it costs to survive in a world not built for you.

Spiritual Seekers

For those integrating contemplative practice, altered states, or psychedelic experiences with psychological and somatic grounding.

Depth-Oriented Individuals

For anyone ready to work with what's underneath — dreams, the body, the unconscious, the parts that don't fit anywhere else.

Athletes

High performers and competitors navigating identity beyond the sport — performance anxiety, injury, transition, burnout, and the question: who am I when the game is over?

Artists & Creatives

For makers working at the edge of expression — navigating creative blocks, the vulnerability of visibility, and the complex terrain between art, identity, and mental health.

Misfits

If you've never quite fit the mold — too much, not enough, or simply unclassifiable — this is a practice built for complexity. You don't have to translate yourself here.

The Approach

How we work.

The Body as Map

Somatic and polyvagal-informed therapy. We don't just talk about what happened — we track where it lives in your nervous system and work with it there.

Depth & the Unconscious

Drawing on Jungian depth psychology, dreamwork, and Buddhist frameworks that honor the fullness of who you are — including what you haven't met yet.

Liberation as Practice

Healing is not neutral. We name the systems at work and move toward a self that is less colonized, more whole, and increasingly free.

Regulated Resistance

More than therapy.

coming soon

🌬

Breathwork Tools

Vagus nerve activation, Rudra breath, Shamanic Bon, Vooing, and the five seed syllables — backed by neuroscience, somatic psychology, and ancient wisdom.

coming soon

◯

Research Library

Open-source studies on ecotherapy, altered states, and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Knowledge as a tool for liberation.

coming soon

⟡

Community & Mutual Aid

Resources for de-escalation, crisis support, ecocommunities, and collective healing. Because regulation is also relational.

For Your Journey

Films & Conversations

These films and conversations are offered as context and companion for the work — a way to go deeper into the cultural, somatic, and spiritual frameworks that inform this practice.

Film · Psychedelic Medicine

Sacred Mushrooms | Hongos Sagrados: Historias y Memorias Mazatecas

A documentary exploration of the Indigenous Mazatec tradition of sacred mushroom medicine — its origins, ceremonial context, and living lineage. Essential viewing for anyone curious about the cultural and spiritual foundations of psychedelic-assisted healing.

Podcast · Holistic Athlete

Kerri Walsh Jennings on Spirituality, the Power of Breath & Gut Health

AVP legend Kerri Walsh Jennings joins the conversation on spiritual practice, breathwork, and what peak performance looks like from the inside.

Podcast · Holistic Athlete · Ep. 2

Chanti Soleil: Holistic Athlete with Dustin Watten

On holistic athletic development, identity beyond sport, and finding wholeness through performance with volleyball pro Dustin Watten.

Podcast · Holistic Performance Coach · Ep. 1

Murshida

The inaugural episode — on wholeness, mentorship, and the convergence of athletic and spiritual development.

Ready to Begin?

I see clients through Open Path Psychotherapy Collective, a nonprofit offering reduced-fee sessions. New clients start with a free 15-minute consultation.

Sessions available on a sliding scale through Liberation Institute.

View my Open Path profile

Follow the practice @regulatedresistance