Private Sessions
“I have received empathy sessions from Angela consistently for almost three years. As a psychotherapist I have high standards and can say unequivocally that my sessions with Angela have provided some of the best support and guidance of any method I have ever received. Angela’s mastery of the Nonviolent Communication approach, her adeptness at handling even the most intense emotions, and her very compassionate presence have aided in my healing and growth in immeasurable ways. I highly recommend her to anybody who is looking for loving support, greater clarity, and wise strategies to catalyze significant healing in their life.”
~Karen, Berkeley, CA
“Angela is one the most compassionate and supportive people I have ever met. She is an extremely gifted communicator who has given me invaluable tools to deal with challenging people and various difficult situations, and I have grown more empathetic and understanding of others as a result of my sessions with her. Even more importantly, I have learned how to be more compassionate and nurturing toward myself, and I feel empowered to continue to grow with a higher level of understanding about myself and others. I feel so blessed to have her in my life as my go-to whenever life throws me a curve ball; she is truly a wonderful gift to me and I am forever thankful for her.”
~Erin, Ypsilanti, MI
“A year ago I found myself in an unimaginably painful state, and day-to-day life became a massive struggle. I knew I needed emotional support, however, living in a foreign country, working full-time, and looking after my children after work and weekends simply made it impossible for me to find the time to look for the right therapist. A dear friend of mine suggested I get in touch with Angela. Although there is a 15-hour time difference between us, Angela was determined to make it work and has for the last year been offering me the care I much longed for. With her gentle spirit and endless wisdom, she has been giving me a weekly empathy session and has been guiding me through the year. I can confidently say that Angela has been a single reason why I am doing well today. She has been consistent in doing her outmost to offer me the care and compassion that I sincerely needed, and guiding me through whatever emotional challenges I am facing. Simply put, Angela has been my oxygen mask, and for that I will forever be grateful.”
~Alena, Singapore, Singapore
“Angela has been helping me navigate the very tough terrain of metastatic breast cancer. She is quickly able to locate responses to painful experiences that are no longer serving me, and gently be with me as I breathe with these deep, old pains so that they can release. In our first session, she accompanied me to a time when I was a toddler and helped me rescue myself as a child and make the choice to not carry my mother’s pain for her. After years of having worked on this issue, I finally made a real shift and could release this old burden! I have been in the healing field for many years, and can recognize a great healer when I work with one: Angela is it!”
~Beth, Midpines, CA
“The empathy work that I have done with Angela has led me to unexpected and important insights about myself and my relationships with others, using a modality that genuinely connects the head and the heart. It can be challenging work, but Angela’s warmth, her own deep insight, and her skill as a practitioner of empathy have also made it a wonderfully nurturing experience. Working with Angela has taught me not just what self-compassion means, but also what it feels like.”
~Sarah, Sydney, Australia
“Angela Watrous is a loving and masterful Healer’s Healer. It is a rarity amongst the endless sea of healing facilitators, therapists, mentors, and coaches to actually have the privilege of working with one who has the capacity for real empathy such that you feel completely heard, nourished, supported, and witnessed without the extra burden of having to ‘take care’ of them because they’re tripping out about what you are experiencing and blaming you. Angela’s awakened, conscious presence and deep empathy uplifts, relaxes, inspires true healing, and opens your heart wider and wider. Working with her has brought me deep peace, well-being, embodied Self-love, and an appreciation for the power and wisdom embedded in empathy for mySelf and humanity.”
~Marja, Oakland, CA
“I have received two empathy sessions from Angela and both sessions brought me to a place of peace and a deeper understanding of some issues I am working with. Angela has the ability to create a safe container, where I felt gently held with care, love, acceptance, and compassion, with any emotion that evolved. Angela’s skills shine as she beautifully guides and weaves the process of going deeper and deeper, in a caring way, to find ‘what is.’ Angela’s understanding of and skills with Nonviolent Communication are impeccable. I would highly recommend a session with Angela.
~Jeanette, Chico, CA
“Angela is an extremely warm and caring individual and these qualities come out in every aspect of her work. Receiving empathy from her is like knowing you have a warm bath awaiting you after a hard day’s work: comforting and rejuvenating. I am always grateful for her patient care that allows me to work through the mesh of thoughts and emotions that make up the human mind. I would recommend, in an instant, her work to anyone wanting a sense of peace and a steady platform to grow upon.”
~Kristina, San Francisco, CA
“Angela’s empathic listening offered me this sacred container to explore what was deeply underlying my relationship conflicts and sorrows and allowed for healing and transformation. She helped me find clarity and empowerment in my upcoming decisions.”
~Marie, Washington, DC
“I turned to Angela after a significant life trauma threatened my own sense of trust, security, and well-being. At the time I was feeling unable to cope even with daily interactions with others, and knew that something needed to change. It was amazing to me how the seemingly simple acts of being heard, appreciated, and cared for helped me to process what had happened. Angela has a gift for creating a place of pure safety and acceptance, one which allowed me to not only work through this specific event but also voice broader and deeply personal life challenges. Her practice has also helped me to evaluate the way in which I communicate with others, and I find that I pay more careful attention to the power of listening and compassion in my everyday work and life.”
~Emma, Philadelphia, PA
“Angela is warm, compassionate, and hilarious. She has an incredible capacity for empathy, which allows her to navigate the thorniest, most deep-rooted tensions. There is no one to whom I would rather entrust my vulnerabilities.”
~David, Ann Arbor, MI
“Angela’s incredible intuition and ability to connect with all people is a true gift that serves her well in her work. She has a balance of earnestness and a sense of lightness about the mistakes we all make, which is helpful for my learning and growth.”
~Caitlin, Ann Arbor, MI
“What makes Angela’s work so powerful? I have considered this question many times since beginning weekly sessions with her. Why is Angela able to consistently offer a quality of support so profoundly transformative? I find it even more puzzling, because in my experience, her work makes an impact to a degree that is truly rare among helping professionals. From what I can tell, Angela’s unique skill, gentleness, insight, and discernment are the result of her capacity to integrate her own lived experience with multiple modalities to create a way of holding space for other people that is truly life serving and authentic. I hope, for the purpose of my own learning, to understand more clearly over time how Angela does what she does!
One aspect of Angela’s approach that stands out to me as being very important is her capacity for attuned presence, for listening with total acceptance and deep love. I think that the healing power of this quality comes from the fact that, in Angela’s case, it is actually… authentic!!! Out of a desire for self-preservation and safety, my nervous system is often vigilantly, though unconsciously, alert for any signal from others of a deviation from earnestness. In working with Angela, I experience deeply that her care and compassion are genuine and true, and as a result, any energy that I might otherwise be expending defending and protecting myself is free to mobilize for healing and transformation. Thus my own and Angela’s gifts and insight can be put to full creative use.
For those among us who may not have grown up with much emotional safety in our early relationships, or for whom the love that we did experience was often tinged with or steeped in fear, the experience of connection rooted uncontestably in love can be a radically different relational orientation. My experience is that it supports the construction of new patterns of thought, feelings, and behavior, so that relationships with myself and with others slowly begin to be grounded in love and safety rather than fear and anxiety. This is a continual learning process for me, yet at the same time, engaging in this practice feels like a homecoming.
Clearly, working with Angela has affected me profoundly. Many of the people I care about express longing for more support during a painful time or to be truly heard and understood for their experience. I often wish that they could all have the experience of working with Angela! I imagine what the world would be like if everyone had regular experiences in which they felt fully heard, loved, accepted, appreciated, and seen for the life-serving needs underlying their intense emotions. In this way, working with Angela helps me to sense what is possible beyond simply imagining it. I get to taste the sweetness of something we all deserve but so rarely receive. I wish this sweetness for all of us.”
~Eliza, Berkeley, CA
Community Gatherings
“I have always felt woefully inadequate when it came to putting into practice my ideals of nonviolence. I am conscientious and patient until stressed, then I fall flat and end up feeling discouraged—often assuming I am just unable, because of genetics or society to be a peaceful person.
That sense of failure has waned since taking Angela’s class. Not because of some magic-bean cure, but because Angela adeptly guides her groups to a deeper understanding of why we get impatient and what to do about it.
It’s not an easy fix, it takes work, and (this horrifies me the most) you CAN’T do it alone. I am a firm believer of therapy and have “done my own work” for years, but Angela’s four-week group brought me more insight and results than I have achieved from ten years of individual talk therapy. I am more excited and hopeful for this world than I have been for many years. Thank you Angela, for following your path.” ~ Mary, Gather Together Participant
“Working with Angela on the principles of Nonviolent Communication was simply one of the most transformative experiences I’ve had in any organization. It automatically shifted my thoughts on personal responsibility, accountability, and the incredible value of clear and honest communication in the workplace.”
~ Kristi Black Solwazi, Former Deputy Director, Center for Media Justice
“When I recently happened upon Angela’s self-empathy workshop, I felt as though I had stumbled upon a small pot of gold. I was sure that I was watching a master at work as Angela humbly provided understandable and useful information to our group and followed with compassionate presence and listening, along with skillful and graceful communication to each participant. I felt welcomed, seen, and cared about. There was so much safety and space to be authentic. Angela truly embodies what she teaches and what she shares is of great value and importance–direct, tangible support for upgrading and deepening our ability to become kinder, more loving, and more harmonious in relationship to ourselves and others. I left the experience feeling grateful, inspired, blessed, and excited for more learning and discovery.”
~Jacqueline, San Mateo, CA
“I really enjoyed the workshop and felt that I walked away empowered to tackle conversations I’ve been nervous about having (a short-term empowerment), and think more about the best ways to communicate (a long-term empowerment). The workshop was very constructive and practical, which met my needs for purpose and inspiration.”
~Jessica, Ann Arbor, MI
“Angela’s workshop helped to show me some of the communication ruts I find myself trapped in quite often—old practices that might not always be the most helpful. I find NVC to be a very refreshing approach to communication that considers the needs and emotions of both speakers and listeners in their constantly changing dynamics.”
~Jenny, Ann Arbor, MI