As soon as we got into the work, it was evident to me that I was working with a supremely talented, caring, and balanced practitioner. I have a different and greatly deepened relationship with my body, and continue to gain insight from our sessions (which were months ago now). If you have the chance to work with James, do it!

I didn’t feel safe, was experiencing panic attacks and felt I was living close to hell. I am very fortunate to have been introduced to James. Our sessions together have been incremental in my healing. James both understands the depths of my suffering and situation while also helping me to see the good in it and in myself. I was lost and needed guidance. James gave me tools and practices to get through the hell scape i was in. He helps me out of the story in my head and skillfully guides me through the root cause of distress which is in my body itself. It is very empowering to have such clear instructions! I would highly recommend his guidance and support to those in need.

-Anonymous Client

this came in stark contrast to several intense months of interactions with different mental health professionals in the context of family and individual therapy. The interaction with James was different, supportive in a way I hadn’t experienced - in words and in feel. I did not really understand what I was looking for when I later inquired about somatic coaching, but now I see that my initial interaction with him opened up a curiosity and willingness to pay attention to a yearning to connect with my body and nervous system and find support in my meditation practice. My virtual sessions with James quickly became a main source of energy and support for moving out of my previous comfort zones to feel transformation and huge shifts in personal awareness. I am now completely convinced of the value of doing work in relation to another human who has amazing capacity to hold a sacred space for healing, with compassion and deep acceptance. While difficult to put into words, my experience with James is richer than anything I have experienced in traditional therapy; it’s a reparative attachment experience with added bonuses of his expertise and passion related to somatic work and his deep personal connection with mindfulness and meditation. I feel incredibly grateful for how my work with James has helped me navigate mid-life transitions toward more meaningful relationships and work, and especially for how it has affected how I show up as a mom of two teenagers. I find courage to push forward on my journey of healing, and growth in spirit and soul, from knowing James is walking quietly beside me.

-Megan H. PhD Statistics, Critical Inference LLC, owner and statistical consultant, Mom

It has dramatically enhanced how I practice as a therapist, how I show up in all my relationships, and my sense of spirituality. Despite years of mental health treatment and therapy for my recovery, I used to feel that being mindful and present in my body entirely was too emotionally painful and challenging. Thanks to James' wise and compassionate presence and work, I have felt significant shifts in my energy and perspectives. It is incredibly empowering to experience my body's inherent resourcefulness and how trauma and early beliefs can be re-integrated as resources. Learning about SE and attending sessions with James has given me the hope, appreciation, and connection I have missed previously. James' unwavering nonjudgmental stance, his thoughtful leadership, and his utilization of multiple teachings/frameworks are something I have not experienced before. This work has helped me unlearn and reprocess beyond what I could conceptualize when initially reaching out for help. 

Laura D. Therapist

I started working with James to develop a somatic practice to treat PTSD and chronic anxiety. His wisdom and grace of spirit gave me a deeper understanding of my own ability to heal and regulate my body and mind. In deepening this practice I found a path forward towards greater mindfulness and ability to resolve trapped emotions, and restore my physical and mental health.

Working with James helps me come back home to myself. His big hearted acceptance of me, in whatever state I'm in, helps me find the love and allowance that I need for myself, to bring me back into the truth of who I am, in that moment. James's guidance into the body, this big thing I carry around with me, is always so beneficial in integrating more than just the intelligence of my mind into the guidance of my life. The body, turns out, has a lot of wisdom to offer, and James' facilitation helps me remember.

My life has changed through my time with James Frank. I am more loving, accepting, playful, embodied, and available to my own understand of my boundaries, moment to moment, due to my time with James. James is a gifted facilitator. And. He is a giant giant heart with training, skills, certifications, thousands of hours of practice and study, and a deep commitment to healing, himself and others.

As a result of my time with James, I am kinder. Kinder to myself and my thoughts. Kinder and more curious with my body. I trust kindness.

-Peter Mclean, co-Founder at Young Men Awake

James’s journey with me began as a friend and meditation teacher. As time went on though, his teacher status evolved into a loving healer. As he learned the skills to understand and heal the root of trauma, our ‘talk-therapy-esque’ conversations turned into healing and nourishing full-body experiences to re-evaluate and shift the power of trauma on the nervous system. Without him, I would not have been able to transfer the darkness of my past into loving kindness and ambition to serve myself and others now and in the future.

— Jim S.

Working with James for just one session helped me shift how I relate to my tendency to shut down and self-protect. He was able to witness habits of mine that I judge and feel ashamed of and normalize my experience. He shed light on the wisdom I already carry about how to respond to my traumatized reactions. The quality of James's presence inspired me into a state of openness that I rarely experience with other people. Our session let me feel what it's like to connect with other humans in a tuned-in, unguarded state.

-Rachel P.

I first met James at a training called The Event. A "no-nonsense training" designed to have us take responsibility for our lives in order to create "Magic in Our Relationships". I was struck by James and how adept he was with all of these (at times) esoteric concepts, as well as the bare bones practices. After a week in Austin during the Texas power crisis, I reached out to James for an SE session. I had witnessed an incredible amount of suffering (as well as my own) and was quite shaken up. It was affecting my health. Being on FaceTime with James was one of the most healing experiences I had felt in a while. His ability to allow me my experiences, and honor what I was clearly rejecting, helped me relax for the first time since the experience. Again, impressed with how deft he is with a craft I know little about. But I trust it, and I could feel I was in very good hands, instantaneously. I am so looking forward to my next session and I strongly recommend working with James if you are a human. Especially those humans looking to reduce suffering in themselves as well as others. Which I believe is all of us.

— Andrew D.

James understands the push and pull of experience, and how to mitigate leaning into stress by resourcing in the body and elsewhere. Lately, I have been frequently surprised by the way that when I express concerns about situations/relationships in my life, James offers a counterintuitive, seemingly "hands off" approach which breaks up and softens around frustrating cyclical thought patterns. For example, he might invite me to see what it feels like in the body while talking about tough subjects, and if the sensation is too overwhelming or painful, to find another place in the body that is neutral or pleasant. When I say "astounding presence," even over video calls James notices and champions the smallest bodily movements. I might clench my jaw, tighten in the shoulders or drift off in gaze, and he will let me know– showing me that my body is acting out some truth, resourcing or expressing itself while my mind is preoccupied by thought. The same is true for the actual experience of talking on the computer. Visual resourcing (orienting to the space around oneself), and standing up and stretching are two simple but essential practices James intentionally invites during our calls. Along with Somatic Experiencing or "body work" that has been super helpful lately, James brings deep clarity and acceptance when revisiting those tougher subjects. It's one of the only spaces in my life where I feel comfortable to go anywhere and say anything– into the dark, the shadows and the "problematic," and into the grandiose or pretentious. James allows me to "try on" being a more open person with him, and give space to the wildness of the human, animal experience, never condemning a thought, an action or a word... all is welcome, for he can see the parallels in himself and in his own life. Yet, he still treats me with a respect and accountability to come from a place of compassion for those around me and for myself, so as not to get lost in the ego. James is, astounding presence, both as a mirror to show me my own ok-ness, and as a deeply loving person who has seen and experienced much himself, sharing deep awareness of the wild waves of life to our calls.

— Simon S.

"My experience of somatic healing was a timely reminder of my space. Of where I reside, both bodily, in space, within and without. The isolation and the expansion. James Nepenthe opened this doorway for me , with open arms and full participation in the process. As if we were in the experience fully together. It is not separate. And he asks the right questions to help lean into that space. Exactly where I need to recenter myself, and remind myself of this multi-dynamic life. The modality of Somatic Practice is one that probably only gets more painful AND better, the more you go deeper. Truly recommend this beautiful man to help anyone on their journey. He will meet you right where you are, with complete sincerity and passion and groundedness"

-Ben M.