Emotional Release Therapy in the Bay Area

Emotional Release Therapy is a hands-on bodywork modality developed by Pat Jackman, who has practised and taught the work since the mid-1990s. Ryan Calhoon is one of the practitioners she has trained, and offers ERT as a mobile practice across the East Bay and greater San Francisco Bay Area.

What Emotional Release Therapy is

ERT works with specific points on the body. Pressure is applied to those points — the practitioner's term for this is activation — while the client stays present and breathing. The premise is that emotion which was never safe to express does not simply disappear; it becomes part of how the body holds itself. Working those points gives it somewhere to go.

The areas people armor most heavily are the throat, the abdomen and the pelvis. These are the regions ERT works most directly, which is also why consent and pacing matter more here than in an ordinary massage.

What a session is like

You lie on a massage table and stay draped with a sheet throughout, with only the area being worked uncovered at any one time. Ryan works through the points, watching for the physical signs that you are checking out, and paces the work accordingly.

Emotion may surface. Crying, sounds, shaking, heat, a long breath — all of it is ordinary in this work and none of it means something has gone wrong. It is equally fine if nothing surfaces at all. A session is not judged by how dramatic it was.

You can ask Ryan to stop entirely, or to reduce the intensity, at any point, and he will honour it immediately.

What it is not

ERT is not psychotherapy. Ryan is a massage therapist certified by the California Massage Therapy Council; he is not a therapist, psychologist or medical professional, and he does not diagnose, counsel or treat mental illness. Many of the people he sees also work with a therapist, and the two sit well alongside each other.

ERT is not a licensed or regulated modality in the State of California. It is also not a substitute for medical or psychological care.

ERT and massage in the same session

Ryan's background is in massage, and the two blend naturally. The two-hour hybrid session combines structural bodywork, Massage for Subconscious Tension and ERT, moving between them as the day asks for it. Two hours is the minimum for that combination because the full sequence needs the time, with room to integrate at the end.

Where and what it costs

Sessions are mobile and take place in your own space. Ryan can bring his table, or chair and all supplies to your home, hotel or place of business, throughout the East Bay and greater San Francisco Bay Area.

60 minutes $175 · 90 minutes $250 · 120 minutes $300 · two-hour hybrid $300. Rates go up a little with distance, confirmed before anything is booked.

Common questions

What actually happens in an ERT session?

You lie on a massage table, draped with a sheet, with only the area being worked uncovered at any one time. Ryan applies pressure to specific points on the body. Emotion may surface as crying, sounds, shaking or heat. It is common, and it is not required for the session to be effective.

Is Emotional Release Therapy the same as talk therapy?

No. ERT is hands-on bodywork, not psychotherapy, and Ryan is not a therapist. Many people do this alongside work with a therapist, and the two go well together. ERT is not a substitute for medical or psychological care.

Do I have to undress?

You stay draped under a sheet for the entire session with only the area being worked uncovered. The breasts and genital area stay covered throughout and are never activated. Work in the gluteal area happens only if you affirmatively consent to it in advance, and you can withdraw that consent at any time.

Where can I book an ERT session in the Bay Area?

Ryan Calhoon offers ERT as a mobile practice throughout the East Bay and greater San Francisco Bay Area, including Walnut Creek, Concord, Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco. Text (925) 978-6717 to arrange a session.

How much does a session cost?

60 minutes is $175, 90 minutes is $250 and 120 minutes is $300. A two-hour hybrid session combining bodywork and ERT is $300. Rates go up a little with travel distance.

Does Ryan travel outside the East Bay for ERT?

Yes. Sessions run across the greater San Francisco Bay Area, including San Francisco, with the North Bay and Peninsula by arrangement. Ryan is listed in Pat Jackman's practitioner directory, which covers Northern California and beyond.