Our Practitioners
Joanna DeGroot Nichols, Founder
Joanna’s path blends together a unique blend of psychology, music, graphic design, marketing, technology, and the healing arts. Guided by a lifelong fascination with how frequency, energy, and the mind shape our well-being, she followed her calling into holistic practice, becoming a certified sound healer, Reiki practitioner, and hypnotherapist certified by Paul McKenna.
Over the years, she witnessed the growing toll of burnout and chronic stress, both in her own life and in the lives of those around her, which ignited a deep desire to create a space where people could truly rest and realign. In 2025, she brought that vision to life with the founding of Lucent Healing, a sanctuary designed to help individuals slow down, reconnect with themselves, and feel fully supported on their wellness journeys. Joanna continues to expand her expertise, focusing on the transformative power of frequency and intention to foster profound restoration and inner balance.
Zach Sobel, LMT • CPT • E-RYT 500
Zach Sobel is a licensed massage therapist, certified personal trainer, and 500+ hour registered yoga teacher whose work bridges strength, nervous system healing, and embodied awareness. His path into the healing arts began after ACL surgery in 2015, when yoga became both rehabilitation and revelation — teaching him firsthand how intelligent movement and breath can rebuild a body from the inside out.
With over a decade of experience in movement practices including power vinyasa, restorative yoga, weight training, martial arts, and mobility work, Zach blends structural knowledge with somatic sensitivity. His sessions integrate therapeutic massage, corrective exercise principles, breathwork, and nervous system regulation to support recovery, resilience, and long-term strength.
After transitioning from an 8-year career in corporate leadership and sales, Zach committed fully to hands-on healing and holistic performance. His approach is grounded yet intuitive — equally comfortable working with athletes, desk-bound professionals, creatives, and those navigating stress, injury, or burnout.
At Lucent Healing, Zach offers deeply personalized sessions designed to restore mobility, regulate the nervous system, and reconnect clients to their bodies with intelligence and care.
Outside the treatment room, you’ll find him lifting weights, training Jiu Jitsu, riding his scooter through Brooklyn, or immersed in live music — always exploring the intersection of strength, rhythm, and recovery.
Kat Harrop, LMT
Kat has been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2017, graduating from the Ithaca Finger Lakes School of Massage. Her work is rooted in compassion and a deep awareness of the emotional body, thoughtfully bringing these elements into each session. She approaches massage as both a therapeutic and intuitive practice, supporting clients in reconnecting with balance and inner ease.
A lifelong student of the healing arts, Kat has expanded her holistic foundation through the study of Reiki, Craniosacral Biodynamics, and Meridian Yoga. She brings a trauma-sensitive, communicative presence to her work, prioritizing safety and trust while holding sacred space for deep emotional unwinding and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system.
An artist and musician at heart, Kat draws ongoing inspiration from the natural energies of the Finger Lakes, where she grew up. Her connection to nature continues to inform her grounded, attuned approach to healing.
Chase Hartley, L.Ac., MAHM, Dipl. O.M. (NCBAHM)®
Chase is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist whose path into healing unfolded methodically; through movement, curiosity, and lived experience.
He began with a BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, after growing up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. From there, Pilates entered his life as both cross-training and injury prevention, eventually leading him to become a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor. His studies expanded further through both a 200-hour yoga teacher training, as well as Reiki Level 1 and 2 attunements. While these modalities became integral to his work, he continued to feel drawn toward a deeper understanding of how to help people feel truly at home in their bodies.
After a particularly impactful acupuncture treatment, Chase was immediately pulled into the medicine: wanting to understand everything he could about its effects on the body, mind, and spirit. The COVID-era pause and major life transitions ultimately brought him to Asheville, NC, where he trained at Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts, earning his Master of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine degree.
Following licensure, he practiced in Massachusetts before returning to Brooklyn, where he now offers acupuncture in Lucent Healing’s calm, grounded space. Chase’s approach to treatment is gentle and kind, and always meets you where you are.
When he’s not in the treatment room or teaching Pilates, Chase can be found exercising, exploring beach towns with his partner, hunting for new taco spots in the city, or at home with his cat, Tita.
Felipa Saljulga
Felipa brings a warm, heart-centered presence to her work, empowering her clients to release limiting patterns, reconnect with their inner truth, and step into their highest potential. Her approach goes beyond healing alone. It is about awakening the confidence, clarity, and self-love that already exist within each person. Through her sessions, she encourages clients to trust their own inner wisdom and cultivate a deeper sense of personal empowerment.
A certified Reiki Master who completed a 200-hour training program, Felipa integrates Reiki with chakra balancing, sound healing, mindfulness practices, intuitive guidance, and her own energy healing modalities to create deeply personalized sessions. Her work supports clients in gently releasing emotional burdens, restoring energetic balance, and reconnecting with their authentic essence. An important element of her practice also includes helping clients re-pattern thought patterns toward more supportive, empowering ways of relating to themselves and their lives.
Through both individual healing sessions and mentorship, Felipa supports clients as they deepen their healing journey, integrate new perspectives, and continue evolving beyond the session space. Her approach blends compassion with grounded guidance, creating a nurturing environment where meaningful transformation can unfold. Felipa’s work is not simply about relaxation. It is about helping clients step fully into their personal power and live with greater alignment.
Victoria Deterding
Victoria began her Reiki journey while teaching abroad in France, and has been hooked ever since! She later completed a 200-hour Reiki Master training with Jean Bromage of Reiki Essence Healing and has been practicing as a Reiki Master for over a decade.
In addition to Reiki, Victoria has trained in mindfulness and mediumship, and brings a naturally intuitive, lifelong connection to the spiritual realm into her work. Her approach blends the energetic with the practical, supporting clients in cultivating balance, clarity, and a deeper sense of self-empowerment.
Deeply curious and ever-evolving, Victoria is passionate about exploring consciousness, spirituality, and personal growth. She holds a special love for Francophone cultures and cuisine, and finds joy in yoga, the creative writing process, and meaningful conversations around literature, cinema, and global perspectives.
Victoria believes in living a soul-filled life and is committed to helping others on their paths to wholeness and alignment.
Lucy Bermudez
Lucy Bermudez is a peer specialist in training who brings a compassionate, creative, and heart-centered approach to her work. Her path into the healing arts began with her first experience in art therapy, where she discovered creativity as a safe and nurturing space to gently release stored tension and reconnect with the present moment.
Through her own mental health recovery journey, Lucy came to understand art as a powerful tool for grounding, self-expression, and emotional integration. She now curates painting picnics in local parks and intimate sip-and-paint gatherings, creating inclusive spaces where participants are invited to slow down, soften, and be fully themselves.
Lucy finds deep fulfillment in witnessing others enter their creative flow, honoring each person’s unique expression while fostering connection, safety, and gentle healing through art.
