Somatic Experiencing®

Sometimes the mind has moved on, while the body is still responding to an older reality. Somatic Experiencing® offers a gentle way of reconnecting with the body and supporting greater regulation, safety, and aliveness.

Somatic Experiencing® is a body-oriented therapeutic approach to working with stress, trauma, and nervous-system dysregulation. Rather than focusing exclusively on what happened, we bring attention to how experiences are felt and expressed in the present moment. The work does not require physical touch and can also be offered online.

When an experience has been overwhelming, the nervous system may continue to respond as though the danger were still present, through tension, anxiety, hypervigilance, shutdown, numbness, or difficulty settling. At other times, this may show up more subtly as feeling disconnected from yourself, constantly on guard, easily overwhelmed, or unable to fully relax even when life is objectively safe.

In our sessions, we gently explore bodily sensations, breath, movement, impulses, and the ways we experience activation and ease. There is no need to force a particular response or repeatedly revisit everything that happened. Instead, we work in small, manageable steps, at a pace that respects your capacity and needs.

Over time, this process can support greater flexibility in how you respond to stress and difficult emotions, helping you remain more connected to yourself and the present moment.

The aim is not simply to feel less, but to develop a greater capacity to feel, respond, and engage with life without becoming overwhelmed.

An Integrative Approach

Somatic Experiencing® provides the foundation of my work. Alongside it, I draw on other psychological, experiential, creative, and contemplative perspectives, depending on the person and what emerges in the process. Rather than following a fixed formula, I look for the approach that best supports what needs attention in a particular moment.

Parts-oriented work, informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS), invites us to approach inner conflict with curiosity rather than judgment. Instead of trying to eliminate a critical, anxious, avoidant, or protective part of ourselves, we can explore what it may be trying to protect and what lies beneath its responses.

Jungian and depth-oriented perspectives bring another dimension to the work, particularly when dreams, symbols, recurring images, archetypal themes, or questions of meaning arise. Dreamwork and active imagination can offer ways of entering into dialogue with aspects of the inner world that may not be easily reached through rational thought alone.

Transgenerational work opens space to explore family narratives, inherited roles and loyalties, and patterns of trauma and belief that seem to repeat across generations. Drawing on perspectives informed by transgenerational trauma, Family Constellations, and elements of psychodrama, we can explore how family and relational dynamics may shape our lives.

Breathwork and contemplative practices may also support the process. This can include elements of pranayama, embodied awareness, and Yoga Nidra, introduced gently and only when appropriate to the person and the work.

Creative and experiential approaches can be particularly valuable when words are not enough. Drawing on creative methods and elements of art therapy, we may use images, gestures, movement, or symbolic expression to give form to something that has been felt but not yet articulated.

My work is also informed by Compassionate Inquiry and cognitive approaches such as CBT, which can help us examine the beliefs and habitual interpretations that shape how we experience ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us.

There is also an intuitive dimension to how I work. I pay attention not only to what is spoken, but also to what emerges through bodily sensations, emotions, imagery, silence, and the relational space between client and practitioner. I stay connected to moments of resonance and what we sense together, letting them guide our curiosity while staying grounded in the client’s experience.

For me, integration means listening and responding in different ways to what a person brings. Sometimes the body leads, at other times a protective part becomes visible, a dream carries something important, a family pattern emerges, or a familiar belief invites closer examination.

Throughout this process, Somatic Experiencing® remains the foundation, helping us stay attentive to the body, the nervous system, and the pace at which the work unfolds.