Neglecting a child’s basic human needs can cause emotional wounds that last into adulthood.

Somatic Trauma-Informed Counselling and Clinical Psychotherapy

Recover your wholeness and authenticity by acknowledging and honouring the wounds you still hold in your mind, soul, and body.

Now in Brisbane and online across Australia and Worldwide.

West End | Milton

“Therapy is a courageous journey (not a quick fix) and a commitment to self-discovery, a safe space to nurture self-empathy and self-compassion, take ownership of your life, and create powerful, lasting personal transformation.”

Neglecting a child’s basic human needs can cause emotional wounds that last into adulthood.

Child representing emotional wellbeing and psychotherapy support

Somatic Trauma-Informed Clinical Psychotherapy

Recover your wholeness and authenticity by acknowledging and honouring the wounds you still hold in your mind, soul, and body.

Now in Brisbane and online across Australia and Worldwide.

West End   |   Milton

Alpha Ponce, psychotherapist and counsellor, helping clients connect with their inner wisdom to heal from trauma

BODY AND MIND ARE ONE

My approach combines somatic(body-based) awareness and movement with trauma-informed talk therapy, creating a safe, non-judgmental space to explore and understand your inner world. By paying attention to your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and bodily sensations, we can uncover deeper aspects of the wounds that you may or may not be aware of. This method helps identify the root causes of unhealthy behaviours and emotional distress, promotes awareness, personal growth, and a stronger connection to your wholeness and authenticity, and supports healthier relational connections.

“Trauma is not the bad things that happen to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you.” ~Dr. Gabor Maté

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“Trauma isn’t just what happened to you; it’s what happened within you”

Trauma (from the Greek word for “wound”) exists on a broad spectrum. It can include anything from experiences that lead to disconnection from oneself, that is, your authenticity, body, emotions, or intuition–as well as from any experience that diminishes the hope for reconnection.

Anything that disrupts a person’s sense of wholeness and authenticity more often than not stems from trauma.

“Complex trauma doesn’t have to be physical abuse, but the reason attachment is so affected by it is because it is usually perpetrated by, or not able to be stopped by, a child’s primary caregiver.”

“And that’s what makes it so fundamentally disruptive: the primary caregiver can’t provide consistency and safety to the child.”

– Dr. Howard

COMPLEX TRAUMA MIGHT DEVELOP WHEN AN UNSUPPORTED CHILD GOES THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES WITH THEIR CAREGIVER

This may include times of emotional neglect and unpredictable moods from a caregiver, or exposure to more external threats like bullying or community violence.

I use somatic and trauma-informed therapy approaches such as Gestalt Therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Compassionate Inquiry, Focused Therapy, Constellations, and Internal Family Systems to support clients in understanding and processing these experiences with their attachments.

It hurts to feel your childhood pain. But it hurts even more to carry it silently, unfelt, shaping your life from the shadows

Child stretching arms on a window bar, symbolizing freedom and healing the past.

The following symptoms and experiences are generally associated with complex trauma:

  • Feeling chronically anxious, overwhelmed, or emotionally exhausted.
  • Feeling “stuck” or unable to move forward in life.
  • Being constantly on alert or finding it difficult to fully relax.
  • Carrying unresolved past experiences or developmental trauma that is hard to fully understand.
  • Feeling disconnected from the body, emotions, or sense of self.
  • Experiencing burnout, people-pleasing tendencies, or difficulty setting boundaries.
  • Struggling with self-worth, shame, or self-blame despite doing inner work.
  • Fear of abandonment or difficulty trusting others.
  • Living with ADHD / ADD or experiencing trauma-related symptoms such as PTSD.
  • Overthinking, self-doubt, or difficulty regulating emotions.
  • Experiencing trauma, including emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, neglect, or witnessing traumatic events
  • Growing up with emotional, psychological, or relational needs that were not consistently met
  • Mild addictive behaviours, such as overuse of substances, food, screens, or self-soothing habits
  • Difficulty tolerating or expressing emotions
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Somatic Therapy Wise Beginning Alpha Ponce

Our early experiences shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world. While these patterns may begin in childhood, as adults, we also have the capacity to grow, adapt, and create meaningful change. Effectively allowing us to shape our own world and how we approach others.

The brain is adaptable and capable of forming new pathways that support healing and regulation. With appropriate professional support, it is possible to process traumatic experiences and strengthen the inner compassion that may have been lost. Somatic therapy explores how the body holds and expresses painful experiences, using mind–body approaches to support trauma recovery and emotional well-being.

I aim to create a genuine, safe, and collaborative therapeutic relationship grounded in mutual respect and honesty. I work alongside you as an equal, welcoming your thoughts, feelings, and emotional experiences. Our work may include psychoeducation to help you better understand the connection between your mind and body, as well as practical tools to support emotional regulation, self-awareness, and coping with stress more effectively. This process supports the development of new neural pathways that foster greater stability, connection, and wellbeing leading to a healthier self that can be ready to stand beside others.

BOOK A FREE 20-MIN DISCOVERY ZOOM CALL WITH ALPHA PONCE

EXPERIENCE

Positive outcomes and significant progress can be made after the first couple of sessions.

INTUITION

Highly attuned to others’ thoughts and feelings to support clarity and deeper understanding.

KNOWLEDGE

Well-informed and up to date, drawing on evidence-based approaches to bring meaningful change.

WISDOM

Integrating lived experience, reflection, and insight to support balanced and compassionate growth

ALPHA PONCE

Counsellor, Psychotherapist, and Founder of Wise Beginning, PACFA Clinical Registration

I’m a psychotherapist specialising in trauma recovery. I hold a degree in Psychology from Mexico and completed my Master’s Degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy in Australia. My training includes Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Family Constellations, and Compassionate Inquiry (Gabor Maté’s trauma-informed approach), along with foundational work in Internal Family Systems. I remain committed to ongoing learning and professional development.

Trauma shows up differently for everyone. Sometimes it’s obvious, tied to specific events or relationships. Other times it’s subtle, quietly shaping how we relate to ourselves and others, how we experience emotions, or even how we feel in our own bodies. I work with people navigating the aftermath of narcissistic abuse, childhood trauma, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and other relational wounds that leave lasting imprints.

In our work together, we create space to understand how past experiences continue to influence your present life. Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, relationship patterns that feel impossible to break, or a sense of disconnection from yourself, therapy offers a path toward healing and wisdom. My approach is body-aware and relationally focused, helping you process what’s been unresolved and build the resilience and self-understanding needed to move forward with confidence.

I offer psychotherapy and counselling in both English and Spanish, available through in-person sessions and online therapy for greater accessibility.

Family Constellations

Supporting individuals and those in relationships, through trauma-informed and humanistic Psychotherapy & Trauma Counselling

Have you worked with therapists who avoided exploring past trauma, insisting you focus only on current symptoms without addressing the roots of your pain?

Have you felt dismissed, misunderstood, or invalidated by mental health professionals who didn’t grasp the complexity of what you’ve experienced?

Has a counsellor told you they’re “out of their depth” with your situation, offering only to listen without providing real therapeutic tools or direction?

Are you wondering if anyone truly understands trauma recovery or has the expertise to guide you through healing and meaningful understanding?

I understand how disheartening it can be to reach out for support, only to feel unheard or dismissed by the very people meant to help.

As a trauma-informed psychotherapist, I help individuals who are dealing with complex grief, trauma, anxiety, disconnection from their authentic Selves, and relationship challenges. I particularly focus on those healing from narcissistic abuse, childhood trauma, and relational wounds. My approach goes beyond addressing surface-level symptoms to explore what your emotions and physical sensations are truly communicating.

This isn’t about giving you answers or telling you how to feel; it’s about creating space where you can process experiences at your own pace and develop your own inner body’s wisdom. The result is a path toward becoming more grounded, self-aware, and authentic that can lead you on your way to experiencing real transformation as you regain your agency.

If you’re unsure what your needs and wants for Counselling are, then we can explore this and figure it out together. When exploring your situation, I will ask some questions; don’t worry it won’t be an interrogation but a dialogue to obtain important information about your situation. In this way we can focus on understanding the reason for your discomfort and emotional pain. Some people struggle with getting in touch with their feelings, but you don’t have to stress about this. I will always encourage you to communicate with me if I say something to you that does not feel right, and feel free to ask any questions along the way. You will always have authority in our sessions.

It can take time to create change and see permanent results; however, you should see some level of significant progress after the first Sixth-TENTH sessions. Importantly, it depends on your needs and situation, as this varies greatly from person to person. Some people feel that they get the most value after just a few sessions. In contrast, others prefer or need therapy for an extended period of time, especially if they have unresolved trauma, depression, anxiety or chronic pain. In this situation, the process may last up to 10 sessions, followed by a re-assessment; we can reassess together whether more therapy will be helpful. Depending on how you feel, weekly sessions may be more effective, and when we are more advanced in the process, we can lengthy the sessions monthly. We will work with you to develop a plan which suits your needs and finances. This is entirely up to you. If you are not working or experiencing financial hardship, we can work out the best plan that suits you.

At times, straightforward Counselling may not be enough to make meaningful and profound changes. During Counselling, patterns, emotions, indecisiveness, or procrastination may reveal unresolved or unrecognised wounds from the past.This may require in-depth Psychotherapy, provided the client is ready to address these deeper issues. It can take time to create change and see permanent results; however, you should feel some level of progress after the first session. Therapy is more about taking the time to look for and treat the source of the wound. The time of treatment for any one person in therapy greatly depends on what they need treatment for (their personal history, symptoms, support, background, and health). In every session we revise the progress that has been made. This is important because we need to acknowledge the significant improvements that you have done inside and outside of the session. Ultimately, successful therapy means that your symptoms are better managed or are decreasing, and you feel like you are accomplishing your current goal(s) or raising your self-awareness outside of therapy. For example, if you went into therapy to deal with anxiety issues, you can look at whether your symptoms have decreased – such as feeling less anxious, less panic attacks, or sleeping more hours at night. The approaches I use aim to create deep and lasting change.
Therapy can look depending on the individual client and their needs and goal(s). I am open-minded and feel comfortable with diversity. I develop the best quality of connection with my clients, giving them an authority in the therapeutic work, as I believe and honour that everyone has wisdom and is the expert in their own life. I use an integrative humanistic model to explore interpersonal relationships. This approach is non-judgmental and avoids making interpretations. Coupled with brain-mind contemporary neuroscience, this integrative model promotes and supports the client to localise, identify and connect with their own needs and internal dialogue, so that internalised messages, blocked memories, and unresolved emotions from the past can be revealed through the client. Understanding and acceptance of where their struggles have originated from, allows for meaningful inner personal wisdom and resourcing to navigate their personal lives. Ultimately, Psychotherapy aims to empower the individual by enabling awareness of their blocked emotions and patterns, through increased self-awareness, resulting in meaningful changes in perspective regarding oneself, life quality experiences and relationships.