Somatic Counselling
A body-aware way of working with stress, anxiety, relationships, grief, work and the transitions that don’t fit neatly into words.
This might be your door if
- You’ve done years of talk therapy and run out of new things to say about the same problem.
- You can name what you feel, but you can’t feel what you name.
- Stress shows up in your body first: jaw, gut, shoulders, sleep.
- You want to work with a therapist who won’t only stay in your head with you.
- You want to understand yourself more deeply: your emotions, your patterns, and what shapes your thoughts and behaviour.
- You want to replace habits that no longer help with ways of responding that do.
- You want stronger relationships: better communication, more emotional awareness, healthier boundaries.
- You want practical tools for stress, anxiety and difficult transitions.
- You want more confidence in your decisions, by learning to trust yourself, your values and your own wisdom.
What actually happens
Somatic counselling offers a supportive space for everyday challenges: stress, grief, relationship difficulties, work, and the transitions that change a life. Alongside conversation we notice physical sensations and emotions, so you can understand your needs, your boundaries and your choices.
We talk, the way you’d expect. And every so often I’ll ask what’s happening in your body while you talk — not as a trick, but because the answer is usually information you didn’t know you had.
You stay clothed, you stay in your chair, and nothing happens to your body that you didn’t choose. Touch is rare: I only use it to help you regulate when you become very dysregulated, and always with your consent. If it ever happens, it’s an invitation: I ask first, every time, it stays outside your clothing, and you can say no without explaining. Somatic doesn’t mean hands on you.
Over time the two channels start to inform each other. That’s the whole point.
What this isn’t
This is not for people who want to process trauma. It isn’t intended for chronic survival states, significant emotional overwhelm, or unprocessed trauma — and it isn’t suitable if you are currently managing active addiction, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, or ongoing cycles of unsafety in your relationships. If any of that is where you are, Somatic Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy is the door, not this one.
It isn’t bodywork, massage, chiropractic treatment or physiotherapy, and I’m not treating a physical condition. If your symptoms need a doctor, they need a doctor. I’ll say so.
Common questions
- Does somatic mean you’ll touch me?
- Touch is rare: I only use it to help you regulate when you become very dysregulated, and always with your consent. Mostly we work with attention: sensation, breath and posture, with you clothed and in your chair. If contact would help, I ask first, every time, it always stays outside your clothing, and you can decline at any point without explaining — nothing about the work changes if you do. There is no massage and no manipulation of your body at any stage.
- What if I can’t feel anything in my body?
- That’s very common, and it’s information rather than a problem. Numbness is usually something your system learned for a good reason. But if noticing sensation is difficult most of the time, somatic counselling may not be the best place to start: Somatic Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy can help you build a safe connection with your body first.
- Is this instead of talk therapy, or as well?
- It includes talking. The difference is that we don’t stop at the story: we also listen to what your body is doing while you tell it.
- Does this work online?
- Yes, better than people expect — because what we’re tracking is happening in your body, not in the room.
Before we start, one important thing
This therapy is not a substitute for crisis or safety intervention. It isn't appropriate if you are currently in an unsafe or dangerous situation, or if you are at immediate risk of harming yourself or ending your life. In those circumstances you need crisis, emergency or specialised support first.
Somatic psychotherapy is also unsuitable for people who have recently faced, or are currently facing, legal allegations.
You might also be looking at
Somatic Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy
Gestalt Therapy
Ready to start?
Book a first session, or write to me if you'd rather ask something before you do.