My role
As a therapist, my priority is to provide a safe and supportive environment where you are welcome to explore whatever you feel is important. While dialogue informs much of how I work, I may also offer alternative methods of exploration beyond words. These different approaches are offered to help you express and understand what you bring in ways that may feel more accessible or meaningful. Whatever intervention is suggested or path we take, my underlying intention is always to support you in finding greater ease with yourself and your life situation. Below are brief descriptions of the thought process behind my modality and potential interventions.
Emotional awareness
Our level of consciousness on a feeling level plays a significant role in shaping all aspects of our relationships, both from a psychological and a physical perspective. The degree to which we are in touch with our emotions, and our ability to recognise and express them, has a direct bearing on the quality of our interactions with others.
By becoming more skilled at contacting, understanding, and articulating our feelings, we equip ourselves with the tools necessary to navigate the many challenges that life inevitably presents. This heightened emotional awareness not only benefits our connections with others but also assists us in addressing issues related to past or present trauma, work situations, family dynamics, physical well-being, and our overall sense of self-worth.
Character armour
Throughout life, we develop unconscious armour against painful feelings. This armour can be part of our core belief (I feel small, so I will act big, I always feel unloved, so I will get everyone to love me). This amour reveals itself through the body, self-esteem, or our behaviour in relationships. If only we could simply drop the armour by telling ourselves to do so, but regrettably, this attempt often ends up as self-criticism. This armour initially began as a response to certain environmental factors - life force is clever; you put a plant in a bottle, and it will bend to fit the bottle. Humans do something similar: we adapt by building defences. When reality becomes overwhelming, as a way of coping, we contract, disassociate, or deny what's happening. We create relational ways of responding that only serve to exacerbate the situation. When we're armoured, we need a place we can trust again, where we can be met in our wounding, and release the built-up tension that resides in our being, both mentally and physically.
Understanding trauma and the importance of bodily processing
Certain aspects of early developmental trauma cannot be accessed or healed through conversation alone. Instead, the body often holds on to experiences and memories that words cannot reach. This physical retention of trauma is why bodily processes and responses are so significant in therapeutic work.
I recall once travelling on a bus with a man who had previously served as a soldier in a war zone. During our journey, the bus suddenly backfired. Instinctively, the man threw himself onto the floor, reacting as if he were still in immediate danger. Although physically safe, his body responded as though he was still in the war zone, and his mind entered a fight, flight, or freeze state. This reaction highlighted the depth at which trauma can be embedded in the body, persisting well beyond the original experience.
For individuals like this man, true healing comes from working through the trauma with someone supportive. This process allows the person to process their fear, have it witnessed and validated, and ultimately internalise a sense of safety. Without such an experience, the body continues to react as if the trauma is ongoing, despite any rational understanding that the danger has passed.
Some childhoods can feel like war zones themselves, marked by experiences such as physical or sexual abuse, spanking, routine abandonment as a disciplinary tactic, the withdrawal of love as punishment, smothering, narcissistic or tyrannical parenting, or being placed in boarding schools and institutions resembling prisons. In these environments, children must prioritise survival above all else.
In order to survive, children adapt by shutting down their feelings. Sometimes, they unconsciously align themselves with their abusers, which can later manifest as self-criticism, addictions, depression, shame, self-harm, and other forms of self-abuse. These adaptations, while protective in the moment, become barriers to a fulfilling and healthy adult life.
To move forward, it is essential to allow the body to express what it has been holding onto. By doing so, individuals can reclaim their sense of vitality and presence. This process is similar to re-parenting oneself—listening with empathy to the inner child who was forced into hiding. Through this compassionate attention, the once-hidden child can re-emerge and become integrated with the adult self, allowing a fuller, more alive existence.
Gestalt
Gestalt is a powerful way of working therapeutically. Instead of talking about the issue, we go directly into it. The cushion becomes our partner, mother, brother, work colleague, the shame we carry, the joie de vivre we have lost, and so on. Among other things, here we can explore what we want or need to say and what we assume might be said back. We're more able to navigate conversations we dread, and we can experience connections we hitherto didn't know existed. This way of working can also be used with parts of the self. The part that wants to do one thing can dialogue with the part that wants to do another. Working like this produces insights, helps us connect with buried emotions, lets us have a different outcome from an original wounding, and empowers us through internalising new experiences. I have often heard people say they’re reluctant to work like this because it feels like acting, and yet once they allow themselves to try, they’re amazed at how powerful it can be.
The power of art materials
Using art materials provides a valuable means of exploring personal issues. For many individuals, putting feelings into words can be challenging, whereas expressing those same emotions through images may come more naturally. This practice is not about artistic ability or creating a masterpiece; rather, it focuses on self-expression without the pressure of overanalysing each thought or feeling.
The process of creating images engages the right hemisphere of the brain, which is associated with feelings and intuition. This approach allows for a deeper connection with the subconscious, where the core aspects of our identity reside. By tapping into this part of ourselves, we can better understand the roots of our experiences and emotions.
Offering the opportunity to create images as a form of self-expression can be highly beneficial, though it is important to recognise that this method resonates more with some individuals than others. It remains a valuable option for those seeking alternative ways to communicate and process their feelings.
Using touch as part of the therapeutic process
Our skin, our muscles, and the proximity we allow in relation to others all carry an energetic charge. One person may feel too close and another never close enough. You may like to cuddle but are terrified of sexual intimacy or vice versa. As a child, you may have been inappropriately touched or not touched enough. Touch can feel like a minefield or a goldmine, depending on your experience. In the way I work, there are various forms of touch that can be explored, and this can also include the thought of touch without actual physical contact. One form of touch is in the form of working on deep tissue, helping to soften built-up muscular armour, enabling the release of repressed feelings. This hands-on approach to working with the body is something that would be discussed in the consultation. Other forms of touch may include hands pushing against each other, a hand on the back, or a child part being held. Physical contact can be an invaluable way of connecting with unconscious material. In body-psychotherapy, touch may be used precisely because of its ability to trigger the unconscious. However, it is always introduced with the utmost sensitivity and only with the client’s explicit, ongoing consent. There is never any sense of obligation—clear, healthy boundaries are recognised as essential to the therapeutic relationship and to personal growth. Touch in sessions is not a given, and I see many clients where there is no touch at all.
Who is it for
Some of the issues I have worked with are:
Sexual abuse
Childhood abuse
Relationship difficulties
Isolation
Depression
Anger issues (repression to rage)
Trauma (past and present)
Body image - body dysmorphia, obesity, eating disorders et al.
Psychosomatic - back pain, tension, headaches et al.
Anxiety - shyness, fear, overwhelm, panic attacks et al.
Addiction (drug, alcohol, screen, relationship, porn, sex)
The way I work can also be used for ongoing personal development and support.
Consultation
Before any ongoing sessions can begin, a consultation is required, where together we explore what you bring and what you hope to gain from therapy. There may be some note-taking and questions around such things as relationships, family history, and any major traumas in your life. It’s also an opportunity for you to ask me any questions you might have about me and the way I work.
Body psychotherapy is an umbrella term for a variety of ways of working therapeutically with the mind and body. There are many different ways of working as a body-psychotherapist, and the relationship between therapist and client is as important as the modality, so it’s worth checking out more than one therapist before deciding with whom you’d like to embark upon the therapeutic journey.