Somatic Psychotherapy

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If you’re seeking therapy that goes beyond talking, Somatic Psychotherapy offers a way to include the body in your healing journey. So often, we try to “think our way” through difficulties. But experiences—especially stress and trauma—are not held only in the mind. They are carried in the body too, showing up as tension, numbness, restlessness, chronic stress, or a sense of being “stuck.”

Somatic Psychotherapy is a body-based approach that recognises this connection between mind and body. It supports you to gently notice physical sensations, patterns, and impulses, while staying grounded and resourced. By bringing awareness to the body in a safe and attuned way, you can begin to release what has been held, regulate your nervous system, and discover new possibilities for resilience and wellbeing.

This is not a set of exercises or techniques to be applied. Somatic Psychotherapy is a way of being in relationship—a process that honours the body’s innate wisdom, and unfolds moment by moment in connection with your therapist. Practices such as grounding, breath awareness, and mindful movement may be used, but the essence of the work is relational, experiential, and uniquely tailored to you.

 

Somatic Psychotherapy can help you:

• Reconnect with your body and cultivate a greater sense of safety

• Process trauma and stress without becoming overwhelmed

• Release long-held patterns of tension or shutdown

• Feel more present, resilient, and alive in daily life

 

Somatic IFS

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Somatic IFS is a therapeutic approach that integrates Internal Family Systems (IFS) with the wisdom of the body. In IFS, we understand ourselves as having different “parts.” Some of these parts work hard to protect us—by keeping us busy, guarded, or shut down—while others carry the pain of past wounds or trauma. Every part has a reason for being here, even if its strategies sometimes create difficulty.

At the centre of this inner system is the Self—our natural state of clarity, calmness, and compassion. From Self, we can meet our parts with kindness and curiosity, allowing them to release old burdens and take on new, healthier roles.

Somatic IFS deepens this process by recognising that parts do not only show up in our thoughts and emotions but also in the body. A tight chest may signal a protective part, a sinking stomach may reveal a vulnerable younger part, while warmth and spaciousness can point to Self energy being present. By including the body in the process, Somatic IFS helps us connect with our parts in a direct and grounded way.

 

The 5 Core Practices of Somatic IFS

These practices are not techniques to “apply,” but guiding principles that support healing moment by moment:

• Somatic Awareness – cultivating sensitivity to the body’s signals, such as sensation, posture, movement, or energy, to notice how parts make themselves known.

• Conscious Breathing – using breath to calm, regulate, and open space, while noticing how different parts may influence or restrict the flow of breath.

• Radical Resonance – bringing deep presence and attunement so that parts feel truly heard and met, both within yourself and in the therapeutic relationship.

• Mindful Movement – allowing gentle, embodied expression—such as shifting posture or releasing tension—so parts can be acknowledged in ways beyond words.

• Attuned Touch – when safe and appropriate, using touch (or self-touch, or even imagined touch) to offer grounding and comfort, always guided by consent and safety.

 

What to Expect in Somatic IFS

In a session, we might pause to notice where in your body a part is showing up, give it space to be expressed through sensation or movement, and meet it with compassion and curiosity. Areas of tightness, numbness, or agitation can gradually soften as parts feel seen, supported, and no longer alone. At the same time, you strengthen your embodied connection with Self, so that compassion is not just a thought but a lived, felt experience in your body.

 

The Benefits of Somatic IFS

Working in this way can support you to:

• Build a deeper, more embodied relationship with your inner world

• Regulate your nervous system during stress and overwhelm

• Heal trauma that is held not only in memory but in the body itself

• Trust your Self as a steady, compassionate inner resource

• Experience a greater sense of wholeness, balance, and integration

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