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Somatic psychotherapy in Melbourne is a body-based approach

to trauma therapy that works directly with your nervous system and physical experience

 

​There are times when talking helps us make sense of things, and times when understanding alone isn’t enough.

You might already know why you feel anxious, overwhelmed, or shut down, yet your body continues to respond as if something is still happening. Tightness in the chest, tension in the shoulders, a sense of restlessness or numbness that doesn’t shift through insight alone.

Somatic psychotherapy begins here — with what your body is actually experiencing in the present moment.

Rather than focusing only on thoughts or stories, we gently include your nervous system in the process. We slow down enough to notice what is happening in your breath, posture, sensations, and energy, and what this might be communicating about your internal state.

This is not about analysing yourself. It’s about learning to listen to the body in a way that feels safe, supported, and manageable.

 

My Approach

My original training was in counselling and psychotherapy, grounded in Person-Centred Therapy.

This approach shaped how I work deeply. It holds the belief that people are not broken, and that healing happens in the presence of genuine safety, attunement, and understanding.

Over time, my work naturally expanded into the body.

Again and again I met people who had done a lot of talking and understanding, yet still felt stuck in patterns of anxiety, shutdown, or overwhelm. Their bodies were still carrying the imprint of stress, trauma, or long-term adaptation.

This led me into somatic psychotherapy and nervous system–informed work, where we pay attention not just to what you think or say, but how your system responds moment to moment.

Today, I work in a way that integrates conversation with body awareness, always guided by your pace and capacity.

 

A Trauma-Informed Approach

Everything I offer is trauma-informed.

This means we understand that your responses are not random or wrong — they are adaptive. They developed to help you cope, survive, or stay connected in environments that may have felt overwhelming or unsafe.

Patterns like anxiety, emotional overwhelm, people-pleasing, shutdown, perfectionism, or constant doing are often intelligent responses to past experience.

Rather than trying to override these patterns, we work with them gently and with respect.

You are never asked to push through overwhelm or revisit anything before you feel ready. We move at a pace that supports your nervous system, not against it.

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What Is Somatic Psychotherapy?

Somatic psychotherapy is a body-based approach that works directly with your nervous system and physical experience, alongside conversation.

In sessions, we may gently notice:

• changes in breath

• muscle tension or holding

• posture and movement

• sensations of ease, contraction, or numbness

• impulses to move, pause, or withdraw

• states of activation or shutdown

These are not treated as symptoms to fix.

They are understood as meaningful signals from your nervous system about what is happening internally.

Sometimes simply slowing down enough to notice these signals creates a shift that talking alone hasn’t been able to reach.

 

What Somatic Psychotherapy Helps With

Somatic psychotherapy can support people experiencing:

• trauma and PTSD symptoms

• anxiety and chronic stress

• emotional overwhelm and shutdown

• nervous system dysregulation

• chronic illness and body-based stress patterns

• difficulty feeling safe or grounded in the body

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​​​​​What Happens in a Session?

Sessions are conversational.

We talk about what is present in your life, and as we do, we may occasionally slow down and bring attention to your current experience.

For example, we might notice:

• a tightening in your chest as you speak

• a change in your breathing

• a sense of distance or numbness

• a wave of emotion that arrives unexpectedly

We don’t force anything. We simply include what is already happening.

Sometimes that means pausing and staying with a sensation for a little while. Sometimes it means gently grounding or noticing your breath. Sometimes it simply means staying with conversation.

There is no fixed method and no expectation to revisit trauma.

We follow your system and what feels manageable in the moment.

 

How This Work May Support You

Somatic psychotherapy may support you to:

• feel more connected to your body

• understand your nervous system more clearly

• notice patterns of stress and protection

• feel more present and grounded in daily life

• gently process the effects of overwhelm or trauma

• respond to life with more flexibility and choice

• develop a greater sense of internal safety

Change is not forced. It emerges over time as your system begins to feel safer and more supported.

 

Who This May Suit

This approach may be helpful if you:

• have done talk therapy but still feel something is unresolved

• experience anxiety, stress, or emotional overwhelm

• feel disconnected from your body

• notice patterns of tension, shutdown, or hypervigilance

• are highly sensitive or neurodivergent

• want an approach that includes both mind and body

 

How This Fits Within My Practice

Somatic psychotherapy forms the foundation of my work.

Alongside this, I integrate Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic IFS, and Advanced Integrative Therapy (AIT) depending on what feels supportive for you.

These are not separate systems you need to choose between. They are ways of working that support different aspects of healing, always guided by the same values: safety, curiosity, and respect for your pace.