And I said to my body, softly, ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this. Nayyirah Waheed
Trauma can leave us feeling disconnected — from our bodies, our relationships, our sense of safety, and even from ourselves. It can live quietly in the background or surface in overwhelming waves. Sometimes we know exactly where it comes from; other times, we’re left with experiences we can’t explain.
Trauma therapy offers a space to begin making sense of what’s happened — not by forcing the story, but by listening gently to what the body, mind, and nervous system have carried.
There are many definitions of trauma — but if they agree on one thing, it’s this: trauma is less about what happened, and more about how it was experienced.
It’s a subjective experience. What overwhelms one person might not overwhelm another. Trauma isn’t measured by the event itself, but by the impact it had — especially if you were alone with it, unsupported, or had no safe place to turn.
You might not think of your experience as “trauma,” but if something felt frightening, overwhelming, or left you feeling stuck, ashamed, or unsafe — and you had to find a way to cope alone — it may have been traumatic.
Trauma isn’t always one big event — it can also be a series of smaller, repeated experiences that slowly wear down your sense of safety, worth, or trust in others.
It might come from something sudden and overwhelming, like an assault, accident, or natural disaster. But it might also come from chronic emotional neglect, ongoing criticism, growing up with a caregiver who was unpredictable, or never feeling seen or safe as a child.
These experiences might not be obvious on the outside — but their impact can run deep.
Trauma lives in the brain, body, and nervous system — not just in memory. It can shape how we relate to safety, trust, intimacy, and even our own feelings. You may have heard of “fight or flight” — the body’s instinctive way of protecting itself. But there are other common responses too, like freeze (shutting down or going numb) and fawn (appeasing or people-pleasing to stay safe). These are all survival strategies, shaped by your nervous system to help you get through overwhelming situations. They make sense.
Interpersonal trauma refers to harm that happens between people — especially when that harm is intentional or comes from another person’s actions.
This can include:
These experiences are often shocking, overwhelming, or violating. They may happen suddenly or repeatedly over time. Their impact can be deep, especially when you were left without support or validation afterward.
When interpersonal trauma happens within close relationships — especially in childhood — it may also be called relational trauma.
Relational trauma is a form of interpersonal trauma that happens within important or close relationships — especially during childhood.
It may involve:
Relational trauma often leaves lasting imprints on your sense of self, safety, and worth. It can shape how you experience closeness, express needs, handle conflict, or trust others — even long after the original relationship has ended.
Adverse Childhood Experiences are early life events that can have lasting emotional, physical, and relational effects. These experiences may include:
These early experiences can shape the way we relate to ourselves and others. You may carry feelings of hyper-independence, chronic alertness, distrust, numbness, or deep insecurity — often without linking them back to childhood at all.
If you’ve experienced trauma — whether recently or in childhood — you might relate to the term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or Complex PTSD (C-PTSD).
These aren’t just clinical terms — they’re ways of describing how trauma may continue to live in the nervous system. You might find yourself:
You don’t need a diagnosis for your experience to be valid. If something in you is asking for care — that’s enough.
As Dr. Gabor Maté writes, trauma isn’t what’s wrong with you — it’s about what happened to you. And how your body, mind, and relationships adapted in order to protect you.
Trauma is not just something that happened in the past — it’s the imprint it leaves on your nervous system, your sense of self, and your capacity to feel safe in the world. Often, it shows up as shame, anxiety, chronic self-criticism, or emotional overwhelm. It can shape our relationships, our boundaries, and the way we move through life.
Your responses make sense. They’ve had purpose. And they deserve care.
Trauma can take many forms — from one-off events to ongoing, relational, or developmental experiences. You may notice:
Whether you name it trauma or not, if something in you is asking to be met — therapy can offer a place to begin.
Trauma therapy offers a space to slow down, feel safe, and begin reconnecting with yourself — gently and at your pace. It can help you:
My work is rooted in a trauma-informed, relational, and humanistic approach. I aim to meet you with gentleness and clarity — creating space for your story, your nervous system, and your pace.
I work with:
I’m currently completing a Diploma in Trauma-Informed Therapy with The Greenane Centre, and I draw on the three-phase model of trauma therapy, which offers a safe and flexible roadmap for healing:
Later this year, I’ll also begin training in EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) — a structured and research-supported approach to trauma work. I’m approaching this training with curiosity and care, and look forward to integrating what I learn as it becomes part of my clinical practice.
This process isn’t linear — and we’ll return to safety and grounding whenever needed.
Trauma therapy can be deeply healing, but it’s not always easy. It can bring up emotions, memories, or parts of you that have been buried for a long time. That’s why we go slowly. With care, collaboration, and choice at the centre.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need to know where we’re going. You’re allowed to take your time.
“The body is the seat of awareness - our anchor in the storm.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a body-based approach to working with trauma, attachment, and relational wounds. While Jon Kabat-Zinn’s work arises from mindfulness rather than trauma therapy, his words resonate strongly with Sensorimotor Psychotherapy’s understanding that awareness of the body is foundational to healing.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy recognises that our experiences are not held only in thoughts or emotions, but are organised through the body. This includes sensation, posture, movement, breath, and nervous system response. By paying attention to these physical expressions, therapy can support change at the level where trauma is often held, not just where it is understood.
Rather than focusing solely on what has happened or why, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy invites attention to what is happening now. Turning toward the body with curiosity and compassion allows us to notice how safety, threat, activation, or settling are expressed physically in the present moment.
In this way, the body becomes a guide. It offers small, moment-to-moment signals that can help orient us back toward steadiness, agency, and a growing sense of wholeness.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is often described as a “bottom-up” approach. This means that therapy begins with awareness of the body’s experience - sensations, impulses, movement, and patterns of tension or collapse - alongside thoughts and emotions. Rather than starting only with story or analysis, the focus is on how experience is showing up in the body in the present moment.
The Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute (SPI) uses the phrase “because words are not enough.” What this means is that while talking and understanding matter, some aspects of trauma and attachment are organised beyond language, in the nervous system and body, and do not shift through insight alone. Working directly with bodily experience allows therapy to reach these layers in a way that feels more integrated and sustainable.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy may be helpful if you notice that difficult experiences continue to live on in your body, reactions, or relationships, even when you understand them intellectually. It is often drawn to when traditional talking therapies have not fully supported change - especially where difficulties continue to show up through the body, emotions, or nervous system.
People often come to this work because of experiences such as:
Ongoing anxiety or fear, or a nervous system that feels constantly on edge, alert, or unable to fully settle
Chronic stress or overwhelm, particularly when it shows up physically as tension, exhaustion, shallow breathing, headaches, or feeling “wired but tired”
Feeling low, flat, or disconnected, or struggling to feel pleasure or motivation, even when life appears okay on the outside
Strong bodily reactions to reminders, such as certain places, sounds, smells, or interpersonal situations
Shutting down or freezing, dissociating, or going blank in moments of conflict, closeness, or pressure
Feeling that your body reacts before you can think, including bracing, pulling away, people-pleasing, appeasing, or becoming overwhelmed
Trauma or PTSD-related experiences, including flashbacks, nightmares, emotional flooding, feeling frozen or stuck, or reacting strongly to reminders of past events (such as abuse, assault, accidents, medical procedures, or bullying)
Experiences of bullying, in childhood or adulthood, with ongoing fear, shame, self-criticism, or a sense of never quite feeling safe or good enough
Struggling with trust, boundaries, or intimacy, even when you want closeness or connection
Growing up or living in environments where parts of you felt unsafe, hidden, judged, or unaccepted, including experiences linked to sexuality, gender identity, or identity-based bullying
Feeling pulled in different directions internally, for example one part of you wanting change, rest, or connection, while another reacts with fear, protection, or shutdown
Experiences of grief or loss, including bereavement, relationship endings, identity shifts, health changes, or major life transitions, where something still feels unfinished or carried in the body
Persistent self-criticism or negative beliefs, about your worth, capacity, or right to succeed, that feel automatic rather than chosen
Difficulty sustaining work, relationships, or stability, without fully understanding why
For some people, these patterns are clearly linked to traumatic or adverse experiences. For others, they show up in everyday life - in relationships, work, or moments of stress - without a single identifiable event attached.
This list is not exhaustive. What matters most is not the diagnosis or label, but how your body and nervous system learned to respond in order to cope. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy works directly with these adaptations, supporting greater regulation, choice, and a felt sense of safety over time.
In my work with trauma, I often meet people who understand what has happened to them, yet still feel caught in patterns of tension, shutdown, or overwhelm that don’t respond to talking or thinking differently. This can be confusing and frustrating, especially when insight has already been hard-won.
In our work together, this means I am not only listening carefully to what you say, but also paying attention to how your body responds as you speak. At times, we may slow things down and notice sensations, posture, breath, or subtle shifts between activation and settling. There is no pressure to explain everything or to relive painful experiences. Instead, we work with what is present and manageable in the moment, allowing change to be felt as well as understood.
Trauma is not only something we remember – it is something the body learns. Long after an event has passed, the nervous system may continue to respond as though threat is still present. This can show up in many ways, such as chronic tension, numbness, shallow breathing, restlessness, collapse, or a sense of being disconnected from your body altogether.
These responses are not signs that something is wrong with you. They are intelligent adaptations that once helped you cope or survive. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy works with these bodily patterns directly, supporting the nervous system to gradually learn that it is safer to settle, to orient to the present, and to respond with greater choice rather than automatic protection.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is not about analysing the body or interpreting sensations. It is a collaborative process that unfolds moment by moment. At times, we may pause and notice something simple – how your feet feel on the floor, a tightening in your chest, or a subtle shift in your breath as you speak.
We might gently explore what happens if you stay with a sensation for a few moments, or if you make a small movement your body seems to want to complete. Nothing is forced, and you remain in control throughout. Often, small changes at the level of the body can lead to a greater sense of steadiness, clarity, or relief, without needing to revisit the full story of what happened.
A central part of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is respect for choice and autonomy. You are never asked to do anything that does not feel right for you. We check in regularly, adjust the pace as needed, and remain guided by your nervous system rather than a fixed agenda or technique.
This emphasis on choice and collaboration helps rebuild a sense of agency that trauma can disrupt. Over time, this can support a deeper experience of safety, trust, and self-direction, both within therapy and beyond it.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy places a strong emphasis on safety and pacing. It does not require you to retell or re-experience traumatic events in detail. Instead, we focus on what happens in the body here and now, as fragments of experience naturally arise.
By staying close to the edges of what feels difficult, rather than plunging into overwhelming material, the nervous system can learn that it is possible to approach what was once too much without being taken over by it. Over time, old patterns of protection and tension can soften, allowing more regulated and grounded ways of being to emerge.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy views the body as an essential source of information and intelligence. Physical responses are understood as meaningful adaptations that once served a purpose. Through mindful awareness and gentle experimentation, these patterns can gradually shift, supporting greater balance, resilience, and self-trust.
This work is collaborative and respectful, guided by what your system shows us rather than by predetermined goals or outcomes.
Having completed Level 1 training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy with the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, Colorado, USA, I integrate Sensorimotor Psychotherapy principles within my broader trauma-informed and relational work. It is a gentle, collaborative process that trusts your body’s wisdom and your system’s capacity to move toward healing in its own time.
If you are curious about whether a body-oriented approach might support you, you are very welcome to get in touch.
Whether you’re ready to begin or still unsure, reaching out is a powerful step. I’m here to meet you wherever you are — with care, respect, and warmth.
Healing isn’t about erasing the past — it’s about learning, slowly and gently, that you no longer have to carry it alone. There’s no timeline — only the quiet return to a self that’s been waiting to be heard.
