Many people come to therapy expecting a traditional “talk therapy” approach where they share their story with a therapist who listens with care and presence, attuning and reflecting.
This can be incredibly valuable, particularly for those who have never had a safe space to be truly heard.
But at some point, many people realise that simply talking about past experiences doesn’t always create the changes they’re hoping for.
They may still feel afraid, sad, or stuck in the same limiting behavioural and relational patterns. This can lead to frustration and wondering why therapy isn’t bringing the shifts they expected.
They may even turn away from therapy entirely, with a sense that it just isn’t helpful for them.
While I love listening to people’s stories and naturally hold deep curiosity about how humans tick, my approach goes beyond talk therapy.
For those unfamiliar with practices like meditation, yoga, or mindfulness, the idea of slowing down and tuning into bodily sensations and one’s internal experience might feel strange or foreign at first.
But in my experience, this deeper exploration is where the most valuable transformation happens. It can feel subtle at first, but with patience, can be absolutely revolutionary.
Somatic therapeutic work invites you to move beyond thinking and analysing, into directly feeling and sensing what’s present in this moment.
This very moment is our anchor to what is true and alive. By staying with these subtle experiences and attuning to ourselves in this way, information starts to arise from a deep and clear place.
The kind of information that doesn’t come from our thinking, but arises on it’s own, and rings true, bringing a kind of integration through the whole body.
It’s about stepping into the unknown rather than reaching for familiar explanations. It requires patience, curiosity, and a willingness to slow down, even when it’s uncomfortable.
I’ve come to realise that my passion lies in working with the deeper layers of the psyche, the places that can’t be accessed through words alone.
This makes sense when we consider that so much of who and how we are is developed between our developmental ages between birth-3 years old. This is a mainly pre-verbal period of life, so these experiences are largely somatic.
In this sense, we cannot actually touch into and re-pattern these experiences unless we go to a place deeper than conscious memory and thought.
And how do we do that?
By feeling, which is not an easy gig at first for those who simply think their way through life.
This is why someone can have chronic anxiety, but look around and see no present trigger in their circumstances that justifies it.
Commonly, this is an example of a very early somatic experience which is still being held in the body and neural pathways, even though the person may find themselves in a very different world now.
Talk therapy alone will simply not be a sufficient means to process this kind of experience.
True healing isn’t always found in our stories, because our minds try to make things linear and logical. But as human beings, we are anything but linear.
When it comes to our mind, we only have access to the tip of the iceberg, yet this work allows us to dive beneath the surface and swim down to the core.
As I always say, it isn’t for the faint hearted, but for those who are curious and willing, it can be truly life-changing. It certainly has been for me.
This approach isn’t for everyone, but for those who are ready, it offers a profound way to connect with what’s truly happening inside.
There are many amazing talk therapists out there, and I am not one of them.