Have you ever noticed how your chest tightens when you’re anxious or how your shoulders tense up when you’re under stress? The body has a language of its own — and often, it’s trying to tell us something important.

In Embodied (somatic) psychotherapy, we learn to observe.

As a psychotherapist who works in an embodied and integrative way we learn to observe, gently, curiously, and without judgment. I sit with people who feel stuck, disconnected, or weighed down by patterns they can’t seem to shift. That’s where the body comes in.

What Is Embodied (somatic) Psychotherapy?

Somatic (or body-oriented) psychotherapy is a therapeutic approach that recognises the deep connection between mind, body, and emotion. Rather than focusing solely on words, it invites us to tune in to how experiences live in the body, through breath, posture, muscle tension, and sensation.

Sometimes, the body holds stories long after the mind has tried to forget them. This is especially true for people who’ve lived through stress, illness, trauma, or childhood experiences where there was no space to safely express or process what was happening.

By paying attention to these subtle physical cues — with curiosity and care — we create space for healing that is not only cognitive but deeply felt.

Why the Body Matters in Therapy

Trauma, anxiety, stress, and emotional overwhelm often live in the body. We might feel this as a racing heart, a churning gut, chronic pain, or a sense of numbness or shutdown. Even when we understand what’s going on intellectually, our nervous system may still be caught in old survival patterns.

Embodied therapy gently helps bring the nervous system back into balance. It supports people to notice, name, and safely process what their body is holding, all at their own pace.

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, explains how trauma is stored not just in memory but in the body itself. Neuroscientist Dr. Stephen Porges also shows how our sense of safety (or threat) lives in the nervous system, often outside our conscious awareness. These understandings guide the way I work, with deep respect for how each person’s body has learned to protect them.

How Somatic Psychotherapy Complements Talk Therapy

Talking is a vital part of therapy, it helps us make meaning, find language for our experience, and feel understood in relationships. For many people, simply being heard and seen is profoundly healing.

Embodied psychotherapy doesn’t replace talk therapy — it expands it. It invites us to also pay attention to what’s happening beneath the words: sensations in the body, nervous system responses, and patterns of holding or tension that may be outside of conscious awareness.

Together, talk and somatic work create a fuller picture, helping us not just understand our experiences, but also feel and integrate them more deeply.

What Does a Session Look Like?

Sessions might look a little different from what you’d expect in traditional therapy. We’ll talk, and we might also pause to notice what’s happening in your body as you speak. I may invite you to notice your breath, sense your feet on the floor, or track any sensations you become aware of. You’re always in charge of what we explore, and nothing is ever forced.

There’s no “doing it right” — it’s a collaborative process, grounded in safety, respect, and curiosity.

Who Is Somatic Therapy For?

This approach can be helpful for many people, including those experiencing:

• Chronic stress, burnout, or emotional overwhelm
• Anxiety, low mood, or difficulty regulating emotions
• A sense of disconnection from the body or self
• Trauma (including relational, developmental, or medical trauma)
• Chronic illness or pain
• Feeling “stuck” despite having insight

Our bodies are wise. They carry our stories, not just the difficult ones, but also the parts of us longing for rest, connection, joy, and aliveness. In embodied therapy, we listen deeply to those parts, and work gently to restore trust in the body, the self, and the world around us.

If this sounds like something you’re curious about, you’re welcome to reach out. 

Deborah Lowndes
Integrative Psychotherapist
The Purpose Place Counselling & Psychotherapy 

Further Reading:

• van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.
• Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. Norton.
• Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. Norton.