Somatic Experiencing®

Somatic Experiencing® is a body-oriented approach to working with stress, overwhelm, and difficult experiences. Rather than going over what happened on a purely mental level, we turn attention to the signals of the nervous system — tension, protective reactions, and impulses that never had the chance to complete. This creates room to process overwhelming experiences gently, to build greater inner stability, and to regain your capacity to act.

Many people arrive already understanding their own history quite well and are puzzled that the understanding has not changed much. They can explain exactly why they react as they do, and still find themselves braced in a particular meeting, flooded by a certain tone of voice, or unable to settle at the end of a day that was objectively fine. That gap is not a lack of insight or willpower. Some responses are organised well below the level of language, and they respond to a different kind of attention than analysis.

The nervous system is continuously assessing whether the present moment is safe, and it prepares you accordingly — mobilising for effort, or shutting activity down when effort seems futile. Both are intelligent responses. Difficulty arises when a response that was necessary once stays switched on afterwards, so that the body keeps reading an ordinary situation as a demanding one. What is felt then is inner restlessness, difficulty coming to rest, a tight chest or jaw, exhaustion that sleep does not touch, or a sense of being oddly distant from your own life.

In a session this looks quieter than people expect. We work slowly, in small pieces, staying within what you can comfortably stay present for. I might invite you to notice where in your body something is registering while you speak, what happens in the moments when it eases, and what your attention does when it moves toward a difficult edge. We keep returning to what feels steady, so activation is met in doses your system can actually complete rather than in one overwhelming approach. You stay in control of the pace throughout, and there is no requirement to recount details you would rather not describe.

Over time, this changes something practical. You start noticing your own signals earlier, while there is still room to respond. Stress rises and then genuinely comes back down instead of accumulating across the week. Emotions become more bearable to feel, and you spend less energy managing them at a distance. Many clients describe a growing inner steadiness, more resilience under pressure, and a new sense of being present in their own body and daily life.

I am a certified Somatic Experiencing® practitioner, with further training in ego-state work, Hakomi, and other body-oriented methods for working with stress and overwhelm. Somatic Experiencing® is rarely the whole of our work: it usually sits within a broader integrative and systemic frame, so that what your body is holding, the patterns you have learned, and the context you live in are all part of the same conversation. It combines well with individual counselling and with burnout prevention.

Sessions take place online by video, in English or German, and last 60 minutes. This work translates well to video: you are in your own space, which many people find helps them settle more quickly than an unfamiliar room. If you would like to find out whether it suits you, begin with a free 15-minute discovery call — no obligation to continue.