Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a therapeutic approach that combines talking therapy with awareness of the body and nervous system. It is based on the understanding that difficult experiences, trauma, stress and overwhelming emotions are often held not only in our thoughts, but also physically within the body.
When people experience trauma, illness, chronic stress or an emotionally overwhelming event, the nervous system can remain in a state of alert, shutdown or other types of dysregulation long after the event has passed. This may show up as anxiety, dissociation, numbness, sleep difficulties, anger, physical tension, hypervigilance or feeling disconnected to yourself and others.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy helps people recognise and understand these responses in a gentle and safe way. Alongside talking; therapy may include awareness of:
Physical sensations in the body
Breathing patterns
Posture and movement
Nervous system responses
Emotional regulation
Grounding and Safety
The approach does not focus on repeatedly retelling traumatic experiences. Instead, it helps clients develop greater awareness of how the body responds to stress and supports the nervous system to feel safer, calmer and more regulated.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy can be helpful for people experiencing:
Trauma or PTSD
Anxiety and panic
Stress and burnout
Grief and loss
The emotional impact of illness and diagnosis and how to process that within the body
Medical trauma
Childhood trauma or attachment difficulties
Although this way of working is integrated into how I work open ended with clients (if appropriate) I can offer this work as part of short term therapy (6-12 sessions) at £100 per session.
If you would like to explore whether this approach may be helpful for you, please feel free to get in touch for an initial conversation.
