My approach to somatic counselling
I work with the whole person, with special attention to their nervous system: we talk and we also pay attention to sensation, breath, posture, movement and impulse. Sessions are online and in person in Stockholm, one-to-one and in small groups, in English, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian or Montenegrin.
How I work
We talk and we also pay attention to what your body is doing while we talk. Below is where that comes from and what it looks like in practice.
The somatic approach
Talking matters and so does sensation, breath, movement and posture. Insight alone often fails to change how you feel; working with the body as well is what tends to shift it.
Read about somatic work →Nervous-system-informed work
Fight, flight, freeze and shutdown aren't moods or choices. They're ways your nervous system responds when things feel like too much. Once you can see the pattern, it becomes easier to understand yourself rather than blame yourself.
Read about nervous system states →Inside a session
The practical shape of the hour: how we begin, what I might ask, length, fee, language and cancellation.
See the practical detail →Where my training comes from
Psychology, body psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing® form the foundation of my work through formal training, while Internal Family Systems, Inner Relationship Focusing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy have also shaped my thinking and the way I work with people.
What I believe about this work
I do not think of people as problems to be corrected. Almost everything that brings someone to counselling was, at some point, an intelligent adaptation, a way of coping that made sense given what was available. Work goes better when we start there.
I also do not believe change happens mainly through explanation. You can understand your patterns thoroughly and still live inside them. What tends to shift things is a different experience, felt in the body, repeated often enough that your system begins to expect it. Simply put, from the perspective of neuroscience, when a different experience is repeated, the brain can gradually strengthen the connections that make that new response easier and more familiar.
Sessions are not just about what we talk about, but also about what can happen when you are met with attention, warmth and without judgment. I am there with you, noticing, reflecting and offering my perspective, while you stay connected to your own sense of what feels right. We work together to understand what is happening and find a way forward.
Do we talk, or is it body work?
Do we talk, or is it body work?
Both. Our sessions are conversations, you tell me what is happening and we make sense of it together, as in any talk therapy. What the somatic part adds is another source of information: noticing what happens in your body as you speak. Sometimes your body tells us something that your mind hasn't quite put into words yet.
What does the somatic part add to talking?
Words tell your story; your body tells how it is still living in you. Noticing your breath, tension, posture and impulses can bring awareness to things that talking alone may not reach. This means we don't only talk about the changes you want to make. We create opportunities to experience those changes in your body, in the moment.
What might we do besides talking?
I may invite you to slow down and stay with a sensation, notice your breath, follow a small movement or impulse, or use imagination and gentle experiments. Everything is an invitation. You're always in charge of what you choose to explore.
Do I need to be good at sensing my body?
No. Many people start out feeling numb or disconnected and that is useful information rather than a problem. Building that capacity gently is often part of the work.