Guided Somatic Practice
I offer guided somatic practice online.
In these one-on-one sessions, we focus on the sensations in your body, and I reflect back and help you to stay present with your experience. I offer movements and strategies for working with these sensations, which you can also practice in your own time. Interventions may involve guided body scanning; self-holds and exploratory movement; visualisation; distraction from overwhelm; and other grounding or energising techniques.
I take on clients who can commit to at least 4 sessions, to establish a rhythm and trust. I trust you as the authority on your own body, and recognise the impact of systemic and cultural forces on our individual and collective experiences.
"River has a really gentle presence that encouraged me to feel calm and at ease during our sessions. They took the sessions at a slow pace to really get to know me and what I needed. I'm grateful for our time working together."
Learn More
-
The somatic (meaning of the body) framework holds that bringing attention to bodily sensations can open up new possibilities emotionally.
These bodily sensations may look like anything from heat or cold, tightness or softness, pressure or lightness, buzzing or tingling, or even colours and shapes. Bodily sensations can be overwhelming (even the pleasurable ones) and we may avoid them by zoning out, thinking, and using various numbing behaviours. Expanding our capacity to be with the sensations in our bodies can increase our self-awareness, support us in feeling more present in our lives and decisions, and help us to identify desires and boundaries.
We all have habitual ways of holding ourselves, due to our biology and history, which can create sensitivity in some areas and numbness in others. Somatics can bring awareness to these patterns. For example, noticing and working with how we tense around an injury can help us with pain management. The same goes for manifestations of feelings like anxiety. We can think about the different states of the autonomic nervous system (fight, flight, freeze; rest and digest) as one way of making sense of our embodied reactions.
In sessions, we focus on the present moment and what is happening in your body in the here and now. However, focussing on bodily sensations can bring up memories. Our priority is supporting your sense of stability and presence as much as possible. Over time, we may decide to explore issues from your past as they arise through bodily sensations. This can help to resolve persistent difficulties that we cannot think our way out of through insight alone.
-
My background is in bodywork and I am not a mental health professional, so I cannot diagnose or treat illness, and we do not focus on processing events verbally. (Naturally we will chat and probably laugh during our sessions!) If you have significant trauma ongoing or in your past, this work will be best undertaken after you have received some psychotherapy, to create a baseline of understanding and internal stability.
I completed a year-long training in Somatic Trauma Therapy in early 2026 led by Simonetta Logan at the School of Holistic Therapy in Edinburgh, and continue to undertake study alone and in groups. I attend supervision with an experienced mentor, as well as peer supervision, to review and seek input on my practice. I am insured by Balens.
-
Sessions last for 1 hour. You might come weekly, fortnightly, or monthly, and this can change over time. We will check in about your progress as we go. I work online on weekdays from 10-6, with negotiable weekday evening flexibility.
Sessions cost between £35-60 on a sliding scale. Check out the FAQs on my homepage for more information about sliding scale payments. Let me know if you are interested and these costs are a barrier to you.
If you are interested, please read my Working Together Agreement here and email me via the contact form to schedule a free initial call.