Discover how counselling, somatic therapy, and polyvagal practices like yoga, breathwork, and meditation can support healing from trauma.
Trauma comes up often in my therapy room, and it can look very different from person to person. For some, it’s a single life event. For others, it’s ongoing experiences such as childhood neglect, difficult relationships, or not feeling supported when they needed it most. What feels overwhelming to one person may not affect another in the same way — what matters is how our mind and body process those experiences.
In my own learning, I’ve been influenced by the work of Gabor Maté (When the Body Says No), Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score), and Deb Dana (Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection). For practical approaches, I find Arielle Schwartz’s yoga practices and Justin Caffrey’s polyvagal guided meditations particularly meaningful. Their work reflects what many clients already know: trauma doesn’t remain in the past — it can live in the body and continue to show up in daily life.
This is why I often lean towards a somatic (body-based) approach alongside talking therapy. Practices such as yoga, breathwork, and grounding can help clients manage overwhelm and feel safer in their bodies while we explore their experiences together.
Polyvagal theory also plays an important role. It explains how our nervous system responds to stress through fight, flight, or shutdown, and how calming the body is key to recovery. Simple practices like meditation, humming, or singing can stimulate the vagus nerve, helping bring the body back to a sense of safety and calm.
Many people I meet have experienced childhood trauma. This is sometimes measured through ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences), which show how early difficulties can affect mental health, relationships, and even physical health later in life. Understanding this impact can help make sense of why someone feels the way they do now.
Working with trauma isn’t about erasing the past. It’s about creating a safe space to explore what happened, notice how it shows up in the present, and find ways forward with more resilience and self-compassion. Healing can mean feeling more grounded, more connected, and more in control of your life today. If you’d like a safe and supportive space to explore what’s on your mind, I offer counselling face-to-face in Ludlow, Shropshire, and online across the UK. Get in touch here to find out more.
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