Work With Nicola
Somatic Therapy | Living Beyond Trauma
Body-Based Approaches to Healing, Recovery & Wellbeing
Welcome
In working together we are returning home to a body that feels safe, to a knowing beyond words and to a self that has always been there.
The right approach for you
My role is to create a listening field where you are supported & where your body gets to speak. Where you connect to your inherent bodywisdom and attend to what brings you wholeness & ease; thus enhancing your relationship to yourself and with what is.
You have benefited from talking therapies and still feel that something is stuck, now want to connect with yourself in a different way – beyond words. Somatic work invites you to meet your body in the here and now. There is no requirement to revisit the past.
You are struggling with burnout, coping with chronic, entering a period of flux and transition – and are looking for practical support. Together we develop your self-care resources for maintaining good mental health and empower you to meet your challenges with steadiness & confidence.
Moving from bracing to breathing – remember relaxation. When coping with anxiety, chronic pain, or the effects of stress – it’s natural that we contract the system in order to keep going. But the body loves and needs to exhale too! I help you to build sufficient experience of safety and grounding in your body so that you can follow the natural rhythms of in and out, of holding and releasing ~ without overwhelm. This work helps you cultivate inner resources in order to meet your life with both steadiness & flexibility
I provide a steady pathway for you to navigate your way back to who you are, expand the vitality you enjoy and develop the flexibility to respond to the ups and downs of everyday living
These threads will be woven into each session:
Presence… Is holding a compassionate listening space. Presence creates the container within which the body-wisdom and healing unfold from within.
Resourcing… Healing includes what feels good. We don’t have to stay in what is difficult — that’s the old pattern calling. Let’s connect with what already works, celebrate what is easeful, explore what lights you up. From this place of expansion, the deeper layers emerge.
Going slow…. The body moves slower than the mind. We take our time — especially in trauma healing. Together, we find a pace for your nervous system to integrate, so nothing gets overridden or left behind.
Centering…. We each locate our centre differently. I support you to return to that quiet, rooted place from which freedom and insight can emerge.
Movement… Movement can be intentional or simply sensed — a shift of bodyweight, a breath, the heartbeat. Life pulses in rhythm. Attuning to this helps soften the grip of the trauma vortex and reconnects us to our vitality.
Presence
Presence… Is holding a compassionate listening space. Presence creates the container within which the body-wisdom and healing unfold from within.
Resourcing
Resourcing… Healing includes what feels good. We don’t have to stay in what is difficult — that’s the old pattern calling. Let’s connect with what already works, celebrate what is easeful, explore what lights you up. From this place of expansion, the deeper layers emerge.
SLOWNESS
Going slow…. The body moves slower than the mind. We take our time — especially in trauma healing. Together, we find a pace for your nervous system to integrate, so nothing gets overridden or left behind.
CENTERING
MOVEMENT
Somatic Experiencing (S.E) | Trauma Recovery
One to one somatic experiencing sessions available worldwide, online and in-person in Stamford, UK & Tábua, Portugal.
“Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.” Peter Levine
Overwhelm | Anxiety | Overactivity | PTSD | Disconnection | Struggling to Prioritise Own Needs
These common symptoms are to be expected when the body is in protection and the nervous system is working overtime. The gentle trauma healing work of Somatic Experiencing attends to these stuck protective patterns of flight, fight, freeze or fawn. As underlying tension and pain is acknowledged and tended to, we are finally able to discharge and release this held energy, making it available for everyday living.
People who practice Somatic Experiencing notice that they:
- Trust their capacity to recover and regulate
- Enjoy more energy – reclaiming vitality for everyday living
- Feel more confident to sense their body again (out of curiosity rather than fear)
- Recognise the value of taking time
- Are more able to prioritise self-care
What is a session like?
Each session is tailored to your individual needs using a combination of practical exercises, compassionate inquiry and guided attention. No two sessions are the same, your healing process is as unique as you – we follow the needs of your body in each moment.
A significant part of the Somatic Experiencing method can be S.E touch work. In these sessions we have the option of integrating consensual, negotiated touch to augment the healing process.
I also integrate Stephen Porge’s Polyvagal theory of neuroception and work to develop a felt sense of safety in the body and draw upon the principle of Parts Work from Dick Schwartz’s – Internal Family Systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve tried everything and still feel stuck or in pain - How is Somatic Trauma Recovery WORK different from other therapies ?
“Trauma is in the nervous system, not in the event.” We can’t think our way out of emotional stress, or chronic pain. The Somatic Experiencing method for trauma resolution works with your nervous system as it is now—we don’t need to revisit your story unless it feels important. We gently contact what’s held in the body, so that the natural process of discharge and completion of the held defense response, can occur.
Can I work with you if I’m already seeing a talking therapist?
Absolutely. Resourced-based somatic trauma recovery work offers a body-based ( bottom-up) approach that ideally complements talking therapies which are cognitive (top-down).
Where do you work?
I can work with you in person or online. My in-person clinics are in Tábua Coimbra District, Portugal & Stamford, Lincolnshire, UK
Online – Worldwide: Quite literally – I work from my container cabin, with an olive tree pressed against the glass and a view of the mountains stretching beyond. It is an evolving space where I can welcome and support you wherever you are in the world.
How does online work compare to in-person?
Whilst we can’t do hands-on touch online, we can use self-contact and other somatic bodywork tools very effectively. Everything else – felt-sense work, orientation, resourcing, practical exercises, and compassionate presence – is the same.
Session length?
1 hour – 75mins
How many sessions will I need & how long do I come for?
Ongoing work is booked in blocks of 6 sessions, offering structure and continuity.
You are welcome to book a single session for very specific focus, this option is available after we have worked together for 6 sessions or more
Initially sessions are weekly or fortnightly. This is something that I assess and we discuss.
The duration of the sessions depends on how your body-system responds to the work: Short to mid-term—anything from a single session to a year. Typically 6 sessions over 3 months as a starting point, and then we’d assess where to go from there.
Ready to find out how it feels to work together?
Somatic Bodywork | Zero Balancing Touch Sessions
Sessions of somatic bodywork are available in Stamford, UK & Tábua, Portugal.
“Helping your body find how it needs to be”.
My touch work sessions are bone-deep, they offer you a gentle and profound way of contacting yourself and the life within. Mostly, I use the method of Zero Balancing touch work but may also incorporate visceral abdominal work & dynamic holistic pulsing, depending on your need.
Sessions take place clothed, on a massage table. Listening hands are placed underneath your body to allow greater access to gravity and your bodyweight.
Touch & minimal verbal dialogue offers your body a mirror for you to experience and process what is here just now.
Through conscious attention, held stillpoints (fulcrums) at the foundation joints and gentle held stretches to the whole skeleton and deep bone-contact, we create the opportunity for your whole bodysystem to re-orientate and reorganise itself from the inside out.
Somatic bodywork is ideal if you’re looking to:
- Effectively relieve chronic pain without the need for deep pressure or strong manipulation.
- Enhance your overall well-being; take rest within a respectful, deeply restorative and listening space.
- Support faster recovery from injury or shock by processing tension that is under the level of conscious awareness – often stored in the deeper tissues of the viscera and bone.
- Work sensitively with a trauma-trained bodyworker who recognises the quality of a deeper space of processing.
“Zero Balancing is like therapy without words, acupuncture without the needles and deep massage with all my clothes on”
– quote from a Z.B regular.
FEES
for 1:2:1 sessions
UK & Worldwide
£410/ 6 sessions
£75/ single session
Limited bursary places are available, please contact me directly:
Portugal
€375 / 6 sessions
or €65 / single session
Local Clients
in Tábua & Oliveira area:
What clients have said …
Group Work – Movement Spaces
Cosmic Dance Space, Peterborough, UK
Seasonal conscious dance events for all female bodies. In collaboration with Nomad Therapies. Think therapeutic joy and serious fun…. These sessions are for you if you want a shoe-free, booze-free, opinion-free space to move and be – AND be home before midnight.
2026 Dates: 14 March/ 2nd May (BELTANE) / July TBC ….. Early bird booking only £18 – open now.
Joyful Moves
Covas, Portugal
Fridays. Monthly drop-in. Somatic movement meets Ecstatic dance… All curious bodies are welcome.
Bring layers and water bottle and blanket
Next Date –
FRIDAY 4 MARCH @ NEW TIME OF 10.15-11.45
Exchange €5-7–10.
A Conversation with Your Body
(Online)
Weekly Movement for Embodying Resilience
A community space for resourceful movement, reflection & connection.
10-7-5 /session. Paid in Euros or GBP.
Thursdays 9.30-10.30 (WET)
Next Steps …
SPEAK TO ME
Book a Call
You are warmly invited to book a no-fee 20 min chat, to get really clear on the outcome you need.
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if you have further questions