Something is still unresolved.
Somatic transformation work that addresses the body, the nervous system and the deeper patterns beneath anxiety, trauma and emotional pain.
Most people who come to this work have already done a lot. They have seen doctors, therapists, coaches. They have read the books, tried the approaches, worked hard to understand themselves.
And yet something persists. A tightness in the body that doesn't release. An anxiety that returns regardless of what they know intellectually. A sense that the difficulty lives somewhere they haven't yet been able to reach.
This is not a failure of effort or willingness. It is simply that many approaches work at the level of the mind - with thoughts, narratives, strategies. This work goes deeper than that.
What somatic transformation actually means
The phrase 'somatic transformation' is worth explaining - because it means something specific, and something different from most therapy you may have encountered.
It means that your experience - anxiety, trauma, emotional pain, chronic stress - is not treated as a problem to be corrected in the mind alone. It is understood as something held in the whole of you: in the body, in the nervous system, in patterns of response.
Rather than only talking about what has happened, we work with how it is held - in your breath, your physical sensations, your movement, your automatic responses. This is where lasting change actually takes root.
You can understand something completely and still feel it in your body as if it happened yesterday. This work addresses that gap.
How we work
I work with clients across the UK, USA and internationally. Sessions are private, one-to-one and conducted online. Each one is tailored entirely to what is arising for you.
We work with the relationship between mind, body and nervous system. This might involve mindfulness and awareness practices, somatic awareness - noticing what is happening physically as we explore something emotionally - nervous system regulation, or working with the deeper patterns and beliefs that shape how you experience yourself and the world.
The approach draws on trauma-informed practice, Compassionate Inquiry principles as developed by Gabor Maté, transpersonal psychology, Jungian-informed perspectives, somatic movement awareness (Anna Murray-Preece), and over two decades of Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice (mentored by Rob Preece) - not just as a religion, but as a rigorous framework for understanding the mind and working with awareness directly.
I do not rush. Sessions move at a pace that allows real integration rather than overwhelm. Safety and trust are built carefully, because without them, nothing else is possible.
Who this is for
This work tends to be a good fit for people who:
Are experiencing anxiety, chronic stress or burnout that hasn't fully resolved with standard therapy or other approaches
Are carrying trauma that may have been talked about and processed intellectually, but still lives in the body
Feel a persistent disconnection from themselves, their body or their life
Are navigating grief, loss or a significant life transition
Live with chronic pain or long-term health conditions where the emotional and psychological dimensions feel overwhelming
Want an approach that takes the whole person as they are - not just symptoms or strategies
You do not need prior experience with therapy, meditation or any particular framework. You need only a genuine readiness to engage.
Why this work reaches further
My understanding of this work is not only theoretical. I know what it is to navigate severe chronic pain, trauma and the complete dismantling of a life I had built - and to find, within that, something deeper and steadier than the suffering. That direct experience means I can hold complexity without flinching, and be present with pain that doesn't resolve neatly or quickly.
It also means I know, from the inside, what genuine change actually looks like - and what it doesn't.
The aim of this work is not the elimination of difficulty. Pain, anxiety and challenging emotion are part of being human — and trying to eradicate them often creates more suffering, not less. What becomes possible instead is a different relationship with your experience. One where anxiety no longer controls your decisions. Where pain - physical or emotional - can be met with awareness rather than panic or suppression. Where the patterns that have kept you stuck begin, slowly, to loosen.
Over time, clients describe feeling more settled in their body, more able to navigate difficulty without being overwhelmed, and more connected to a sense of themselves that exists beneath the struggle.
This is not quick work. But it is real work - and its effects tend to last.
If this feels relevant
If something in what you have read resonates with where you are, I invite you to get in touch.
I offer a short initial conversation - free of charge - to explore whether working together feels right for both of us. There is no obligation, and I will always be honest with you about whether I believe I can help.
3 Month Private Mentorship
For those ready to do work and deeply transform their lives.
Over three months, we work together in regular private sessions - tailored entirely to you, your body, your history and your inner life. This is not a template. There is no programme you follow. There is only the work that needs to happen, at the pace that allows it to be real.
Clients who come to this work are typically navigating chronic pain, anxiety, trauma, or a spiritual life that needs careful, experienced support. They have often tried other approaches and are ready for something with genuine depth.
This mentorship includes regular one-to-one sessions, personalised practices for integration between sessions, and ongoing support as the work unfolds.
Places are limited. If you feel ready, I invite you to apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Conventional talking therapy - CBT, psychodynamic therapy, counselling - works primarily through conversation. You explore what has happened, examine your thoughts and patterns, develop insight and understanding. For many people, this is genuinely valuable.
Somatic transformation, as I practise it, goes further than that. It is based on the understanding that difficulty - anxiety, trauma, emotional pain, chronic stress - is not held only in the mind. It is held in the body: in the nervous system, in physical patterns of tension and response, in the way you breathe and move and hold yourself. Talking alone, however insightful, often cannot reach those layers.
In our sessions, we work with what is happening in the whole of your experience - not just the narrative or the thoughts, but the physical sensations, the nervous system responses, the deeper patterns beneath the surface. This might look like noticing what happens in your body as we explore something emotionally, working with breath and somatic awareness, practices or using awareness practices drawn from over two decades of meditation training.
The result, for most people, is change that feels more complete, a more embodied change - not just understood intellectually, but genuinely integrated into how they feel and function day to day.
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This is one of the most honest questions to ask - and it deserves an honest answer.
There is no fixed length. This is not a six-week programme with predetermined outcomes. The work moves at the pace that is right for you, and that pace is different for everyone.
Some clients come with a specific difficulty they want to work through - a period of acute anxiety, a grief they are navigating, a transition they need support with. For others, the work is longer and more exploratory - a sustained process of genuine inner change that unfolds over months or years.
What I can say is that real change - the kind that lasts, that changes how you actually feel rather than just how you think about things - takes time.
Many of my clients work with me over extended periods, returning as life brings new challenges or as the work naturally deepens. For those wanting a more structured container, the three-month private mentorship offers a sustained, focused engagement with clear intention and support throughout.
If you are unsure whether this kind of commitment is right for you, the initial conversation is the place to explore that - openly and without obligation
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No. You do not need any prior experience at all.
Some of the people I work with have a long-standing meditation practice. Others have never sat in stillness for five minutes in their life. Both come to this work and find it accessible, because we always begin exactly where you are.
Mindfulness and awareness practices are woven into the work where they are useful - not as a discipline to be mastered, but as practical tools for developing a different relationship with your experience. I teach them in a simple, grounded way, adapted entirely to your needs, your body and what is actually helpful for you.
What matters is not your level of experience. It is your willingness to show up, engage honestly and allow the process to unfold at its own pace.
If you have tried meditation before and found it difficult - perhaps because sitting still intensified anxiety, or because the instructions felt disconnected from your actual experience - that is something we can work with directly. Many people find that the way meditation is commonly taught does not suit them, but that there are other approaches to awareness and presence that do. Most of my clients are pleasantly surprised at how easy meditation is!
Client Reviews
“This has really helped me with creating a new and more patient relationship with myself. I’ve taken a step forward in managing my emotional pain and that’s so encouraging because it’s been a long time since I’ve felt any forward momentum with my daily struggles.
Olivia has a beautiful, gentle, wise, honest and no-nonsense way of guiding you through it all.
The sessions were simple yet somehow magical for me and they made me feel so grounded, calm and safe. Being able to finally create some real space around my struggles was the magical part… I really can’t find the words to describe it. What a blessing and I’m so grateful to Olivia”
- Agnes, USA
“Working with Olivia has transformed my life. She has given me tools to manage any feelings and physical sensations peacefully. It is the first time I have felt energetically connected to a therapist”
- Sissy, USA
“I had trauma decades ago and still find myself holding my body tightly. At times of stress it intensifies. Working with Olivia gave me easy tools to physically soften and create spaciousness. Thank you”
- Joan, UK