Trauma counselling in Nelson, BC

There's a gap between knowing you're safe and actually feeling safe. Your body remembers what happened—sometimes through flashbacks and panic, sometimes as a persistent sense that something's fundamentally wrong with you, constantly bracing for the next crisis, or finding that closeness feels like danger. Talk therapy can help you understand your trauma, but healing requires working with it where it lives: in your body and nervous system.

A somatic approach to healing trauma

According to the Somatic Experiencing® model, trauma is a manifestation of incomplete attempts to defend yourself from danger that become locked in your nervous system. When threat happens, your body instinctively prepares to fight, flee, or freeze. But sometimes those responses can't be expressed in the moment: you couldn't fight back, couldn't escape, or had to shut down to survive. The mobilized energy from those interrupted defensive impulses remains in your body, creating the persistent symptoms we recognize as trauma.

This might show up as chronic tension in your shoulders or jaw, startling easily at sudden sounds, difficulty sleeping, or your heart racing in situations that shouldn't feel threatening. It can also manifest as persistent difficulty trusting others, feeling fundamentally unsafe even when nothing's wrong, relationship patterns you can't seem to break, or a pervasive sense of disconnection from your own body.

This is why body-centred work isn't optional for trauma—it's essential. Traumatic experiences are encoded in implicit, procedural memory networks that operate entirely outside conscious awareness. They live in the brainstem, limbic system, and autonomic nervous system—parts of your brain and body that don't respond to rational thought or understanding. You can know intellectually that you're safe now, yet your body still responds as if the danger never ended. Talk therapy helps you understand what happened, but moving forward requires addressing trauma at its source in the nervous system.

I use Somatic Experiencing® to help your body complete what got interrupted. This means working with sensations, tracking what happens in your body moment to moment, and supporting your nervous system to finish the protective responses it began. We build your capacity for regulation gradually, expanding the range of sensations and emotions you can experience without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down—including the ones that used to trigger you.

What this looks like in practice

I help you notice what's happening in your body while staying grounded and present. Sometimes that means pausing mid-sentence when your breath changes or your shoulders tense, getting curious about what your body is communicating. We track the arc of activation together—allowing it to build enough that your nervous system can complete the defensive response it began long ago, then guiding it through and down the other side. Your body gets to experience what it couldn't before: that you can push back, that you have the resources to meet the fear, that you can remain connected to another person even in moments of intensity. The story gets a different ending.

You might experience spontaneous releases as responses complete—warmth flooding through your body, trembling, deep sighs, perhaps tears—signs that your nervous system is finishing what it couldn't finish before. We follow your body's pace, moving slowly enough to track these shifts as they happen.

Sessions may include optional touch work or table work when appropriate, always with your consent and completely your choice. Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy can also complement this work beautifully for some people.

We talk, but we're also tracking what happens in your body as we talk. You might notice tightness in your chest when discussing certain topics, warmth spreading through your arms, heaviness settling in your belly, or a subtle impulse to pull back or push forward. We work with these sensations and impulses as they arise, following your body's wisdom about what needs to happen next.

What becomes possible

Through body-centred trauma work, your nervous system can learn—not just intellectually but in felt experience—that you're actually safe now. The panic, hypervigilance, or numbness that used to feel permanent begins to shift. You can be present in your body instead of dissociated, numb, or constantly braced for threat.

Relationships become less threatening as your nervous system stops automatically reading danger in closeness or vulnerability. Old patterns lose their grip—you discover you have more choice in how you respond rather than reacting from survival programming. Trauma becomes integrated history, something that happened to you, rather than something still defining your present moment.

Is this work right for you?

This approach may help if:

• You've experienced a specific traumatic event and want to work with how it's carried by your body, not just your memories of it

• You're recognizing patterns from childhood trauma or ongoing relational trauma and ready to address their roots

• You've done traditional talk therapy—it helped you understand what happened and why, but you're ready to work on an instinctual, body-based level

• You experience trauma responses, whether obvious flashbacks and panic or more subtle signs like constant bracing, relationship difficulties, or feeling fundamentally unsafe

• You're open to body-centred approaches and working with sensations rather than only talking about your experiences

• You're curious about Somatic Experiencing® or other somatic modalities for trauma healing

You might also find it helpful to explore Attachment & Relationship Patterns—especially if your trauma involved early relationships or you notice patterns repeating in your adult relationships. Or learn more about Emotional Regulation and building capacity for difficult emotions.

I work with people from Nelson, Castlegar, Trail, Kaslo, and the West Kootenays, as well as offering online sessions. This work takes time, but change is absolutely possible.

Ready to explore whether this approach is a good fit?

Most extended health plans cover counselling sessions through my RCC (Registered Clinical Counsellor) designation, making this work accessible.

Book your free consultation to discuss your specific situation and whether body-centred trauma therapy might help. You can also learn more about my counselling approach to get a fuller sense of how I work.