When words are not the whole story
Sometimes you can understand what has happened to you, and yet your body still doesn’t feel safe. You may notice tension, bracing, numbness, disconnection or a sense of being constantly on alert. You may understand your patterns intellectually, but find that knowing isn’t enough to change how you feel.
NeuroAffective Touch® brings the body into the therapeutic conversation
NeuroAffective Touch® combines body awareness, relational connection and therapeutic touch, where appropriate, to support a deeper connection between what you feel, what you experience and what you understand. A bridge between body and mind
NeuroAffective Touch® has become a meaningful bridge between bodywork and trauma therapy. My foundation is in bodywork, while my wider practice is rooted in trauma-informed, somatic and nervous-system-informed approaches.
This means we can work with both the felt experience in your body and the meaning you make of it. Sometimes the body communicates something before we have words for it. Sometimes gentle, attuned contact can help you notice a sense of support, safety or connection that has been difficult to access. And sometimes simply slowing down and becoming aware of what is happening inside is enough.
What might a session involve?
There is no set formula.
We may talk, notice sensations, explore your body’s responses, work with breath or movement, or use therapeutic touch where it feels appropriate. The aim isn’t to make something happen. Instead, we create enough safety and curiosity for you to notice what is already there.
The work can move between body awareness, relationship, emotion and meaning, following what feels manageable for you.
Consent comes first
Touch is never assumed. We will always talk about what feels comfortable and appropriate before any touch takes place. You remain in control throughout, and you can change your mind or ask for contact to stop at any time.
NeuroAffective Touch® can also be used without touch. The therapeutic relationship, body awareness and your own felt experience remain central to the work.
How it fits into my wider approach
NeuroAffective Touch® is one of the ways I can support the body within a broader trauma-informed therapeutic process. Somatic EMDR is a thread through my work, Embodied Processing, nervous system support, parts and attachment-informed approaches and Bodywork may also form part of our work together.
You don’t need to decide which approach you need.
We start with you, and the work develops from there.
Is NeuroAffective Touch® right for you?
It may be particularly helpful if you:feel disconnected from your body or emotions, notice patterns of tension, bracing or shutting down, understand your experiences intellectually but still feel stuck, find that words don’t always capture what you’re experiencing,
want to explore a gentler, body-based way of working with trauma and relational patterns
If you’re curious but unsure whether NeuroAffective Touch® is right for you, you don’t need to work that out alone.
Bottom-Up Support
Build a primary foundation of physiological safety and somatic regulation.
Top-Down Awareness
Body-Mind Dialogue helps you understand, name, and bring conscious meaning to physical and emotional sensations.