The Holistic Physiotherapist

A gentle, body-based approach to healing, safety, and lasting change

Somatic sessions are a trauma-informed way of working with your body, your emotions, and your nervous system, so you can begin to feel more at ease within yourself and in your relationships.

You may have been holding a lot for a long time. Keeping things together on the outside, while something underneath feels overwhelmed, disconnected, or tired. This is a space where you don’t have to hold it all together.

Together, we slow things down.
We listen to your body.
And we create the conditions where real, sustainable change can happen.

Nothing is rushed, and nothing is forced. This approach is influenced by trauma-informed principles, including the work of Judith Herman, which recognises a natural process of building safety, gently processing, and integrating change into daily life.

This Is For You If…

• You often feel anxious, overwhelmed, or emotionally up and down, even when things seem “fine” on the outside
• You find yourself overthinking, people-pleasing, or shutting down in ways you don’t fully understand
• You hold a lot for others, but struggle to stay connected to yourself
• Boundaries feel unclear, difficult to hold, or come with guilt
• You feel disconnected from your body, or unsure what you’re feeling from moment to moment
• You notice the same patterns repeating, especially in relationships, even when you’re aware of them
• A part of you is longing to slow down, feel more grounded, and finally feel at home in yourself

How This Work Helps

Many of the patterns we carry live in the nervous system, not just in our thoughts. That’s whyMany of the patterns we carry live in the nervous system, not just in our thoughts. That’s why insight alone often isn’t enough to create change. In somatic sessions, we work with your body’s responses directly, supporting you to:

• Settle your nervous system
• Feel your emotions without becoming overwhelmed
• Understand your patterns with more compassion
• Build a stronger sense of inner safety and self-trust

Over time, this begins to create more space within you. You may notice yourself feeling a little more grounded, a little more connected to yourself, and a little less pulled into old patterns. Not through force, but because your system is starting to feel different.

What Happens in a Session

Each session is guided by you (sessions are 60–90 minutes, depending on what feels most supportive for you), but may include:

• Grounding and settling your system
• Noticing and gently tracking body sensations
• Exploring emotions as they arise
• Understanding patterns in a safe, supported way
• Practising new ways of responding
• Working with parts through an IFS lens
• Bringing awareness to your current relationships through attachment theory

There’s no pressure to share everything.
We can work with whatever is present, even if it’s subtle.

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The Process

Building Safety in Your Body

We begin by gently bringing mindfulness to your inner landscape. Together, we slow things down and begin to notice what is happening in your body, sensations, breath, areas of tension or ease, without needing to change anything. Through this kind of somatic awareness, your nervous system begins to experience moments of safety, often in small and subtle ways. Over time, these moments start to build.

In our sessions, this might look like:

• Orienting to your environment and what feels supportive
• Tracking sensations in the body, at a pace that feels manageable
• Noticing where there is even a little bit of ease or neutrality
• Allowing your system to settle, rather than pushing it to open

For many people, the body has been holding a quiet sense of vigilance or protection for a long time. This phase supports your system in discovering that it doesn’t always have to stay there. This becomes the foundation of our work, creating more steadiness, capacity, and a sense of being supported from within.

Gently Processing What’s Been Held

As your system begins to feel more supported, we can gently turn toward what it has been holding. Rather than focusing on the story alone, we stay close to your present-moment experience, what you notice in your body as you speak, feel, or remember. We move slowly here, allowing your system to approach what’s there in small, manageable ways, without overwhelm.

In practice, this may include:

• Noticing how emotions show up in the body
• Tracking impulses (to move, pull away, speak, or hold back)
• Staying with an experience just long enough for it to begin shifting
• Moving between activation and settling, so your system can process safely
• Working with parts and relational patterns as they arise

Often, what hasn’t been processed isn’t the event itself, but the body’s response to it. As we gently stay with these responses, your system can begin to complete what was interrupted, allowing tension, emotion, or protective patterns to soften over time. There is no forcing here. Just a steady, supported unfolding.

Integration & Real-Life Change

As your nervous system becomes more regulated, these shifts begin to carry into your everyday life. Integration happens through repetition, through gently noticing, practising, and returning to these new experiences again and again.

In our work together, this might include:

• Bringing awareness to real-life situations as they arise
• Exploring how your body responds in relationships and boundaries
• Practising staying connected to yourself in moments that once felt overwhelming
• Supporting new responses to feel more familiar and accessible

Over time, you may find that you feel more grounded, more present, and more able to respond with choice. This is where the work becomes lived, where safety and self-trust become something you can return to.

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What Makes This Work Different

Many approaches focus on understanding your patterns. This work supports your body to experience something different. Rather than analysing or fixing, we work with your nervous system, so change can happen in a way that feels natural, not forced.

It’s a slower, more relational process.
But it’s also what allows change to truly last.

This Work Is (and Isn’t): This work is gentle, collaborative, and paced with your nervous system. You are always in control, and the focus is on long-term, sustainable change. It is not about pushing you to open up before you’re ready, offering a quick fix, or focusing only on talking or analysing. We move at a pace your body can trust.

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Why I Do This Work

Many people come to this work having already spent time trying to understand themselves. They’ve talked things through, made sense of their experiences, and gained insight into their patterns. And while that can be incredibly valuable, something can still feel unresolved.

Often, it’s not a lack of understanding, but a difficulty in being with what they feel. Emotions like anxiety, fear, or overwhelm can still feel intense, unfamiliar, or hard to stay present with. It can feel easier to stay busy, distracted, or disconnected than to fully meet what’s there.

This is where somatic work can offer something different. Rather than only talking about your experience, we begin to gently feel it, at a pace that feels safe and supported. You learn how to stay with yourself in moments that might have once felt too much, and to relate to your inner experience with more care and compassion.

We begin to notice the different parts of you that show up, the shifts in your nervous system, and the patterns that have developed to protect you. From here, something begins to change. When the body and mind are both included in the process, healing becomes more than just insight, it becomes something you can actually experience.

Over time, this can create a deeper sense of safety within yourself,
and a new way of relating to your emotions, your body, and your life.

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Working Together

I bring a calm, grounded, and compassionate presence to this work. This is a space where you don’t need to rush, perform, or have the right words. You’re met exactly as you are.

Together, we slow things down, gently bringing awareness to your body, your inner experience, and what’s unfolding moment by moment. From here, we begin to build a sense of safety that your nervous system can actually feel. My approach is relational, trauma-informed, and guided by deep listening. I will gently support and guide you, but your body leads the way.

Session Details

• Sessions are held online or in-person (around Thonon-les-Bains only)
• Between 60 to 90 minutes
• Frequency can be discussed based on your needs
• Investment:
  • 60 minutes — €65
  • 90 minutes — €97

You don’t have to keep doing it all on your own. If you’re ready to feel more at ease in your body, more connected to yourself, and less stuck in old patterns, this is a gentle place to begin.

Book a free 20-minute connection call

A space to meet, ask any questions, and see if this feels right for you. Email me emmakellycoaching@gmail.com to reserve this.

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Disclaimer: Emma is trained in mindfulness and somatic integrative therapies; however, she is not a licensed psychologist or therapist. The services offered here are intended to support your personal growth and well-being but are not a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric, or medical treatment. If you are experiencing severe mental health issues, trauma, or crisis, you are strongly encouraged to seek help from a qualified healthcare provider. Somatic coaching is a complementary practice aimed at enhancing your self-awareness and emotional regulation, and it works best when integrated with appropriate professional care as needed.