Are you ready to feel more joy & connection
with yourself & in your relationship?
If you’re like most of my clients you’ve done talk therapy and have reached a limit. You’re wanting to heal trauma and are aware of the importance of engaging the body (and its stored emotions) in this process too.
You might be feeling stuck and unsure of how to break the negative patterns of how you relate to yourself, life and with your partner or how you keep re-experiencing the same blocks. No matter how much you try to communicate, educate yourself or gain understanding, it just doesn’t seem like it’s getting to the depth of it all.
I get how you feel
For several years I’ve been helping clients who feel alone and unsupported or misunderstood in relationship to experience more authentic, enriching connection. As someone whom felt so alone growing up (resulting in developing anorexia at the age of 15 as an attempt to slowly disappear) I know first hand that ache of emptiness and the painful sense of something missing … but not quite knowing what.
Perhaps you can relate?
It was only after decades of personal development that I discovered what the missing pieces were. This was revealed as I worked with my Somatic Psychotherapist and during the 3 year training in this field. At the time, my main motivation to study was so that I could facilitate a more far-reaching level of transformation for my residential retreat clients.
Clients were already sharing their most painful experiences with me, and I wanted to know for certain that I could guide them to truly heal. Body psychotherapy felt like the most supportive and effective way to do this. Not only has this proven to be the most restorative process for me personally, but I continue to witness my session clients benefitting from this approach too.
My Passion & Purpose
“I’m driven to continue to understand new frontiers in the physiology and psychology of human trauma. It’s exciting to me to apply this wisdom, in an individually attuned way, and witness my clients making genuine lasting shifts. Likewise, I hope to support you to unlock the blocks in your body, befriend all your emotions and work with them in a way that restores vitality and strengthens your relationships.”
Click here to see my qualifications:
Diploma of Integrated Body Psychotherapy (Institute of Body Psychotherapy)
Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry & Biological Sciences and Molecular Biology: Griffith University)
Exceptional Marriage Mentor (Embodied Couples)
Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy (AIAS)
Diploma of Herbal Medicine (AIAS)
Diploma of Nutrition (AIAS)
Life Coaching Certification (Coaching Matters)
High Conflict Personalities (High Conflict Institute)
“Izabella’s work in this area is nothing short of profound. I have had 3 sessions and the difference I feel in my body is like nothing I have EVER experienced before. I highly recommend her work. She is wonderful – JUST DO IT!.”
Why is Somatic Psychotherapy such a standout?
It’s relational:
Trauma that occurs as a result of poor relating experiences (like emotional neglect, abuse, betrayal, lack of protection or validation) can only heal through new, positive relational experiences. This begins with being witnessed and accepted in being yourself whilst making contact with all kinds of feelings.
Together we create a safe space and a developing trust that honours your unique needs so that you are supported in discovering lightness, clarity, resolution and growth. If you are a couple, I’ll guide you through joint explorations and somatic exercises that invite more emotional honesty, openness and fresh understandings of each other which evoke new and lasting ways to interact.
It’s physiologically & scientifically proven:
When you feel safe to make full contact with your feelings, your nervous system naturally begins to unwind and relax, just like a kinked water hose letting go of all pressure and overwhelm. This release restores your capacity for connection, ability to fulfil your goals and provides more energy for your health to improve. Overall, a greater flow and output is possible.
However if you frequently experience, or are stuck in, protective defences resulting in stress, this impedes such fulfillments. Since this fight, flight or freeze stress response (or effects of chronic, unresolved trauma) builds up in the body, it must be released through the body. The unique body movements and vocal expression you’ll be guided to make, support a physiological release that’s often more profound than just talking alone. Clients typically remark that they leave feeling more centered, calm and clear after these somatic exercises.
It directly links to subconscious root causes:
Your body remembers all experiences you’ve had and holds within it emotions you’ve put aside. A healthy human would feel safe to express themselves and their feelings in response to various life events. Our culture, however, very rarely supports such natural expression. It’s easy to see why the vast majority of us have become bogged down with feelings we’ve long forgotten about. Yet the tight muscles, reactivity and unhealthy coping strategies are all telltale signs of emotional repression.
The somatic exercises you’ll experience powerfully unlock a variety of held emotions and allow your psyche to re-organise painful memories and let go of associated events. No amount of mindset work or behavioural change can give you the relief that an experience of this direct, subconscious link to your body can. It is well known in neuroscience that trauma work must involve this bottom up, body-cantered approach, for impactful change. Somatic psychotherapy provides a direct means to access your body’s innate wisdom to release what it is ready to resolve. It can offer resolution for many psycho-somatic symptoms and allows more aliveness and connection to return.
What can I support you with?
Although it’s not a complete list of what I work with, you can click on the most common issues I work with below, to learn about my approach:
Abandonment
We will work with various somatic exercises and expressions to help heal where Attachment wounds have occurred from sudden lost or insecure attachment with the primary caretaker/s. Reparenting, validation and providing corrective relational experiences will also support your nervous system to feel more safety with others and provide ways to help you manage abandonment fears when they arise.
Anxiety
Somatic Psychotherapy utilises a variety of highly effective body movements to biologically process and complete the over-arousal that comes with trauma or emotional overwhelm leading to anxiety. Fight, flight and freeze mechanisms are completed physiologically to reduce the degree of activation in your nervous system so you feel calmer, balanced and more centered. We will explore and process your fears so that they allow more freedom in your life and true self expression.
Chronic Pain & Psychosomatic Illness
Chronic Pain and Illness can be a result of chronic blocking of energy flow that often accompanies repressing or holding in emotions in a particular way that negatively impacts your body’s funcioning and recovery. We will explore the specific connections between certain events, traumas and unexpressed emotion you may be holding and the onset of unresolved physical signs, symtoms, inflammation and aggravation upon the body. This psychosomatic approach utilises the emotional links with the body and has the potential to reduce the physical symptoms and pain presenting itself in your body.
Divorce & Seperation
The ending of a significant relationship has strong implications. We will work with Attachment Theory and how this impacts your letting go process and support the areas of challenge that occur for you. We will develop your support networks and appropriate resources in place of the important role your partner and intimate relationship provided whilst supporting your grieving process. Gentle, compassionate support is provided as you move through this in a way where you do not feel alone.
Emotional Abuse Recovery
As a victim of emotional or psychological abuse you can benefit from the safety and emotionally corrective experiences we create together via therapy. This will involve traditional talk therapy plus body psychotherapy to release and express anything that hasn’t been safe for you to express towards the perpetrator in the moments when your body impulse was to take flight, fight or you froze in paralysis or shock. By completing this biological expression, your body can deactivate the stress / trauma response and your system can start to relax. We’ll also delve into the patterns in your upbringing that may have formed the foundation of feeling attracted to someone who is abusive and invalidating of your needs and reality so that you can recognise the red flags and make different choices in the future.
Isolation & Belonging
Human beings are wired for connection and attachment, to be interconnected. One of the most common signs of trauma, including developmental trauma, is a tendency to isolate and withdraw from people. This actually perpetuates the trauma even though on one level it is designed to minimise relational trauma. When you are in survival mode, or fight/ flight, your social engagement system is disengaged. However, it is important to re-enter the experience of interconnectivity. Our sessions will explore both the causes of isolation and support a foundational resolution as well as practical ways of ensuring you get support and are not alone. Social isolation can cause a breakdown in mental faculties. Seeking out and attending therapy sessions in a consistent way rewires your nervous system to be accepting of support, a sense that you matter as validating your needs. When you are socially isolated, the deepening therapeutic relationship with myself as your therapist can have a profound, positive impact upon your health and wellbeing.
Loss & Grief
Loss and Grief are an inevitable part of life. Having a therapist with you in the process can reduce the pain and make it an easier process. I create a safe space for you to shed the tears that want to be shed so that you feel relief and so you feel held and understood. The loss of a loved one, a dear pet, a job or a meaningful belonging like your home is a big deal and the sudden emptiness can be devastating and incredibly overwhelming. You do not have to be alone in your loss.
Marriage & Relationship Counselling
A couples therapy session will support you to gain skills to successfully navigate conflict, understand and gently dismantle your protective defences and deepen your capacity for compassion and the intimacy it fosters. You’ll be guided to heal core wounds, communicate with honesty and build trust and enhance passion whilst improving the sense of security within your relationship. Transforming the lower self, or negative energy will allow you more access to love, joy and clarity whilst the safe space of a third party therapist guides you through the process and witnesses and supports your relating dynamics.
Sexual Abuse
Trauma is held and stored in the body until it is integrated and the nervous system returns to a regulated, normal state. Sexual abuse is a serious violation that leaves an imprint of overwhelming emotions that require a safe space to process, otherwise the likely suppression of emotion in response to this event results in distorted impulses and typically either an acting out sexually or a total shutdown of one’s sexuality, both which can have damaging impacts. A variety of maladaptive behaviours can result as a way of coping including weight gain in order to reduce the risk of another sexual abuse experience occurring. A Somatic (body) psychotherapy approach works with the body to process and complete the emotions and beliefs that result in the face of sexual abuse. We work at your pace, you are always in charge of your healing process and have total permission to say no to any body movements and exercises if you are not comfortable doing them.
Spirituality & Creativity
When you own and integrate your survival patterns, traumas and triggers you have the opportunity to connect to your expansive, creative life force. The way you express this spiritual part of yourself in your everyday life is unique to you and our sessions together can help you experience this embodiment of magic. Flow, synchronicity and a greater sense of ease and effortlessness accompany these heightened spiritual states. I can help you harness this in a way that empowers your life, enlivens your body and fulfils your soul.
Trauma & PTSD
Trauma is held and stored in the body until it is integrated and the nervous system returns to a regulated, normal state. It is essentially overwhelming emotion in response to an event or ongoing developmental trauma, that requires resolution to return to a normal physiological state. Unresolved trauma eats away at our life force and eventually causes disturbances in sleep, digestion immune system and then various diseases and disorders. Since trauma is stored in the body it needs to be released by engaging the body. Somatic (body) psychotherapy works with the body to complete this process. The underlying physiological implications are similar regardless of whether the trauma is sexual abuse, physical abuse, developmental trauma, relational trauma or an event trauma.
I also draw upon:
Attachment Theory, Somatic Experiencing, Core Energetics, Bioenergetics, Dream Interpretation, Inner Child Work, Gestalt, Internal Family Systems, Emotion Focused Therapy, Developmental Thinking Model, Focusing and Tantra.
“Izabella changed my life-long pattern of staying stuck in the story and how the other person was at fault. She encouraged me to drop beneath what was happening, and feel my deeper, primal feelings. At first I was resistant, but with practice I was able to see HOW I’d created what was happening in my life as a recreation of childhood dynamics and how I’d been avoiding taking true responsibility! Really how I had been delaying my true healing.
Now when something triggers me, I can relatively quickly drop down to feel the root feelings and get to my truth. I know I have the power to change things. I felt completely seen and supported in all of my messy, confusing, overwhelming emotions. This was new for me. Izabella wanted my vulnerable truth. She was right there with me the whole time I was processing and working through my stuff, without trying to change me or tell me I was wrong. Just to receive this acceptance and validation from another is HUGE when you’ve never had it. I totally trusted her.
Going forward, I feel much more empowered knowing that all my emotions are all OK, and my work is to be with them the way she was. I can heal the past so it doesn’t have to keep repeating, and it’s not something outside of myself.
Izabella is a brilliant therapist. You can tell she is doing this work from her soul. She’s so empathetic and attuned to what’s happening inside of the client. Yet I feel a healthy balance between caring and holding you accountable where you need to make changes. She’s also knowledgeable about many things – not just therapy and there’s so much depth to her as a soul and human being. She can relate to a person on psychological, emotional, and spiritual levels as THEY need. She also has an intuitive gift to feel into the deep subconscious energy dynamics of situations and share prompts that lead to profound insights.
Thank you Izabella, for truly helping me change my life. I’m forever grateful!”
