Trauma Recovery & Mental Wellbeing
For anyone who’s tried everything and still feels stuck
You’ve tried to feel better. HAVE YOU TRIED BETTER FEELING?
You’ve seen therapists, taken medications, maybe even gone on retreats or started working out religiously. But despite all of it, the heaviness and tension linger.
You want to feel at home in yourself — not numb, not endlessly busy, not performing for others. You’re ready to find a way of feeling calmer, more connected, and more resilient — something that isn’t just another sticking plaster or quick fix, but actually changes how you relate to yourself and your life.
This work is designed for civilians navigating trauma, depression, anxiety, or chronic stress. If you feel like you’ve “tried everything” and nothing has stuck — this is for you.
“All yoga teachings share a core belief: That connecting and relating, whether to ourselves or to others, is central to human nature. When the relating is consistently indifferent or threatening, our survival systems dominate and the stage is set for us to shut down, withdraw and become sick. When one is consistently related to with compassion, our systems are balanced and support the development of our highest capacities.”
— Alexandra Cat, Teaching Faculty, Center for Trauma & Embodiment, TCTSY facilitator & NHS researcher.
What you’re struggling with
You may resonate with some of these experiences:
You’ve taken antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication, but they only seemed to dull your feelings rather than resolve anything — and you don’t want to rely on them forever.
You’ve been in therapy (maybe for years) and gained insight, but you still feel stuck in the same patterns.
You’ve tried yoga, but it felt performative, inaccessible, or irrelevant — you don’t see yourself in those rooms of bendy, smiling people.
You’ve gone on health kicks, retreats, or started working out hard, only to feel even more exhausted or burned out.
You’ve been told to “just relax” or “just breathe” — but no one showed you how.
Maybe you’ve tried all these things and yet you’re still feeling:
disconnected from yourself and others
joyless or flat
trapped in unhealthy compulsions — scrolling, drinking, overeating, overworking — just to avoid being present
stressed to the point it’s now affecting your body and relationships
What you really want
What you’re longing for goes beyond symptom management or another wellness fad.
You want to:
Feel at peace in your own skin — to feel safe and grounded in your body, not at war with it.
Be able to calm yourself when things get difficult, without needing a doctor, pill, or therapist to “fix” you.
Find and feel joy again, reconnect with what makes you you.
Build healthier, more patient relationships with the people you love.
Break free from destructive habits and feel more present in your daily life.
Develop tools that actually work — and that you can take with you anywhere.
Why what you’ve tried so far hasn’t worked
Most of what’s offered to people struggling with mental health — talk therapy, medication, even gym classes or fast-paced yoga — focuses on the mind, or on controlling symptoms.
But healing often starts in the body.
When trauma or chronic stress overwhelm your system, your nervous system may stay stuck in a survival mode long after the original events have passed. You can’t just “think your way” out of it — but you can retrain your body and nervous system to feel safe again.
This is where trauma-sensitive, embodied practice comes in.
HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER
OPTION 1: TRAUMA CENTER, TRAUMA SENSITIVE YOGA (TCTSY) BODY BASED THERAPEUTIC SESSIONS
Trauma center, trauma sensitive yoga (TCTSY) is an empirically validated clinical intervention for complex (relational) post traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) or chronic, treatment resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both of which profoundly change our relationship with our body.
Developed at Center for Trauma & Embodiment in Massachusetts, USA, it is supported by more than 10 original, randomised, peer reviewed studies, numerous led by Dr Bessel van der Kolk, international trauma expert and author of The Body Keeps the Score, and his research team, and many more independent analyses. You can read more about the profound potential of this intervention here.
This modality can be delivered one-to-one in private sessions, or in small group sessions, for example for a charity or other service provider. They can be attended either in person (if it make sense geographically) or online via Zoom. Below I outline the steps involved in this option.
We start with a conversation.
We begin with a conversation about what’s going on for you, what you’re struggling with, and what you want to achieve, and I will tell your more about TCTSY and a session is like practically. This initial call is free and you are under no obligation to subsequently work with me.
2. INTAKE QUESTIONNAIRE.
If we decide it’s a good fit to work together, I will send you my TCTSY intake questionnaire. It asks a series of questions, the answers to which help me understand how best to work with and support you. The more information I have the better, however, you are also free to choose not to answer a question/s.
3. WE PLAN A FIRST SESSION.
The sessions are usually an hour long and we decide whether to do them in person or online. You can then decide if you want to book further sessions with me.
4. We work together at your pace.
You can book further sessions with me as you go, according to your needs, or you can book a block of sessions. I will do my best to fit these in with your schedule.
OPTION 2: 40-DAY EMBODIED PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
My Engineer Stillness® Program, in which I work with people on a one-to-one basis and I design a completely bespoke practice for them that they can do at home every day, can be adapted to be trauma sensitive. The idea is to endeavour to do your practice every day or as regularly as possible over the 40 days in order to build new neural pathways supporting the development of this new habit embodied self-regulation into your lifestyle. You can read more about how this program works here.
If you recognise yourself here:
“I’ve tried so many things, and nothing has really shifted.”
“My mental health is affecting my work, my relationships, my body — and I can’t keep going like this.”
“I want to feel calm and whole again, but I don’t know where to start.”
Then you’re ready.
Ready to Take the First Step?
Is This Right for Me?
-
This isn’t about stretching or tricky poses — it’s about helping your nervous system feel safe again. The practices are gentle, accessible, and tailored to you.
-
Most yoga classes focus on fitness or performance, which can actually make stress worse. This work is designed specifically for your mental and emotional recovery — no pressure, no comparison, no pretzel shapes.
-
No. This approach works even if you don’t want to revisit your experiences. You’re welcome to share if you want, but it’s not required.
-
That’s fine — this can complement what you’re already doing, or offer an alternative if you’re looking for a different approach.
-
We go at your pace. Many people find the structure and support of this work actually helps them feel more capable and less overwhelmed.
-
Not at all. This is about what’s happening inside — not how your body looks or moves. Everything can be adapted for you.
What it’s like to work with me
I know how it feels to try everything and still feel like you’re falling short.
I’ve been there — over-stimulating my already stressed nervous system with fast, sweaty yoga, pushing through corporate burnout, navigating divorce and grief.
Through my own journey — and my professional training — I’ve learned how to work with the body in a way that is:
Adaptable — you don’t need to be flexible, fit, or able to get on the floor.
Gentle — no pretzel poses, no pressure, no performance.
Empowering — teaching you tools to use on your own, so you don’t need me forever.
Holistic — addressing your whole self, not just your symptoms.
And if you’ve already tried yoga before and written it off — know this:
What I offer is not what you’ve experienced in a typical yoga studio.
I combine:
✔ Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) — a clinically-validated intervention for PTSD & complex trauma.
✔ Bespoke embodied practices, rooted in authentic yoga traditions (not Instagram yoga).
✔ My own lived experience navigating and healing trauma.
If you’re also exploring psychedelic therapy or integration, I can support you with that too — safely and effectively.
HOW & WHY Stress & Trauma
LIVE IN OUR BODIES
-
![]()
the body keeps the score
The effects of trauma can be devastating for sufferers, their families and future generations. In this important book one of the world's foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for treatment, moving away from standard talking and drug therapies and towards an alternative, body-led approach that explores how our nervous system records and carries our past wounds into our present day, and how to approach healing those wounds.
-
![]()
when the body says no
Can a person literally die of loneliness? Is there a connection between the ability to express emotions and Alzheimer’s disease? Is there such a thing as a ‘cancer personality’? Drawing on deep scientific research and Dr Gabor Maté’s acclaimed clinical work, When the Body Says No provides the answers to critical questions about the mind-body link – and the role that stress and our emotional makeup play in an array of common diseases.
-
![]()
the myth of normal
Western countries invest billions in healthcare, yet mental illness and chronic diseases are on an unstoppable rise. Medicine often fails to treat the whole person, ignoring how today's culture stresses our bodies and undermines emotional balance. With over four decades of clinical experience, Dr Maté connects the dots between our personal suffering and the pressures of modern-day living, But he also shows us a pathway to health and healing.
-
![]()
the drama of the gifted child
Why are many of the most successful people plagued by feelings of emptiness and alienation? Too many had to learn as children to hide their own feelings, needs and memories skilfully in order to meet parents' expectations and win their love. Alice Miller writes, "When I used the word 'gifted', I simply meant all who have survived an abusive childhood thanks to an ability to adapt by becoming numb.... Without this 'gift' offered us by nature, we would not have survived."
-
![]()
it didn't start with you
Depression. Anxiety. Chronic pain. Phobias. The root of these difficulties may reside in the traumas of our parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. The latest research affirms that traumatic experience is passed on to future generations and that this emotional inheritance, hidden in everything from gene expression to everyday language, plays a greater role in our health than ever previously understood, but these patterns can be broken.
-
![]()
how to do the work
The Holistic Psychologist, Dr Nicole LePera, helps us recognise how adverse experiences and trauma in childhood live with us, keeping us stuck engaging in patterns of codependency, emotional immaturity and trauma bonds. Unless addressed, these self-sabotaging behaviours can quickly become cyclical, leaving people feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, and unwell. She offers support and tools to break free from destructive behaviours and recreate their lives.
-
![]()
homecoming
Do you aspire to be a loving parent but all too often 'lose it' in hurtful ways? Do you crave intimacy but wonder if it's worth the struggle? We first see the world though the eyes of the child we once were, and that 'inner child' remains with us, no matter how 'grown-up' we become. If our vulnerable child was hurt, its pain, grief and anger live on within us. In this powerful book John Bradshaw shows us how we can offer ourselves the good parenting we needed and longed for.
-
![]()
no bad parts
Is there some part of yourself you wish would go away? Most of us would say yes, whether we call it addiction, the inner critic or ‘monkey mind.’ Yet what if there were a different way to approach these aspects of ourselves? Internal Family Systems is a paradigm-changing model of consciousness that is transforming psychology, offering a revolutionary paradigm to understand and relate with ourselves.
-
![]()
HEALING DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA
Although it may seem that people suffer from an endless number of emotional problems and challenges, most of these can be traced to five biologically based principles: the need for connection, attunement, trust, autonomy and love-sexuality. The authors describe how early trauma impairs the capacity for connection to self and others and how the ensuing diminished aliveness is the hidden dimension that underlies most psycho-physiological problems.
DAVID EMERSON & JENN TURNER
David & Jenn are co-creators of Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) for the Center for Trauma and Embodiment in Massachusetts. They have developed, conducted and supervised TCTSY groups for rape crisis centres, domestic violence programs, residential programs for youth, active-duty military personnel, survivors of terrorism, veteran’s administration centres and more. Here they unpack more about what TCTSY is and how it helps people working through trauma to re-claim their agency.
What is the financial investment?
1-1 Sessions:
€150 for an initial chat and assessment, up to 2 hours.
€75 - €100 per hourly session, for those in employment.
€60 - €80 per hourly session, for students or those in receipt of benefits/social support.
If you are interested in finding out more about arranging private, one-to-one online TCTSY sessions with me (as I am based between the UK and overseas), or you are interested in setting up a small group online class, please fill in the form below and I will be in touch with you to arrange a call.