THE ROOTED WAY

Returning to body, soul, relationship and the living world

“The power of ceremony marries the mundane to the sacred. The water turns to wine; the coffee to a prayer.” ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer

~ Online ~ In-person ~ Hybrid ~
There are times when we can lose touch with ourselves. Perhaps you feel overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious, disconnected or stuck. Perhaps you find yourself repeating patterns you don’t fully understand, or you have reached a point where thinking and talking about things no longer feels quite enough. You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what you need. We can begin wherever you are. The Rooted Way is a warm, relational and embodied approach to therapy. I see therapy as something we create together, rather than something that is simply done to you. The relationship between us becomes part of the work: a place where we can gently notice how you relate, what you expect from others, where you feel safe or unsafe, how you respond to closeness or distance, and the ways you may have learned to protect yourself. My hope is to create a space where you can feel listened to, met with curiosity and compassion, and supported to become more deeply connected to your own experience. I work with the whole of you; your body, emotions, thoughts, imagination, history, relationships and the different parts of yourself that may not always seem to agree. I draw on somatic psychotherapy, parts work, body mapping, depth psychology, creative approaches and an ecological perspective. These different ways of working offer different doorways into what is happening. Sometimes words are what we need. Sometimes the body knows something before we have language for it. Body-based work might involve gently noticing sensations, breath, posture, movement, impulses or changes in emotion as they arise. We might become curious about where you feel tension, numbness, energy or ease, or notice what happens in your body when something feels difficult, meaningful or familiar. We don’t have to push towards a particular outcome. Instead, we can learn to listen to what your body may be communicating and develop a greater sense of choice in how you respond. I also draw on parts work, including Internal Family Systems-informed approaches. Many of us carry different parts of ourselves that have developed in response to our experiences. One part might want to rest while another insists on carrying on. One might long for connection while another wants to withdraw. There may be critical, frightened, protective, angry or overwhelmed parts that can sometimes feel difficult to understand. Rather than seeing these parts as problems to get rid of, we can become curious about what they are trying to do for you, what they may be protecting and what they might need now. An important part of my work is staying connected to the present while making space for what has happened in the past. We can explore difficult experiences without becoming completely overwhelmed by them, developing the capacity to notice what is happening within you while also staying connected to the here and now. Pacing, grounding, resourcing and co-regulation are important foundations of this work. Therapy does not have to mean constantly going deeper or pushing through. Sometimes the most important work is slowing down, finding safety, developing resources, laughing, resting or simply having the experience of being with someone who can stay present with you. Creativity can also offer another way of knowing. This doesn’t mean you need to be artistic or “good” at being creative. An image, metaphor, piece of writing, movement, sound, music or something that emerges unexpectedly can sometimes express something that words cannot. I am interested in making room for these different forms of communication and allowing the work to be shaped by what feels meaningful for you. I care deeply about the ways that power, identity and difference are present within therapeutic relationships. I don’t see therapy as a neutral space, and I am interested in how our identities, histories, cultures, families and wider social systems shape our experiences of ourselves and one another. I work proactively with consent, choice, boundaries and agency, and I welcome conversations about what is and isn’t working in our relationship. You should not have to fit yourself around the therapist or become an “ideal client”. We can stay curious about the power dynamics between us and make space for your voice, including when something feels uncomfortable, uncertain or difficult to name. I don’t believe our struggles exist in isolation. We are shaped by our relationships, our histories and the worlds we live within. I hold an awareness of the wider living world and of our relationship with nature, while The Wild Way offers a more explicit opportunity to bring the outdoors and the more-than-human world into the therapeutic process. Ultimately, The Rooted Way is about relationship. Relationship with yourself, your body, your emotions, your inner world, your history and the people around you. It is about creating enough space to listen to what is happening beneath the surface, to meet the parts of yourself that may have been difficult to understand, and to discover what might become possible when you no longer have to navigate everything alone. There is no single way into this work. We might talk, sit quietly, notice what is happening in the body, explore a part of yourself, move, create, reflect, laugh, grieve or simply begin by making sense of what has brought you here. I will meet you with curiosity, care and respect for your own pace and experience. You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what you need. We can start with what is present, and take the time to listen to what is asking for your attention.