If you ever felt like your emotions are in the driver’s seat of your life, you are not alone. Stress, anxiety, or old patterns of behavior can take over before you even realize what’s happening, leaving you overwhelmed, frustrated, and wondering, why does this keep happening?

That’s because emotions live in the body, not in the mind. Trying to talk yourself out of what you are experiencing emotionally only creates resistance and reinforces the very thing you are trying to avoid.

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What is Embodied Counselling?

Embodied Counselling is a body-based therapy that helps you process emotions by tuning into the physical sensations and signals in your body. Unlike traditional talk therapy, which focuses on analyzing thoughts and feelings, this holistic approach integrates body awareness, nervous system regulation, and emotional resilience techniques to help you break free from old patterns.

So, how does it work?

A great way to understand Embodied Counselling is by comparing it to learning how to drive a car.

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Navigating Your Emotions Like Driving a Car

In the beginning, learning to drive feels overwhelming… checking mirrors, watching the road, remembering all the rules, and figuring out how much pressure to put on the pedals. But with practice, what once felt overwhelming becomes second nature, and the car almost drives itself.

Now imagine that your body is like a car and your emotions are like dashboard lights, the engine revving, or the brakes locking up (or not working at all!). If you don’t know how to read the signals or ignore them, the car may break down, leading to pricey, and sometimes irreversible repairs. The same happens with your emotions… when we ignore them, they build up, leading to stress, anxiety, and burnout.

I wasn’t taught how to read my body’s signals. Instead, I pushed through with willpower, pretending everything was fine when it obviously wasn’t. This only led to more overwhelm and eventually burnout.

That’s when I discovered Embodied Counselling.

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What Happens in an Embodied Counselling Session?

An Embodied Counselling session is like a driving lesson for your emotions. Unlike traditional therapy, which gives you the theory of how to process emotions, Embodied Counselling is a hands-on experience, where you actively learn to recognize and regulate your body’s emotional responses.

Instead of just talking about emotions, you’ll learn to recognize and respond to your body’s signals, whether it’s through breath awareness, physical sensations, or nervous system regulation. Just like checking your car’s dashboard lights, you’ll learn to address emotional discomfort before it escalates.

Then, instead of reacting impulsively or shutting down, we practice being curious about the experience instead of trying to control or suppress it. Through somatic (body-focused) practices like breath awareness and mindfulness, the nervous system learns to feel safer, and what once felt overwhelming becomes as manageable as driving in different road conditions.

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Benefits of Embodied Counselling:

• Emotional Regulation: Learn how to manage anxiety, stress, and overwhelm effectively.
• Increased Self-Awareness: Recognize how emotions show up in your body and shift how you respond.
• Nervous System Resilience: Develop the ability to stay present instead of shutting down or reacting impulsively.
• Break Free from Old Patterns: Gain practical tools to stop repeating the same emotional cycles.
  

If you’d like to learn more how Embodied Counselling sessions can help you, please contact me.