You are not a passive client but an active participant, with full control over how the work unfolds and its intensity.
You don't simply lie there. You pay attention to your sensations, your breathing, and the emotions and impulses that arise, and you tell the therapist what you notice. The therapist explores areas of tension, layer by layer, and helps the body release its habitual holding patterns and blocks. This is gentle hands-on work with the body, guided by a therapist who pays close attention.
Because the work is done directly with the body, you're in your underwear (just like a massage appointment). You remain in full control of how therapy unfolds and how intense the work is.
In most cases, releasing tension feels pleasant, rather like stretching after waking up. But some chronically tense areas may be sensitive or painful, sometimes because of localized inflammation. Working on these areas may feel more intense, especially in the first few sessions. As the work progresses, sensitivity usually decreases along with the chronic tension.
Therapy doesn't work primarily with the traumatic experience itself, or even with the emotional reaction to it, but with the somatic patterns that formed as a result of what you have been through and that keep the old responses going. A lot of the time, this work is possible without having to recall or relive the experience.
If talking about what you have been through is not too difficult for you, share your experience and feelings: it makes the work more effective and the results come faster.
Everyone reacts differently, but the work does not end when the session does. The body continues to adjust for several more days, and you might notice it as lightness, deep sleep, and a surge of energy, or as fatigue, waves of emotion, or vivid dreams. All we ask is that you observe, take note, and share it at your next session. It's all useful material.
We usually begin therapy cautiously, to avoid overly strong or unpleasant reactions, and as we go we find the pace that best balances effectiveness and comfort. On the other hand, too much caution stretches the process out, and the changes come more gradually and are less noticeable.
That is why the intensity of the process is tailored to each person, balancing how fast you want results with how comfortable you need the process to be.
What matters in this work is not how many emotions you go through or how intense the sensations are. The goal is change that happens at a pace your nervous system can integrate and your mind can be at ease with.
During therapy, you can adjust more than just its intensity. At any moment you can change the kind of touch to make the process as comfortable as possible. There is no need to keep working with an experience you are not yet ready for. If a touch causes physical or emotional discomfort, you don't have to endure it for the sake of results and tense up even more. We can always change the intensity or the way we work, find a different approach to the same block, or come back to it later.
There's no homework between sessions. The only “assignment” is to notice what you're feeling, physically and emotionally.
This method is not a substitute for psychiatric care: it's meant for steady, deliberate work on yourself, not for crises.
The method is not suitable if the tension or pain is caused by a medical condition.
The method is not a fit if being touched by a therapist is not okay with you.