Key Takeways
We came to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® the way we’ve come to much of our work: in conversation, in practice, and with a steady commitment to learning side-by-side. Long before formal training, we were already asking the same questions many therapists bring to consultation now.
How do I work with the body without forcing anything?
How do I keep pacing clear when a client moves fast or shuts down?
How do I stay relational when I’m tracking sensation, movement, and nervous system protection at the same time?
Over the past several years, Laura Hoge, RSW and I have completed extensive training and full certification in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy®, and we’re continuing toward consultant-level certification for advanced students. We’ve also been shaped by mentors who model both skill and humility, including Dr. Kekuni Minton, Katrina Curry, LMFT, Jackie Compton, RP, and others who helped us learn how to be precise without becoming rigid.
This post is for therapists who are curious about sensorimotor therapy, already using it, or trying to find language for what they’re sensing in the room. It’s also for clinicians who want to feel less alone when the work gets complex.
What we mean by sensorimotor therapy
When we say sensorimotor therapy, we’re talking about psychotherapy that includes the body as part of the clinical conversation. Not as a performance. Not as an add-on. As information.
We track what a client’s system is already doing: bracing, leaving, reaching, collapsing, speeding up, going blank, holding breath, tightening jaw, looking away, sitting very still. We treat those shifts as meaningful. Not as problems to fix. Not as evidence of “failure.” Often, they are protection doing its job.
When we work this way, we’re not trying to make clients more “regulated” on demand. We’re helping them build more choice over time.
If you want to understand the formal model we’re trained in, you can read more about Sensorimotor Psychotherapy®.
Where this sits in our wider approach
Our somatic work is relational and experiential. We’re influenced by Hakomi-informed therapy (especially its respect for mindfulness and non-violence) and rooted in Focusing-Oriented Therapy (especially its emphasis on meaning that arrives slowly, from the inside, in a way that can be trusted).
In practice, that often means we’re doing two things at once:
We’re staying close to the relationship in the room, while also tracking what’s happening in the body.
We’re also attentive to culture, power, identity, and context, because bodies don’t live outside systems. “What is your body doing?” is never a neutral question if the world has taught someone their body is unsafe, scrutinized, or not their own.
If you’re looking for a broader overview of how we work clinically, you can explore somatic therapy online.
What therapists bring into consultation
Therapists come to SP-informed supervision and peer consultation for many reasons. Some of the most common:
- You’re trying to translate training into real interventions that fit your style.
- You’re unsure when to track sensation, when to stay with story, and when to pause.
- You’re noticing the client’s system shift quickly, and you want to respond without pushing.
- You want help working with protection: “resistance,” avoidance, anger, freeze, collapse, perfectionism, compliance, dissociation, or fast intellectualizing.
- You want language that is non-pathologizing and still clinically precise.
- You’re working with trauma-related adaptation, attachment patterns, or complex relational histories and want a steadier map.
- You want consultation that includes you, not just your client: your countersigns, your timing, your impulse to rescue or to retreat, and what your own body is doing in the work.
How we work with you
Our consultation style is clear, warm, and practical. We won’t hand you a script and send you off to perform it. We will slow the moment down and help you find the next right step.
Depending on what you bring, we might:
- Revisit a specific moment from a session and track what shifted in the client’s body and yours.
- Help you map the function of a protective strategy and how to meet it with more precision.
- Practice micro-phrases and pacing choices that keep work consent-based and grounded.
- Sort out “what’s mine, what’s theirs, what’s in the field” when intensity rises.
- Explore how Hakomi-informed principles or Focusing-style listening can support your somatic work.
- Identify what to do when your client wants to go deeper than their system can hold, or when “going deeper” is actually a defence.
We offer individual and small-group formats. Some clinicians want a private space to think and refine. Others benefit from the resonance and learning that happens when several nervous systems are thinking together.
What changes when you have a steadier consultation home
A few grounded shifts we often see for therapists who stay with consultation over time:
- You trust pacing more, and you stop rushing to “make something happen.”
- You get better at tracking tiny shifts, which helps you intervene earlier and more gently.
- Your language becomes clearer and kinder, especially when protection shows up.
- You feel less alone with complexity, which often improves your own steadiness in session.
An invitation
If you’re exploring sensorimotor therapy, deepening your embodied work, or looking for a consultation space that is relational, precise, and non-performative, we’d be glad to meet you.
You can start here with peer consultation for therapists or book a 15-minute consult to see if we’re the right fit.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® is a registered trademark of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. Our services are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this only for therapists who are already trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy?
No. Many therapists come when they’re brand new to body-aware work and want a steady way to begin. Others come deep into training and want support integrating skills into their real caseload. We’ll meet you where you are, and we’ll keep the work clear.
What makes this “SP-informed” rather than formal SP training?
Training teaches the model. Consultation helps you apply it: pacing, clinical judgement, language, and what to do when sessions get complex. We’re not replacing formal training. We’re supporting your integration of somatic work in a way that fits your scope, your ethics, and your actual clients.
I’m worried I’ll “do somatic therapy wrong.” Is that a sign I shouldn’t be doing it?
Not at all. Caution often signals care. Somatic work asks for consent, humility, and pacing. Consultation can help you build confidence without pushing you into interventions that don’t fit. You don’t need to be bold. You need to be steady.
What kinds of cases are a good fit for consultation?
A wide range. Therapists often bring cases involving trauma-related protection, attachment patterns, dissociation, shutdown, chronic anxiety, complex grief, relational conflict, and identity pressure. You can also bring questions about your own countersigns, pacing, and how to stay present without over-functioning.
How do I begin?
A short consult is usually the simplest first step. We’ll ask what you’re working with, what kind of support you want, and what format fits your life. If it’s a match, we’ll set a first session and keep expectations clear. You can begin through peer consultation for therapists.
