We came to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® (SP) — developed by Dr. Pat Ogden and the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute (SPI) — the way we’ve come to much of our work: together. Long before we began SP training, we were already collaborating, learning side-by-side, and deepening our shared commitment to relational, experiential care. By the time we entered the multi-year certification track for SP in 2018, we had already spent years refining our instincts through conversation, practice, and mutual support.
Over the next six years, we immersed ourselves in hundreds of hours of training, peer consultation, and weekly personal therapy with certified SP practitioners. We studied trauma-informed modalities that fit seamlessly with SP — including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), and SP for Trauma and Dissociation — always coming back to the same truth: when we slow down, listen closely, and trust the body’s wisdom, the work changes in profound ways.
That truth has shaped not only how we sit with our clients, but also how we guide other therapists. Our approach to SP-informed supervision and mentorship is rooted in the same steady presence, mutual curiosity, and embodied awareness that have been at the centre of our own growth as practitioners.
Our Approach to SP Peer Consultation and Supervision
When we sit with another therapist, whether in supervision, mentorship, or peer consultation, we bring both our strengths and the shared language we’ve built over years of collaboration. Clayre leans into parts work informed by Janina Fisher’s Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) model, pacing the process so that each part of the client feels welcome, seen, and safe to participate. Laura integrates trauma-sensitive yoga practices and grief therapy, creating space for clients to meet what’s most tender without rushing or forcing the process.
What brings our work together is a shared commitment to the guiding principles of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy®, principles we return to again and again in our own practice:
- Organicity — trusting a client’s innate capacity to grow and heal, and supporting that natural process with respect and care.
- Non-violence — meeting symptoms as meaningful signals rather than problems to be erased, holding a space free from judgment or pathologizing.
- Unity — honouring the interconnectedness of a client’s inner world and the wider systems they live within.
- Mind-body-spirit holism — working with thoughts, feelings, and sensations together, knowing each shapes the others.
- Mindfulness — cultivating compassionate, curious attention to the present moment.
- Relational alchemy — recognizing the transformative potential of safe, embodied relationships in reshaping old patterns and beliefs.
In our SP-informed supervision, these principles aren’t theoretical. They show up in the questions we ask, in the way we slow the pace with you, and in how we help you notice your own embodied responses as a clinician. We hold space for you to stay with the process long enough to discover the deeper patterns, possibilities, and presence that somatic work can offer.
What We Explore Together
Therapists come to SP-informed supervision for many reasons. Sometimes it is to find a steadier footing with a complex case. Sometimes it is to bring more of their own presence into the room. And sometimes it is to rediscover the sense of curiosity that first drew them to somatic work.
In our conversations, we might look at how you are working within a client’s Window of Tolerance, not as a rigid framework, but as a living reference point for safety and possibility. We often explore client readiness for deeper somatic work and your own readiness as the therapist, so both of you can enter the process with confidence. Together, we return to the steps of the SP process, finding ways to slow down, deepen awareness, and use psychoeducation in ways that make the work feel clear and empowering for your clients.
We also spend time building skills that can change the quality of your sessions. You may learn how to track the subtle shifts in a client’s posture or expression, how to listen for the quieter parts of a client’s inner world, or how to meet resistance as a form of protection rather than an obstacle. We talk about bringing liberatory and decolonizing perspectives into SP work, especially when serving trans and queer clients who deserve spaces of genuine comfort and safety.
Whether you are brand new to SP or many years into training, our role is to meet you exactly where you are, then walk with you into the next layer of depth your work is calling for.
How We Work With You
We offer SP-informed supervision and mentorship in both individual and small group settings. Some therapists prefer one-to-one time so they can focus deeply on their own questions and clinical style. Others enjoy the richness of a group conversation, where multiple perspectives spark new insights and possibilities.
Our time together is active and experiential. We might revisit a moment from one of your sessions and slow it down, inviting you to notice what you were sensing in your own body. We may role play an intervention so you can practise it before bringing it to your client. Sometimes we simply pause and reflect together, allowing space for what is emerging to take shape in its own time.
In each setting, our aim is the same: to help you integrate the principles of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy® into your work in a way that feels authentic, grounded, and alive. We want you to leave feeling not just more skilled, but more present with yourself and your clients.
An Invitation to Go Deeper
We know from our own journey that the best learning happens in spaces where you feel understood, supported, and challenged with care. Our years of training, our work with clients, and our ongoing collaboration with each other have shown us that supervision can be more than a professional requirement. It can be a place where your skills deepen, your presence expands, and your connection to the work is renewed.
If you are ready to explore SP-informed supervision with mentors who have walked this path side-by-side, we would be honoured to join you. Together, we can slow the pace, listen for what is asking to be heard, and discover the new possibilities that emerge when we trust the body’s wisdom.
Book a 15-minute consultation to see if we’re the right fit.
