1:1 Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy is an invitation to care for yourself across time – for the version of you who has carried pain, for the body you live in right now, and for the person you are becoming or wish to become. It’s about learning to navigate the world as a sensitive, emotional, spiritual being without burning out or shrinking yourself.
Moving through our current times with presence and resilience asks more than our minds can offer alone. Somatic work meets you where you are and helps you cultivate the capacity to return to yourself – to your centre, your purpose and passions, your strength – over and over again.
“The human body is not an instrument to be used, but a realm of one's being to be experienced, explored, enriched and, thereby, educated.”
— Thomas Hanna
In somatics, we work with the body as felt from within. ‘Soma’ incorporates your whole experience of being alive – moving, sensing, noticing, feeling and responding to the world around you. Somatic practices offer ways of coming into relationship with the body as a place where memory, resilience, pleasure and possibility live together, in a beautiful, human mess.
Somatic therapy may be for you if you:
Feel overwhelmed by life or by your own sensitivity
Long to meet yourself with compassion and kindness
Are navigating grief, loss, or deep life transitions
Want to feel more capable, grounded, and responsive to your own needs and the world around you
Seek practices that honour your mind-body-spirit connection, not just ways of thinking
Beginning
Our first session is 75 minutes – a little longer, so we can move at a softer pace and really begin to meet each other. You’ll have space to share your story, the things you’ve been carrying, and the hopes you’re holding for yourself.
I know this can feel vulnerable, especially if you’ve shared your pain before and weren’t fully seen or held. Here, your words are noticed, your soma is attuned to, and I can begin to sense your nervous system state – helping guide what feels safe and nourishing next.
Potent, relational modalities
My approach is body-led, trauma-aware, and guided by what we know about the nervous system, but always anchored in the lived experience of your own desires, sensations, impulses and feelings.
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Guided by positive psychology, neuroscience and embodied practice, mind-body coaching brings the thinking mind and the feeling body back into conversation. We translate self-awareness and insight into choices that feel aligned with your values and your nervous system's capacity – helping you become who you want to be.
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We tend to notice stress in our minds – as hurried thoughts, indecision or brain fog. But the truth is, stress lives in the body. It shapes our breath, our posture and our ability to be present. This trauma-informed modality helps release what's been held and restores our natural capacity to adapt and recover.
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We each hold many inner parts: helpers, dreamers, survivors. This gentle, relational process, inspired by Internal Family Systems (IFS), invites curiosity and compassion toward them all. Through embodied awareness and dialogue, these parts find safety and belonging, and a deeper sense of inner leadership emerges.
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Originating from occupational therapy and developed in Japan, the Kawa Model views life as a flowing river, where health and wellbeing are shaped by relationships, life circumstances, and personal resources. This approach helps you explore what supports or blocks your flow, guiding practical and meaningful ways to move through life with balance and agency.
Love Notes
“With Shannon’s guidance, I can slow down, be present to what's happening inside and explore what's arising without needing to have it all figured out. She's been such a kind witness to my process. I leave feeling affirmed and more able to take my next steps.”
FREE RESOURCE
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The initial session (75 minutes) is $190, and ongoing sessions (60 minutes) are $160.
I've set these rates to honour the depth and care of this work while keeping it sustainable for both of us. But what would be the point of creating space for healing and reconnection if it wasn't also accessible to the people who need it?
If cost is your only barrier, I offer a limited number of reduced-rate sessions each month. Simply email me at hello@shannonpalmer.au and we'll find a way to work together.
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Talk therapy focuses mostly on words and thoughts – exploring patterns, beliefs and the stories we tell ourselves. Somatic therapy includes these pieces, but it also brings the body into the conversation. We work with what you're feeling in your body as much as what you're thinking about it.
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We begin with an initial session, which allows a little extra time for us to get to know each other. If you’re not sure yet or have questions, we can connect for a free curiosity call – it’s a gentle ‘vibe-check’, a fuss-free space to sense into the work, get a feel for me, and have your questions answered.
Questions
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This process is nuanced and deeply individual – there’s no set timeline. Somatic therapy is most effective when experienced with some regularity over time. Many people begin with weekly or fortnightly sessions for a few months, then adjust the pace to what feels supportive for their body and ongoing curiosity.
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At the moment, all sessions are online, so you can join from the comfort of your own space. Many of you tell me that sessions still feel intimate, felt, and grounded, even through a screen. In-person sessions in Fremantle are coming soon – if you’d like to be notified when they’re available, joining my mailing list is the best way to hear first.
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Absolutely. Somatic practice attends to whatever your body and nervous system can meet in the moment. I live with neurodivergence, a host of inflammatory conditions and a highly sensitive nervous system, and so I offer understanding and flexibility for your body to be supported exactly as it is.
Your body already moves with the currents of your past. It holds the aliveness of your present and the potential of what's still unfolding.
Somatic therapy is a space to return to that intelligence – to remember how it feels to inhabit yourself fully and to cultivate the capacity you need to navigate life with more ease. It's practice, presence and possibility wrapped up in the simple act of being with yourself.