Anna | Somatic therapist

Introduction

I believe your body holds a profound wisdom - one that often gets overlooked in our busy, achievement-oriented world. The aim of my work is to create space where you can slow down, turn inward, and reconnect with the intelligence that already lives within you.

As a somatic practitioner, yoga teacher and student of Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, I weave together body-based practices with depth psychotherapy to support you in coming home to yourself. My approach is relational and experiential, inviting you to explore not just what you think, but what you feel and sense in your body.

I'm currently completing my training as a Hakomi therapist and am offering services at a reduced rate during this time.

My Training & Background

My path to this work has been anything but linear - and I think that's what makes it rich.

I spent years working in high-pressure corporate environments before discovering yoga, somatic practices, and eventually psychotherapy. This wasn't an escape, but a necessary homecoming - a way of learning to listen to my body and reclaim parts of myself I'd learned to override in the pursuit of achievement. The tools I've gathered along the way continue to help me cultivate a kinder relationship with myself and move through the world with more joy and ease. It's from this place of ongoing practice and learning that I now walk alongside others on their own journeys.

Hakomi forms the foundation of my therapeutic work. Its principles of mindfulness, non-violence, and honoring the body's wisdom deeply resonate with how I believe healing unfolds. I also integrate somatic parts work, which allows us to approach all aspects of who you are - including the parts you may have learned to push away - with curiosity and compassion.

Who I Work With

I have a special place in my heart those who have spent so much energy taking care of everyone else that they've lost touch with their own needs and desires. If you've been running on empty, striving for an impossible standard, or feeling disconnected from your authentic self, I understand that territory intimately.

I work particularly with people experiencing:

• Burnout and chronic exhaustion
• Perfectionism and harsh self-criticism
• Body image concerns and eating distress
• Low self-worth and people-pleasing patterns
• Stress and anxiety
• Trauma and nervous system dysregulation
• Relationship difficulties

My Approach

In our work together, you won't find quick fixes or surface-level solutions. Instead, I offer a space where you can explore what's truly alive in you - the feelings, sensations, and parts of yourself that may have been asking for attention.

Drawing from Hakomi, we'll work with mindfulness to gently turn toward your inner experience. Through somatic awareness, we'll listen to what your body is communicating. And using somatic parts work, we'll meet the different aspects of yourself - the achiever, the protector, the critic, the one who just wants to rest - with understanding rather than judgment.

I believe that true transformation happens not just through understanding, but through felt experience. I also believe healing happens in relationship - with ourselves, with others, and with the natural world. This isn't about fixing yourself or becoming someone different. It's about discovering who you already are beneath the layers of conditioning, expectation, and survival strategies you've developed along the way.

A Little More About Me

I live by the beach in Raglan, where I'm constantly reminded of the wisdom of moving with, rather than against, the natural rhythms of life. You'll often find me in the ocean or wandering through the bush, writing, reading, connecting with my community. These practices of being in my body and in nature aren't separate from my therapeutic work - they're woven into how I understand healing and wholeness.