Integrative
and somatic therapy,
online and in English
Integrative and somatic therapy offers a space to work through what feels difficult and to understand the patterns that keep repeating. It’s also a place to reconnect with parts of yourself you’ve had to set aside along the way, and to keep growing from there.
Some people come in the middle of a crisis or a big transition. Others come because something that used to work has quietly stopped working, or because they want to know themselves better and keep exploring who they are. All of these are good reasons to begin.
I work online, mainly in English, with people who want to take a further step on their personal journey. Much of my own life has been about living with difference. As a gay man, and as someone who has lived and worked in seven countries, I know what it’s like to be the one who doesn’t quite fit the expected picture, and to build a life and a sense of self from there. If you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community, or an expat living between cultures, that part of your story won’t need explaining. And if you feel like the outsider for other reasons, that experience is welcome here too.
Where I specialise
Trauma and EMDR
Trauma isn’t only what happened; it’s what stayed. I’m a trained EMDR therapist and work with single-incident trauma, complex and developmental trauma, and PTSD.
Sexuality, gender and relationships
Work around sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, coming out at any age, minority stress, internalised shame, intimacy and desire, kink and BDSM, non-monogamy and polyamory. My approach is sex-positive and affirming.
Psychedelic preparation and integration
Preparation before a psychedelic experience and integration afterwards, so that what surfaces becomes usable. I’ve trained in ketamine-assisted therapy.
How I work
My way of working is integrative, and the body sits at the heart of it. Rather than fitting you into one model, with the risk of leaving parts of you out, I bring in what is helpful for the person in front of me. Much of what we carry is held somatically, in tension or in numbness, and feeling it safely and at your own pace is often what allows it to shift. At the same time, body and mind feed into each other, so the work keeps both in view.
Somatic approaches and mindfulness help you reconnect with what the body is holding, and observe what’s happening inside you without being swept along by it. Sometimes I guide you through a short exercise during the session, and I may suggest a simple practice to try at home, so that what we notice together carries on into your everyday life. EMDR gives the brain a way to reprocess memories that have stayed stuck. Psychodynamic work looks at how earlier experiences still shape the present, and humanistic and relational approaches recognise that the relationship between us is often where change happens. Where it’s useful, I also draw on CBT to notice and interrupt unhelpful patterns of thought and behaviour. Techniques are tools, though, and the focus of our work is your growth as a person.
Alongside that, our work often looks at:
- what your early relationships taught you about how to relate, and how those patterns still turn up today
- experiences that seem to have stayed lodged in the body, long after the events themselves
- the habits and reactions that keep repeating no matter what you try
- what you actually want your life to look like, and what’s standing in the way
Relational, somatic and trauma-informed therapy
Relationship at the centre
We are relational beings from the very beginning, and our sense of who we are is shaped through our earliest connections. It is also in relationship that we get hurt, and this is often where shame takes root and we start to believe we’re not good enough or not lovable. Because that pain forms between people, it is hard to heal it alone. Therapy offers a relationship with a particular purpose, where you can be seen and try out different ways of relating, noticing how you affect someone else and how they affect you. Trust takes time, and as it grows there is room to understand you more deeply and, when it helps, to gently challenge you.
Mind and body together
The mind is a remarkable organ, but it can easily get caught up in its own workings. Much of it operates outside our awareness, and many of its protective strategies outlive their usefulness, yet we keep relying on them because they once worked. In a world that puts so much weight on mental effort, it’s easy to lose touch with the body, which has its own wisdom and memory and can help regulate the mind. What I aim for is a balance where the two move together like dance partners. Sometimes that means building a mindful stance of observing what’s happening, and at other times working directly with the body through somatic techniques. I know this from my own life: for a long time I lived mostly in my head, and learning to listen to my body changed how I relate to myself and to others.
Trauma-informed
Trauma happens when we face something threatening and can’t fully process it, in the body as well as the mind. The memory stays active, sometimes stirred by present events without us knowing why, and the defences we build to protect ourselves can gradually narrow the way we live. Healing doesn’t come from breaking through those defences, but from creating enough safety for them to soften at a rhythm your mind and body can manage. EMDR helps with the processing itself. Trauma is so often shaped by the support we did or didn’t have at the time, which is why the therapeutic relationship matters so much: within that safety, the isolation trauma creates can begin to ease.
Deep work, at its own pace
Deep work means slowing down. Growth in therapy is like a plant growing: pulling on it won’t make it grow faster, it will only damage the roots. In a culture that expects quick results, part of the work is letting things unfold and giving yourself room to feel. It also means not seeing yourself as the problem, since you live within a wider context of family and culture that shapes you too. Some of that can’t be changed, and the work can include accepting it while taking the steps that are open to you. If spirituality is part of your life, it is welcome in the room and never imposed.
Pulling a plant won’t make it grow faster,
it will only damage the roots.
Who I am in the room
Much of who I am has been shaped by being the one who is different. As a queer gay man, I’ve had to work through what culture and religion taught me about sexuality, and find my way out of the isolation that came with it. Living in seven countries added another layer: learning to belong somewhere new while holding onto myself in the unfamiliar. My experience won’t be the same as yours, but it means I take difference and belonging seriously with everyone I work with, and you won’t need to justify who you are here.
I’ve worked in mental health for over 15 years, including in trauma services and postgraduate clinical training. You can read more about my background on the about page.
What I work with
Much of what I work with relates to situations that many of us experience:
- anxiety, panic and overwhelm
- depression and low mood
- stress and burnout
- grief, loss and bereavement
- shame, guilt and self-criticism
- low self-esteem and confidence
- anger and emotional regulation
- obsessive thoughts and compulsive patterns
- difficulties in relationships, intimacy and communication
- life transitions, and the feeling of being stuck
- self-understanding and personal growth
Alongside these, the three areas described above make up the core of my practice.
What happens in sessions
We begin with a free introductory call, so you can get a feel for how I work and whether it suits you. The first session or two are mainly about getting to know you within the context of your life, where you come from and who you are, so that I can better understand what you’d like to explore.
After that, the work becomes more of a collaboration, and we decide together what to focus on and how to approach it. I’m not an outside expert on your life, because you are the one living it. What I offer is a space where you can open up a subject, and from there I bring in tools and approaches that help us understand it and work with it. In some sessions you’ll do most of the talking, while in others I might offer more information or suggest something to try, either during the session or in between. All of it is there to support your own process of growth and change.
How long therapy takes
There’s no single answer, because everyone’s needs are different, but two things are worth bearing in mind. The first is that trust and safety take time to build, usually at least four to six sessions, before it feels possible to step into something that leaves you more vulnerable. The second is that working with memories can take you deeper, and understanding yourself tends to happen not at the pace you might wish for, but at the pace at which your inner self feels safe enough to open up and change.
At the same time, therapy doesn’t need to go on forever. It’s there for as long as you need it, and for many people it happens in cycles: working on one area of life for a while, then pausing to carry that exploration into everyday life. Growth doesn’t stop when sessions do.
Practical things
Sessions usually last 50 minutes. Weekly or fortnightly sessions work best for continuity and depth. Sessions are in English or Maltese, and I can also work in Italian if you’re comfortable enough in English for us to switch when needed. Fees and other practicalities are on the practical information page.
If you’re wondering what happens if our paths cross outside sessions, I’ve written about that on my professional boundaries page.
