Relational, trauma-informed psychotherapy in Reading and online
Psychotherapy can help when things feel stuck, overwhelming, or hard to shift — including anxiety, shutdown, dissociation, relationship difficulties, and patterns that may not shift through insight alone.
Paolo Imbalzano
Psychotherapist & Clinical Supervisor
Relational psychotherapy · Trauma-informed practice · Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) · Sensorimotor Psychotherapy · ILF neurofeedback
In person in Shinfield, Reading, Berkshire · Online across the UK
UKCP-registered Psychotherapist · BACP-registered member · CTA-P
I offer relational, trauma-informed psychotherapy for adults living with anxiety, overwhelm, shutdown, dissociation, relationship difficulties, low mood, chronic stress, and patterns of coping that can feel hard to change.
My approach is grounded in relationship and informed by an understanding of trauma, attachment, and the nervous system. It may include both talking therapy and body-aware approaches, always in a way that is thoughtful, responsive, and tailored to you.
I am often most helpful when the difficulty is not only about understanding what is happening, but about what happens under stress, in relationships, or in the body.
We begin with what feels most important now, and go from there at a pace that feels manageable.
A gentle starting point
You may be here because something feels persistently difficult: anxiety that does not settle, emotional overwhelm, shutdown, disconnection, exhaustion, or relationship difficulties that keep repeating even when part of you understands them.
You may already have spent a long time trying to understand why things are as they are, and still find that something in you reacts before you can choose differently. This is often not a failure of insight or effort. Sometimes knowing is not enough on its own.
You might recognise some of these experiences:
you understand your difficulties, but still find yourself pulled into anxiety, shutdown, or hypervigilance
you feel on edge, overwhelmed, or unable to settle
the same relationship dynamics keep repeating, even when you try hard to do things differently
sleep is poor, exhaustion is common, or your system rarely seems to rest
you feel disconnected from yourself, your emotions, or other people
part of you understands what is happening, but your responses still do not shift
Sometimes these difficulties are linked to trauma, chronic stress, attachment wounds, or long periods of overwhelm. Sometimes they appear in quieter ways: chronic tension, people-pleasing, emotional shutdown, dissociation, hyper-independence, or a body that stays organised around protection.
These responses are not signs of weakness. They are often ways the mind and body learned to cope, adapt, or stay safe.
Therapy can offer a space to understand these responses with care, without forcing change too quickly. Over time, that can create more room to think, feel, choose, and relate differently.
Considering therapy?
If some of this resonates, you are welcome to book a free 20-minute consultation.
We can talk about what feels difficult, what you are hoping for, and whether this approach seems like a good fit.
There is no pressure to continue.
How I work
My work is grounded in relational psychotherapy and informed by an understanding of trauma, attachment, and the nervous system. Together, we make sense of your experience while also paying attention to what happens emotionally, physically, and relationally as we do so.
I do not tend to rush toward the deepest material. Often, the first task is to help life feel more manageable in the present, so that deeper therapy can happen at a pace your system can stay with.
If you would like to explore further
You may find these pages a helpful next step:
Start here – how it works ›
A simple overview of the main ways of working together.
Common symptoms & experiences ›
A fuller overview of the kinds of difficulties this work may help with.
About me ›
More about my approach, background, and the therapeutic modalities I integrate.