Relational trauma-informed psychotherapy in Reading and online
When understanding alone has not been enough
Carefully paced, relational psychotherapy for anxiety, overwhelm, shutdown, and recurring patterns.
Therapy with Paolo Imbalzano, UKCP Registered Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor, in Shinfield, Reading, Berkshire and online.
Carefully paced
At a speed your system can work with.
Relational
Patterns are explored through safety and trust.
Body-aware
Attention to nervous-system responses, not only insight.
Formulation-led
Shaped around your history, needs, and capacity.
A place to begin
You may be here because something has felt difficult for a long time:
anxiety that does not settle
overwhelm that comes quickly
shutdown or disconnection
exhaustion
relationship patterns that keep repeating
Sometimes what feels most real is not a therapy category, but the impact these patterns are having on daily life.
You may already have spent a long time trying to make sense of things, and still find that something in you reacts before you can choose differently.
Therapy can offer a steady place to begin noticing these responses with care — without forcing change too quickly.
Common areas of support include anxiety, trauma, dissociation, overwhelm, relationship difficulties, and nervous-system dysregulation.
This may be for you if
You may recognise that:
you understand some of what is happening, but your responses still do not shift
anxiety, shutdown, dissociation, overwhelm, or hypervigilance affect daily life
relationship patterns keep repeating despite your efforts
you are looking for therapy that attends to the body, nervous system, and relational experience, not insight alone
For a fuller overview of the difficulties I work with, see:
How I work
Therapy shaped around safety, capacity, and deeper change
My work is not only about insight. It also pays attention to what happens emotionally, physically, and relationally — especially when old patterns are activated.
The therapeutic relationship is central. It offers a steady place where patterns can be noticed safely, understood, and gradually met differently.
I work in a formulation-led way. This means therapy is guided by a careful understanding of your history, patterns, triggers, and needs, rather than by applying one fixed method.
Where appropriate, I may draw on approaches such as Deep Brain Reorienting, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, parts-informed work, Transactional Analysis, and ILF neurofeedback.
ILF neurofeedback may be considered where nervous-system regulation, sleep, overwhelm, shutdown, or reactivity are part of the picture. It is offered in person and used only where it seems clinically appropriate.
The aim is not simply to understand patterns, but to create the conditions for meaningful and lasting change.
For a fuller explanation of how I work, you can read more here:
How we begin
The first step is usually a free 20-minute consultation. This gives us a chance to talk briefly about what brings you here and whether my way of working may be a good fit.
If we decide to begin, the early sessions help us understand what is troubling you, what kind of support may be needed first, and how to work at a pace your system can manage.
There is no obligation to continue after the consultation.
For a fuller overview of the first steps, see:
About me
Paolo Imbalzano, psychotherapist and clinical supervisor
I offer specialist relational, trauma-informed psychotherapy for adults experiencing anxiety, overwhelm, shutdown, dissociation, trauma, and relationship difficulties.
My work is grounded in relationship and informed by trauma, attachment, and the nervous system. I integrate talking therapy with body-aware approaches, shaped around your particular history, needs, and capacity.
UKCP Registered Psychotherapist with additional specialist training in trauma-informed and body-aware approaches.
UKCP Registered Psychotherapist · UKCP Registered Clinical Supervisor
BACP Registered Member · CTA-P
Explore further
Depending on what brings you here, you may want to begin with:
Getting started ›
A first place to orient yourself if you are unsure where to begin.
Individual therapy ›
For anxiety, overwhelm, shutdown, self-criticism, trauma, dissociation, and recurring relational patterns.
Trauma therapy ›
For trauma, chronic stress, hypervigilance, shutdown, dissociation, and nervous-system responses that still feel active now.
Couple therapy ›
For couples wanting to understand repeating patterns, conflict, distance, rupture, or loss of connection.
ILF neurofeedback ›
In-person nervous-system regulation training, used alongside psychotherapy where appropriate.
For professionals
Clinical supervision ›
Reflective, relational, trauma-informed supervision for psychotherapists and counsellors.
If this feels like a good place to begin
You do not need to be certain before making contact. We can simply begin with a conversation.