This page brings together articles and reflections from my practice.
Some focus directly on therapy, trauma, the nervous system, and relationship patterns. Others reflect more broadly on the values and human questions that shape how I think about suffering, care, relationship, and psychological work.
If you have come here because you are considering therapy, you may also want to look at the main therapy pages, About, or Getting started to get a clearer sense of how I work.
You can also read more about some of the key values behind my work.
Many people long for closeness while also feeling anxious, guarded, ashamed, overwhelmed, or withdrawn in relationship. This article explores how trauma and relational wounding can shape patterns of contact, distance, mistrust, and longing, and why these patterns often make sense.
Read MoreFunctional collapse can be hard to recognise because, from the outside, life may still appear to be moving. You may still be working, replying, caring for others, and appearing composed — while inside you feel numb, foggy, depleted, or shut down.
This article explores functional collapse as a protective response rather than a personal failing: when the nervous system has carried too much for too long and begins to conserve energy by reducing feeling, contact, and responsiveness.
Read MoreDBR and mindfulness both involve careful attention, but they use attention differently. Mindfulness listens to what emerges in present-moment experience. DBR works earlier in the nervous system sequence, close to where orienting and shock first arise.
Read MoreNot all trauma responses look like panic or agitation. Sometimes the system goes quiet, heavy, numb, foggy, or flat. This article explores what shutdown, freeze, and collapse can feel like, why they happen, and why these responses often make sense in the context of overwhelm or chronic strain.
Read MoreDeep Brain Reorienting (DBR) can support trauma processing, regulation, and reduced reactivity, but it may also bring temporary side effects. This article offers a balanced overview of benefits, possible after-effects, pacing, and integration.
Read MoreSome people look as though they are coping well from the outside, yet inside they are exhausted, tense, shut down, overwhelmed, or still reacting in ways they cannot fully shift. This article explores the hidden cost of high functioning, why insight and talking may not always be enough on their own, and how therapy can help.
Read MoreFeeling constantly on edge can be exhausting. This article explains hypervigilance in plain language: why the nervous system stays on guard, how trauma and chronic stress can shape this response, and why it is not a sign of weakness or overreaction.
Read MoreMany people come to therapy with good insight into why they struggle, yet still feel hijacked by anxiety, shutdown, shame, or relational patterns. This article explores why trauma is not only cognitive, and why meaningful change may require attention to relationship, affect, the body, and the nervous system as well as reflection.
Read MoreTransactional Analysis, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Deep Brain Reorienting may sound different, but all are deeply relational approaches. ILF neurofeedback can also support the nervous system conditions that make grounded attunement and relational presence more possible.
Read MoreWorking relationally in therapy means more than talking about relationships. This article explores self-exploration, ego states, shock, affect, and the integration of top-down and bottom-up approaches.
Read More“I understand why I’m like this — but it still happens.” If you can relate to this, read more about how trauma operates in relationship.
Read MoreSome difficulties live primarily in the nervous system, not in the story.
Read MoreDBR and ILF neurofeedback can complement each other: neurofeedback supports regulation and sleep; DBR resolves shock patterns. Here’s how integration works.
Read MoreConfused by DBR, EMDR, and somatic therapy? Here’s a clear, balanced guide to how they differ, what they share, and who they can suit.
Read MoreHave you ever jumped at a sudden noise, felt your stomach drop when someone’s tone changed, or noticed your body tense before you even understood why?
That’s not you being “too sensitive.” That’s your nervous system doing its job.
Read MoreWhat happens after Deep Brain Reorienting? Common responses include tiredness, vivid dreams, emotional softness, and calmer reactivity. Here’s how to integrate.
Read MoreWondering what happens in Deep Brain Reorienting? Here’s a step-by-step guide to a DBR session, including pacing, safety, and after-care.
Read MoreDeep Brain Reorienting (DBR): a gentle way to resolve shock and trauma
Read MoreA few reflections about my experience and practice of mindful meditation.
Read MoreRelational psychotherapist, ILF neurofeedback practitioner, and clinical supervisor.
Psychotherapy and supervision: in person and online.
ILF neurofeedback: in person only, in Reading, Berkshire.
+44 (0)7803 049039 · paolo@presentingpast.co.uk
UKCP-registered psychotherapist · BACP-registered member · CTA-P
