This page brings together articles and reflections from my practice.
Some focus directly on therapy, trauma, the nervous system, neurofeedback, 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.
These reflections are not a substitute for therapy. They are offered as a way to explore ideas, recognise patterns, and get a fuller sense of how I think about therapeutic work.
If you have come here because you are considering therapy, you may also want to look at:
Getting started ›
For a first orientation if you are unsure where to begin.
Individual therapy ›
For anxiety, overwhelm, shutdown, self-criticism, trauma, dissociation, and recurring patterns.
About me ›
For more about my background and the way I came to this work.
Key values ›
For some of the values that shape how I hold therapy, supervision, and clinical responsibility.
Some people seem articulate and capable until stress rises. Then the words disappear, thinking becomes scrambled, or the mind starts spinning. This article explores why going blank, overthinking, or losing words under stress can be a protective nervous-system response rather than a personal failing.
Read MoreFor therapy to help, it does not need to feel perfect, but it usually does need to feel safe enough. This article explores what helps create that sense of enough safety: pacing, steadiness, consent, attunement, clarity, and the possibility of rupture and repair.
Read MoreDissociation can feel confusing, frightening, or hard to explain. You may go blank, feel distant from yourself, lose time, or feel as though things are unreal. This article explains dissociation as a protective response rather than a personal failing, and outlines how therapy can approach it gently.
Read MoreIn trauma-informed therapy, the first signs of change are often quiet. A reaction may still arise, but pass more quickly. A familiar feeling may still be present, but no longer take over in the same way. This article explores why trauma therapy can feel subtle before it feels transformational, especially where developmental trauma, nervous-system regulation, pacing, integration, and relational safety are part of the work.
Read MoreMany people long for closeness while also feeling anxious, guarded, ashamed, overwhelmed, or withdrawn in relationship.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 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 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 MorePaolo Imbalzano · UKCP Registered Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor
Relational psychotherapist, ILF neurofeedback practitioner, and clinical supervisor.
Psychotherapy and supervision are available in person and online.
ILF neurofeedback available in person in Reading, Berkshire.
+44 (0)7803 049039 · paolo@presentingpast.co.uk - LinkedIn
UKCP Registered Psychotherapist · UKCP Registered Clinical Supervisor
BACP Registered Member · CTA-P
