This page brings together articles and reflections from my practice.
Some focus directly on therapy, trauma, the nervous system, and relationship patterns. Others step back into a wider frame, exploring the human and ethical questions that also shape how I think about suffering, care, and psychological work.
Some reflections sit slightly beyond the immediate therapy frame, but still shape how I think about suffering, care, trauma, human vulnerability, and our place in the wider world.
This longer piece explores selfhood, ageing, illness, neurodivergence, and ecological belonging.
Not 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 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 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 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 MoreWhat happens after Deep Brain Reorienting? Common responses include tiredness, vivid dreams, emotional softness, and calmer reactivity. Here’s how to integrate.
Read MoreDeep Brain Reorienting (DBR): a gentle way to resolve shock and trauma
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
