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How is somatic coaching different from other types of coaching?
When people think about coaching, they often imagine a process built around setting goals, identifying obstacles and creating a plan to move forward. And there's absolutely a place for that.
Sometimes we know what we want, and what we need is a little structure, accountability or support in figuring out how to get there.
But what happens when we don't know what we want? Or when we know exactly what we want, but find ourselves repeatedly doing something else?
Perhaps you've decided to set better boundaries, yet find yourself agreeing to things you don't want to do. Or you know that a difficult conversation needs to happen, but every time you try to initiate it, something stops you. You might understand intellectually that you're capable of making a change, yet still experience a powerful sense of resistance.
This is where a somatic approach can offer something different.
Working with the whole person
The word somatic comes from the Greek soma, meaning body. But somatic coaching isn't simply about paying attention to the body. It's about recognising that our minds and bodies aren't separate systems operating independently of one another.
We think, feel, sense and respond as whole human beings. Our thoughts can influence how we feel physically. Our emotions can shape how we interpret situations. And our bodily responses can influence our thoughts, decisions and behaviour.
Think about the last time you had to have a difficult conversation. Perhaps you rehearsed what you wanted to say. You knew your position was reasonable. You'd thought through the possible outcomes.
And yet, when the moment arrived, your heart started racing. Your throat tightened. You found yourself apologising, explaining or agreeing to something you hadn't intended to agree to.
Intellectually, you understood the situation. But your experience of it was more complicated.
Somatic coaching invites us to become curious about that whole experience. Rather than focusing exclusively on our thoughts, we also pay attention to emotions, physical sensations, impulses and the ways we relate to ourselves and others.
In that sense, somatic coaching isn't about moving away from thinking. It's about bringing more of ourselves into the conversation.
What does that look like in a session?
Rather than focusing exclusively on what you think, what you want to achieve or what you should do next, we become curious about how you're experiencing what's happening.
What do you notice in yourself as you talk about setting that boundary? What feelings arise when you imagine having the conversation? What assumptions might be shaping your response? And how might those responses relate to experiences or ways of adapting that have become familiar over time?
We pay attention to sensations, emotions, posture, breathing and impulses, not because they contain definitive answers, but because they can offer information that thinking alone may not reveal.
My approach is also informed by Gestalt principles, particularly the importance of awareness, the present moment and the relationship between ourselves and our environment. This means we're not only interested in understanding why you do something. We're also curious about how it happens.
How do you notice yourself becoming agreeable when you actually disagree? What happens in the moments before you withdraw from a conversation? How do you experience the tension between what you want and what you believe is expected of you? Sometimes, simply becoming aware of these processes can begin to open up new possibilities.
And rather than assuming that every session should produce a solution or action plan, we allow space for exploration, experimentation and discovery.
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The patterns we carry
Over time, we all develop ways of adapting to the environments and relationships around us.
We learn what tends to bring approval, what creates conflict, when it's easier to speak and when it feels safer to remain quiet.
Some of these adaptations are conscious. Others become habitual. Perhaps being agreeable helped you maintain relationships. Perhaps being exceptionally capable earned recognition. Perhaps you learnt that showing vulnerability wasn't particularly welcome.
These ways of responding may once have been useful, even necessary. But circumstances change. The strategies that helped us navigate one environment don't always serve us in another.
We might continue accommodating other people's needs long after we have the freedom to express our own. Or find ourselves striving for approval that we no longer consciously believe we need.
Somatic coaching offers an opportunity to notice these familiar responses with curiosity rather than judgement. We're not trying to eliminate parts of ourselves or label our adaptations as wrong. We're exploring whether the choices we make today are genuinely available to us, or whether we're responding from a pattern that has become automatic.
That's not to say other coaching approaches ignore emotions, bodily experience or the relationship between coach and client. Many incorporate these elements, and there's considerable overlap between different approaches. But in my practice, they're not incidental to the work.
Does somatic coaching involve movement and exercises?
Sometimes. But not necessarily.
People occasionally imagine somatic coaching as a series of breathing techniques, movement exercises or guided body scans. These can be useful tools, but they aren't the essence of the work.
A session might involve noticing a physical sensation, exploring a change in posture or experimenting with how it feels to express something differently.
Equally, we might spend most of our time in conversation without specific somatic interventions. What matters isn't the technique itself, but whether it helps us explore something meaningful.
The aim isn't simply to help you achieve a particular goal. It's to help you develop a deeper awareness of how you relate to yourself, others and the world around you so that you have more choice in how you respond.
Is somatic coaching better than other types of coaching?
No. And I think that's an important distinction.
Coaching isn't divided neatly into approaches that work with thoughts and approaches that work with feelings or the body. Many coaches integate different approaches, work relationally, explore emotions and pay attention to the whole person. Different approaches often overlap, and much depends on the individual practitioner.
A more traditional goal-oriented coaching style can be enormously useful when someone wants to develop a skill or move towards a clearly defined outcome. Somatic coaching can support those aims too.
But somatic coaching may be particularly interesting if you're curious about the gap between what you understand intellectually and how you find yourself responding in practice. If you are feeling stuck in familiar patterns but aren't sure how to move beyond them. If you're navigating change and want to understand not just what you should do next, but what you actually want.
Or if you're interested in developing a more attentive relationship with yourself, rather than approaching personal growth as another project to complete.
Somatic coaching isn't psychotherapy, and it isn't a substitute for mental health treatment when that is needed. The focus of coaching is on awareness, exploration and supporting your capacity to make choices in your present life.
Curious about working together?
If something here resonates, I offer a free, no-obligation 20-minute introductory conversation. It's a chance to ask questions, explore what brings you to coaching and see whether we're a good fit.
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