About Me
My Approach and Experience
I’m Aaron Whalen, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and registered Shiatsu practitioner (MRSS), based in Folkestone, Kent. My approach has developed through more than 30 years of interest in the body, movement and bodywork, alongside many years of therapeutic work with people experiencing trauma, addiction and mental-health difficulties. Today, I bring together Somatic Experiencing, therapeutic touch, body awareness and a long-standing meditation practice to offer a gentle, body-based approach to therapy. I work face-to-face in Folkestone and online.
The Importance of Human Presence
One of the ideas that resonates deeply with my approach comes from psychotherapist and philosopher Eugene Gendlin.
In The Primacy of Human Presence, Gendlin reminds us that meaningful therapeutic work begins with one human being being genuinely present with another.
For me, therapeutic training and techniques are important, but so is the quality of the relationship. I aim to offer a space where you can feel met with curiosity, compassion and without judgement, allowing us to explore your experience together at a pace that feels manageable.
The Role of Meditation
Meditation has been an important part of my life since 2003. I maintain a regular personal practice and have attended a number of extended silent meditation retreats. Over the years, meditation has influenced the way I work therapeutically — particularly my interest in awareness, presence and the capacity to stay with bodily and emotional experience with curiosity rather than judgement. I have also taught meditation as part of my previous work within a residential treatment setting.
Working with Addiction and Trauma
From 2009, I spent around 13 years working within a residential treatment centre supporting people experiencing addiction, trauma and a range of mental-health difficulties. I began in a healthcare role and later worked as a Shiatsu practitioner before progressing to become a senior therapist. This gave me extensive experience of working therapeutically with people from many different backgrounds, often during particularly difficult periods of their lives. Over time, my interest increasingly centred on trauma and the ways our experiences can be reflected not only in our thoughts and emotions, but also in the body and nervous system. This eventually led me to train in Somatic Experiencing.
Discovering Somatic Experiencing
Aaron Whalen and his training cohort from 2017
In 2017, I began training in Somatic Experiencing, a body-oriented approach to working with trauma and the effects of stress on the nervous system. I later qualified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP).
The training brought together many strands of my previous experience and deepened my understanding of how bodily sensations, movement, emotion and patterns of nervous-system activation can all form part of the therapeutic process.
Since qualifying, I have continued to develop my practice through further training, supervision and assisting on Somatic Experiencing trainings. I have also had the opportunity to assist Peter Levine, the developer of Somatic Experiencing, during his teaching.
Somatic Experiencing has become a central part of my work. I particularly enjoy helping people explore patterns connected with trauma and stress, and supporting them in developing a greater sense of connection with their bodies. This work continues to deepen my interest in how the body and nervous system can be included in therapy, alongside therapeutic touch and the experience I have developed through many years of bodywork and therapeutic practice.
I’m particularly interested in helping people explore what supports a greater sense of safety and agency, and the possibility of feeling more at home in their own bodies.
