Somatic Support in Recovery
Addiction, trauma and the nervous system
Recovery from addiction can involve more than changing a behaviour or stepping away from a substance. It may also mean developing a greater understanding of how stress, difficult emotions, bodily sensations and relationships influence our everyday lives.
My approach brings together Somatic Experiencing, NeuroAffective Touch and many years of experience working in addiction treatment.
Alongside gentle, body-based exploration, there is also room to talk through the practical and emotional challenges that arise during recovery.
Everyone’s experience is different. We work collaboratively and at a pace that feels manageable, exploring what may support greater awareness, choice, connection and a more flexible and regulated nervous system.
My Experience in Addiction and Recovery
My understanding of addiction and recovery comes from both professional and personal experience.
I spent 13 years working in a residential addiction treatment centre, eventually becoming a senior therapist. Alongside this, I have developed my private practice, supporting people with trauma, stress and difficult life experiences.
My relationship with addiction and recovery also extends beyond my professional work. I grew up in an environment where addiction was present, and I have been in recovery myself for over two decades.
These experiences have given me a deep appreciation of the complexities of addiction, the impact it can have on individuals and relationships, and the many different paths people take towards recovery.
I recognise that everyone's experience is different. My intention is not to assume I know someone else's journey, but to offer a supportive, collaborative space where we can explore what is happening in the body, emotions and nervous system, with curiosity and without judgement.
The Nervous System in Recovery
Our nervous system is constantly responding to what happens around us and within us. Stress, difficult emotions and past experiences can influence how we feel, think and respond, often without our conscious awareness.
At times, we may experience heightened alertness, anxiety, restlessness, emotional numbness or a sense of disconnection.
For some people, addictive substances or behaviours can become familiar ways of managing these uncomfortable internal experiences. Even when an addictive behaviour stops, the underlying feelings and nervous-system responses may still be present.
Recovery can therefore involve learning to recognise these patterns, understanding what happens when we feel overwhelmed and gradually discovering other ways of experiencing steadiness, connection and support.
Rather than trying to force change, we can approach these experiences with curiosity, patience and compassion.
The intention is to support a more flexible and regulated nervous system, with greater capacity for choice, connection and engagement in everyday life.
Understanding Addiction Beyond Willpower
For a long time, addiction has often been viewed as a failure of willpower, a lack of discipline or a series of poor choices. Yet addiction is considerably more complex than this.
Our biology, learning, relationships, environment and lived experiences can all influence how addictive patterns develop and continue.
Substances and addictive behaviours can affect the brain’s systems involved in reward, motivation and stress. Over time, these patterns may become increasingly difficult to change, even when someone genuinely wants things to be different.
Personal responsibility remains important in recovery, but shame and blame alone offer little understanding of what someone may be experiencing.
Perhaps a more helpful question is not simply why someone continues a harmful behaviour, but what that behaviour may have helped them manage, and what other possibilities might become available through recovery.
This broader understanding allows us to approach addiction with both honesty and compassion, recognising the challenges involved while supporting greater awareness, responsibility and choice.
Early Relationships, Developmental Trauma and the Nervous System
Attachment theory helps us understand how our earliest relationships influence our developing sense of safety, trust and connection.
As children, we depend on others to help us manage experiences and feelings that may be too much to handle alone. Through repeated experiences of being comforted, understood and supported, we gradually develop a greater capacity to regulate our emotions and bodily responses.
When childhood involves ongoing stress, neglect, fear or unpredictable relationships, the nervous system may adapt in different ways. We might learn to remain constantly alert, withdraw from others, disconnect from difficult feelings or become particularly sensitive to rejection.
These responses are not personal failings. They can be understandable adaptations to environments in which we had limited choices or support.
Some of these patterns may continue into adulthood, even when our circumstances have changed. For some people, substances or compulsive behaviours can become ways of managing emotional pain, overwhelming bodily sensations, loneliness or disconnection.
Not everyone who experiences developmental trauma develops an addiction, and not everyone experiencing addiction has a history of trauma. However, understanding these possible connections can help us approach recovery with greater curiosity and compassion.
Importantly, these patterns are not fixed. Through greater awareness, supportive relationships and new experiences of connection, we can begin to explore different ways of responding to ourselves and others.
Somatic Experiencing and the Body's Responses
Somatic Experiencing offers a gentle, body-oriented approach to exploring how stress and traumatic experiences may influence our responses in the present moment.
Rather than focusing only on what has happened in the past, we also pay attention to what is happening in the body here and now.
During a session, we might notice tension, changes in breathing, restlessness, numbness or an impulse to withdraw. Alongside these experiences, we also explore what might offer a sense of steadiness, support, connection or ease.
We work collaboratively and at a pace that feels manageable, without needing to force change or revisit difficult memories.
By becoming curious about sensations, emotions and bodily responses, we can begin to recognise familiar patterns and explore new possibilities.
For someone navigating recovery, this approach can offer support when dealing with stress, overwhelming emotions or difficulties that arise as life changes.
The intention is to support greater awareness, flexibility and choice in how we respond to ourselves, others and the challenges of everyday life.
NeuroAffective Touch and the Experience of Connection
NeuroAffective Touch explores how our early experiences of being cared for, comforted and supported may influence how we experience safety, connection and relationships throughout life.
Some people develop a strong capacity to manage independently but find it more difficult to recognise their own needs, receive care or feel comfortable with closeness. Others may long for connection while also finding it overwhelming.
These patterns can be explored gently, with curiosity and without judgement.
In sessions, we pay attention to what happens in the body as we explore experiences of support, boundaries and connection. Where appropriate and explicitly agreed, therapeutic touch may also become part of this exploration.
Touch is never a requirement. Choice, ongoing consent and each person’s own sense of agency remain central to the work.
The intention is not to make someone feel safe or relaxed on demand, but to create space to notice what happens when care and support become available, including what feels welcome and what might feel too much.
For people navigating recovery, this approach can offer another way to explore trust, self-protection, personal boundaries and the experience of connection with themselves and others.
Guidance and Support Through Recovery
Recovery involves much more than moving away from an addictive substance or behaviour. It can also be a process of discovering who we are, understanding our relationships, developing boundaries and finding different ways of responding to life’s challenges.
Alongside Somatic Experiencing and NeuroAffective Touch, my work can also involve talking through the everyday experiences and difficulties that arise during recovery.
Drawing on my years as a senior therapist in residential addiction treatment, together with over two decades in recovery myself, I can offer encouragement, perspective, suggestions and practical guidance where these may be helpful.
Sometimes this means exploring a difficult situation together, considering different possibilities or finding a way forward when things feel uncertain.
I recognise that everyone’s experience of addiction and recovery is different. My intention is not to tell someone how they should live, but to offer a collaborative, supportive relationship in which we can explore what might be helpful for them.
This work can include both the practical challenges of everyday recovery and the deeper emotional, relational and bodily experiences that may lie beneath them.
My work can complement other forms of addiction treatment, medical care and recovery support. While I have extensive experience working with addiction, I do not provide medically supervised withdrawal or detoxification services.
Further Reading and Research
If you would like to explore some of the ideas discussed on this page in more depth, the following book and research offer useful perspectives on addiction, attachment, developmental trauma and the nervous system.
These resources reflect a growing understanding of addiction as a complex interaction between biology, relationships, environment and lived experience.
Sober Secure — Nina Pick
Explores how attachment, early relationships and body-based approaches can support connection, intimacy and relationships in recovery.
North Atlantic Books
Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment — Principles of Care
Published by the Department of Health and Social Care, updated April 2026.
It covers trauma-informed practice, compassionate treatment, reducing shame and stigma, building trusting therapeutic relationships, and supporting recovery.
GOV.UK
Early Adverse Experiences and Substance Use Disorders — 2026 Research Review
A systematic review and meta-analysis examining associations between adverse early experiences, substance use disorders and overdose risk. It discusses both the findings and the limitations of the evidence.
PMC
Other Recovery Support
Recovery can take many different forms, and different kinds of support may be helpful at different times.
Alongside individual therapeutic work, mutual-aid groups and community addiction services can offer connection, practical guidance and ongoing support.
The following independent organisations offer a range of options, including local meetings, online groups and specialist addiction services.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) — East Kent
Local and online peer-support meetings for people who want to stop drinking. The East Kent directory includes meetings in Folkestone, Hythe and surrounding areas.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) — UK
Peer-support meetings for people seeking recovery from drug addiction, with face-to-face and online options.
SMART Recovery UK
A secular, evidence-informed alternative to 12-step programmes, using practical tools to support changes in addictive behaviours. Offers in-person and online meetings.
The Forward Trust — Dover and Folkestone
Local specialist drug and alcohol services, including individual support, group programmes, recovery support and assistance with detoxification and medication-assisted treatment.
View local Forward Trust services