"I'm fine." For a lot of men, those two words do a huge amount of work. They close a conversation before it starts, buy time, and keep everything held together.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can echo into adult relationships through trust, conflict and emotion. Here is what the research shows, how it can feel day to day, and how somatic therapy can help.

Many people come to somatic therapy because stress has settled into the body: a tight chest, a clenched jaw, a stomach that will not settle, or a feeling of being permanently switched on. Somatic therapy works with those sensations and with the nervous system directly, rather than asking you to think your way out of them.

Talking therapies and somatic therapy are different ways in to the same experience. Neither is better for everyone, and some people use both. This page explains how they differ so you can decide what to ask about.

I offer three approaches. They overlap, and the free consultation is the easiest place to work out which suits you. Here is how they differ.