Question 1

Do I need to have experienced a major trauma to benefit?

Accepted Answer

No. SE is as relevant for chronic stress and burnout as it is for acute trauma. The nervous system doesn't distinguish between "big T" and "little t"; it responds to whatever felt overwhelming at the time. Developmental patterns, relational wounds, chronic overload: all of these leave residue in the body. You don't need a defining event to benefit from this work.

Question 2

Will I have to talk about what happened?

Accepted Answer

Not in detail, and often not at all. SE works below the level of story. The body holds the experience; the body is where we work. You might name what's present in broad strokes, but you won't be asked to narrate or re-experience events. Many people find this a real relief. The healing doesn't require revisiting the event in graphic detail.

Question 3

Is this the same as EMDR?

Accepted Answer

No. Both are somatic and trauma-focused, but the approaches differ significantly. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (typically eye movement) to help process traumatic memories, and it tends to engage memory more directly. SE works primarily through body sensation and the felt sense, tracking the incomplete survival response rather than the memory itself. SE tends to be slower and more titrated; EMDR can move more quickly through specific memories. Some practitioners integrate both.

Question 4

Are you a certified SE practitioner?

Accepted Answer

Not yet — Faith is currently completing the SE International training, a 216-hour, three-year programme covering the Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. She brings SE as an integrated, body-aware framework into her sessions alongside Upledger craniosacral therapy. All SE-informed work is delivered within that bodywork context, woven into sessions rather than offered as standalone SE therapy.

Question 5

Can SE help with anxiety that doesn't have a clear cause?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and this is often where SE is most useful. Anxiety without a clear narrative cause is frequently anxiety with a body cause. The threat signal is real; it simply doesn't belong to any present situation. It belongs to something the body is still holding from before. SE doesn't require a story to work with. It works with what's happening in the body right now, and the body will usually reveal what it needs to.

Question 6

How does SE work with craniosacral therapy?

Accepted Answer

They are deeply complementary. Craniosacral therapy (CST) works directly with the nervous system through very light touch on the skull, spine, and sacrum, supporting the body's own healing movements. This creates a quality of settling and safety in the body that SE can then work within. CST quiets the system; SE tracks what the newly quieter system begins to reveal. In practice, the two are not always distinguishable. They function as one integrated approach.

Question 7

How many sessions will I need?

Accepted Answer

It varies significantly. Some people feel a clear shift after two or three sessions. Others come regularly for months, or return periodically over years. There is no formula. What Faith can say honestly is that this work rewards continuity. The nervous system builds trust over time, and what becomes available in the sixth session is often very different from what was available in the first. The best thing to do is begin, notice how your body responds, and let that guide the pace.

Question 8

Do you work with children and babies?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Faith works with newborns and babies using craniosacral therapy as the primary modality, SE-informed throughout. Birth can be one of the earliest events the nervous system holds. Even uncomplicated births involve significant physical intensity for both baby and mother. CST for infants is very light, responsive, and effective for settling and regulation. Faith also offers postpartum support for mothers, a period when nervous system care is particularly needed and often overlooked.

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