Holistic & Somatic Practice: Engaging the Whole Person

Why 'Holistic & Somatic Practice'?

At Shemewé Collective, we practise Holistic & Somatic care because we believe in honouring the whole person - mind, body, and beyond. This approach isn't just what we do; it's how we live, connect, and grow with those we work alongside.

Each of us in the Shemewé Collective Team has a diFerent combination of disciplines - such as movement-based learning, bodywork, breath practices, trauma-informed facilitation, and healing frameworks so that naturally influences how we approach our work and clients.

Shemewé Collective practitioners are heart-centered and relationship led, which means prioritising connection over correction, and presence over prescription. This way of working inherently reflects a holistic ethos-where we honour the emotional, cultural, and relational dimensions of a person, not just their challenges or goals.

Holistic to me means I see and welcome all parts of you into our work together. Somatic means your body is included in that process - as something to listen to, respond with, and learn from. For example, a client might express anxiety about speaking in public. Through noticing and gentle movement, they develop greater awareness, and underlying causes begin to surface. They leave with new insight and a renewed connection to their own power of choice.

What’s Missing in Traditional Models

I believe there is a time and place for traditional therapies but what’s often missing in these models is a client-led process. Clients are usually asked to fit into a structure that may not suit them well - or might even be unhelpful. The body is largely absent in those spaces. It’s a lot of talking and head work.

For many of the people I’ve worked with, that approach doesn’t always land - especially men, who are often socialised without suFicient awareness of their emotions, or how to identify and express them. It can be hard for them to engage in therapies that rely heavily on verbal processing.

However, once reconnected with their body - what they’re sensing and feeling - they begin to notice things, make new connections, and access parts of themselves more easily. These shifts are often tangible and deeply meaningful.

Most clients I work with from culturally diverse backgrounds appreciate that my approach doesn’t rely solely on language. There are many ways we can connect. I’ve been called a healer by some - a term that held meaning for them of something valuable. Many have an innate appreciation for a holistic lens - perhaps because their cultures are rooted in such ways of knowing and relating. For example, they resonate with being seen as part of a social and relational web - in family systems, cultural or spiritual groups - rather than as someone standing alone, separate from it all.

This is part of what’s often missing in traditional models - a practice that meets the whole person, not just through language or analysis, but through body, culture, and connection.

The Role of the Whole Person in Healing and Growth

An adult is like a walking library - a living archive holding every thought, emotion, and experience within the body. Some thoughts and feelings are reread day in, day out. They become so familiar; they start to define how we see ourselves.

On the shelves (or cells) of the library of my body, there might be a book titled Self Criticism. Each day, I take the well-worn path (neural pathway) to pick up that same book to read.

Thoughts: I can’t write well. I’m not a good writer. My writing is hopeless. I believe it.

Emotions: I feel dread, fear, and defeat. I feel it.

Sensations: My breath is shallow and short. My jaw is clenched. My shoulders are tight, and my chest is constricted. I experience it.

Facial Expression: My eyes drop to the floor. My face falls. There is no smile. I live it.

Body Expression: My shoulders, neck, and head tilt forward. I am it.

Healing and growth means opening a new reading room in the library and writing and reading new stories, ones that are consciously and intentionally created. These new stories are not just thoughts we tell ourselves; they must also be felt emotionally, sensed in the body, and expressed physically through body language, behaviours and actions.

Somatic Learning and Embodied Insight

In infancy, the brain develops through movement, the senses, and in relationship with caregivers. Primitive reflexes in early childhood lay the foundation for learning and future development. Working with the sensory body remains a powerful conductor for transformation.

A man with refugee status was referred to me by the Human Rights Commission Violent Crimes division after being assaulted in his home by intruders. He had already completed more than a dozen sessions with a psychologist but was now seeking support from a service with deeper cultural context. After establishing clear parameters and consent, building rapport with the support of interpreting services, and understanding the multiple ailments he was experiencing, we began receptive, hands - on therapies.

By the end of the session, his headache was gone. A few days later, he reported that he had slept - for the first time in months.

This is the power of somatic work: it meets people where words cannot always go.

Relational Presence over Diagnosis

A woman was once referred to me. She refused an interpreter and instead chose to use Google Translate during our sessions. She sat opposite me, hidden beneath her wig, her face turned inward, her body folding in on itself. I could feel her fear. I spoke softly and slowly. I was warm and kind. I expressed my care for her.

She had self-referred to our service, and from our first meeting, I held serious concern for her mental wellbeing. If that concern had remained after our first session, I would have referred her to a medical practitioner.

Due to the limitations around communication and her fragile state, I recommended we begin with some gentle, hands-on work. I suggested we try three sessions, then revisit the idea of using an interpreter. As was my practice, I explained the process using a manual, described it verbally while demonstrating on myself, and then gently showed her the kind of subtle pressure that would be applied - starting with her wrist, after gaining her consent.

A different woman rose from the massage table at the end of that session. The fear had given way to calm. Her presence felt more grounded. Before meeting me, she had only communicated through translation apps and email. But in the following sessions, she began using her limited English to speak - enough for us to engage more and communicate. She no longer wore the wig. She sat face-forward, shoulders back, with a more open posture.

By the end of those three sessions, she agreed to meet with an English tutor. I arranged for him to visit at the end of her next appointment, and together we toured the classroom so she could familiarise herself with the space. In time, I also referred her to the Multicultural Youth Service to support her sons.

No medical referral was needed. It wasn’t only the treatment that created a shift - it was presence, safety, and a relationship that met her where she was.

Practice as Participation, not Prescription

It's natural for practitioners to lead the session. However, in my work, that’s designed to offer a frame of reference - not to dominate. I'm happiest when the client, having become familiar with their learning space, starts the session by saying what they want. This signals to me that they have gained both confidence and safety to lead their learning. Now I am in support of their learning journey - my preferred position.

Structured frameworks and practitioner-led models may benefit clients at certain times in their lives, but they can also be very restrictive and limiting.

A softly spoken, somewhat withdrawn mother of two - cautious and unsure - who was experiencing domestic violence began sessions with me. After covering the usual protocols, including consent and her preferences, we commenced. She was on the massage table and as I placed my hands on her, she began to tremble. Acknowledging her body’s expression, we stayed with it momentarily. I continued to observe her breathing, facial expressions, hands, and legs. It continued, so I removed my hands, stepped back slightly, and with a soft voice, gently checked in with her.

She wasn't sure what was happening. I assured her all was well and reminded her to breathe. We determined it wasn't safe for her body to be on the table. We eventually found her safe place: her shoulders, back, and base supported by a corner in the wall. We both sat on the floor and continued our work together.

That night, she bravely moved out of the bedroom she shared with her husband. Her sessions continued to be dynamic, deep, and transformative. After 12 years of marriage marked by domestic violence, she was living separately within three months. The pace of change was astonishing.

Such a journey is not without its challenges - including a COVID-induced lockdown that was volatile and high-risk. But by listening to my client and letting go of familiar structures, I was able to trust, follow, and support her body’s signals. Her process, her timing, and her readiness led her discovery of immense courage, strength, and startling improvements in her life.

At Shemewé Collective, we honour our clients as collaborators. They are never a case to be managed.

Where Work Meets Wellbeing

At Shemewé Collective, we see stories as sites of integration - places where insight, emotion, and embodiment meet to create real change. Each session is an invitation to belonging and co-creation, where clients are not just supported, but deeply engaged in shaping their own journey.

Through our We Belong EAP & Private, and our online Conscious Parenting and Relationship Rescue groups, we bring this approach into workplaces and homes across Australia. We believe relational, culturally aware, and whole-person support should be at the heart of every workplace and community. This kind of support may be especially valuable for teams seeking deeper connection, cultural safety, and meaningful wellbeing outcomes. We welcome you to connect with us and explore what that could look like together.