ABOUT GREG

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I help people understand what happens in the nervous system when they experience stress, pressure, threat, and change. Working with individuals, mental health professionals and organisations I explore ways in which we can develop greater flexibility in the face of the inevitable challenges of life. 
 

Alongside my clinical practice, I run the Centre for Somatic Resilience Training and deliver workshops and keynotes on trauma, resilience, stress, and the role of the nervous system in shaping human behaviour.
 

What I Do

• Speaking & Workshops

• Professional Training

• Somatic Experiencing®

• Psychotherapy & Trauma Therapy

• Frontline & Humanitarian Support

• StateShift® Model Development

A Framework: The StateShift® Model
 

At the heart of my work is the StateShift® Model, a practical framework I developed for understanding nervous system states and their influence on how we think, feel, behave and relate.

The model draws on psychotherapy, somatic practice and trauma theory to help people recognise the patterns that shape their responses to stress and challenge, and develop greater flexibility and resilience.

It forms the foundation of my book, Why Your Body Speaks and How to Listen, which explores how the body communicates through sensation, emotion and nervous system responses and how we can learn to work with those signals more sustainably.
 

The model is also central to my professional training, where I teach practitioners how to bring a nervous-system-informed perspective into their clinical work.

Experience
 

United Nations World Food Programme

Facilitated workshops for the global counselling team on secondary trauma, burnout and nervous system regulation, supporting counsellors who work with traumatised frontline workers.
 

The Centre for Somatic Resilience Training

Founder and lead tutor of CPCAB-accredited somatic trauma training programmes for therapists and mental health professionals.
 

SeedTalks

Speaker and workshop facilitator, contributing to public conversations around trauma, stress, resilience, nervous system regulation and emotional wellbeing.
 

Official Somatic Experiencing® Training

Training Assistant supporting experiential learning, small-group process work and nervous system regulation within the official Somatic Experiencing® training programme in South Africa.
 

Frontline & Humanitarian Work

I have delivered workshops focused on the prevention and resolution of secondary trauma among professionals working with traumatised populations, including social workers and other frontline practitioners.

Qualifications
 

• MA Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice

• Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEI / EASE)

• Diploma in Integrative Therapeutic Counselling (CPCAB)

• Accredited Registrant, National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS)
   

My Therapeutic Approach
 

I believe that many of the patterns which shape our lives - anxiety, emotional reactivity, shutdown, disconnection, perfectionism, chronic stress, relational difficulties or a persistent sense of feeling stuck - can have roots in experiences that overwhelmed our capacity to cope at the time.

These responses are not signs of weakness or failure. More often, they reflect intelligent adaptations developed in response to stress, threat, loss or unmet emotional needs.
 

Therapy offers a space to understand these patterns with curiosity rather than judgement. My approach integrates psychotherapy with Somatic Experiencing®, recognising that our experiences are not held only in thoughts and memories, but are also reflected in the rest of our nervous system.

While Somatic Experiencing® is not necessary or appropriate in every situation, attending to the body alongside the mind can be particularly supportive when working with trauma, anxiety, stress, grief, burnout, emotional overwhelm and relational difficulties.
 

At the centre of my work is the belief that meaningful change happens when people feel sufficiently safe, supported and resourced to begin relating differently to themselves and their experiences.

Why I Became a Therapist
 

If you’re going to be a therapist, first and foremost you have to care.

You have to care about people, and be willing and able to sit with them in their sadness and cheer them in their victories. You have to be curious about what makes them tick — what they struggle with, what they are passionate about, what they dream about and what is making them feel stuck.

You also have to want to keep learning, because learning never ends. And with that knowledge and experience, you can play a role in the empowerment and rebuilding of people’s lives — and then, as if you were never there, become entirely obsolete.

 

My Approach
 

I believe that many of the patterns which shape our lives, anxiety, emotional reactivity, shutdown, disconnection, perfectionism, chronic stress, relational difficulties, or a persistent sense of feeling “stuck” often have roots in experiences that overwhelmed our capacity to cope at the time. These responses are not signs of weakness or failure. More often, they reflect intelligent adaptations developed in response to stress, threat, loss, or unmet emotional needs.
 

Therapy offers a space to understand these patterns with curiosity rather than judgement. My approach integrates psychotherapy with somatic experiencing, recognising that our experiences are not held only in thoughts and memories, but also within the nervous system and the body itself. Increasingly, research continues to demonstrate the close relationship between emotional experience, physiological states, stress responses, and overall wellbeing.

While Somatic Experiencing® is not necessary or appropriate in every situation, attending to the body alongside the mind can be profoundly supportive in working with trauma, anxiety, stress, grief, burnout, emotional overwhelm, and relational difficulties. At the centre of my work is the belief that meaningful change happens when people feel sufficiently safe, supported, and resourced to begin relating differently to themselves and their experiences.
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​Publications:

1. James, G (2025) Why Your Body Speaks and How to Listen: Discover how your nervous system holds the story of your life and how tuning into it can change everything. Available in Paperback and on Kindle

2. James, G (2023) The psychological impact of sending children away to Boarding Schools in Britain
   The British Journal of Psychotherapy 2023 (Open Access, free to read or download)

3. James, G (2024) The client perspective of Somatic Experiencing as an effective treatment for PTSD.
    International Body Psychotherapy Journal (Open Access, free to read or download)
 

4. James, G (2026) The fear of sexual boundary violations and false allegations in male counselling practice
    The British Journal of Guidance and Counselling (Open Access, free to read or download)

5. James, G (2026) Awareness, management and resolution of secondary trauma: Existing strategies and the introduction of Somatic Experiencing as a healing and preventative modality. Preparing for print (2026) International Body Psychotherapy Journal ​​