Work with Me

You may come with a clear intention for our work together, or we can adapt to your needs as they emerge. In each session, we decide together what will support you best. This might involve hands-on treatment, exploring your thoughts, feelings, sensations and patterns of behaviour, or using specific practices to help make sense of your experience and open up new possibilities. Often it will be a combination of these approaches, always in collaboration, guided by what matters to you so that change feels grounded, meaningful and sustainable.

We can work together in person or online, and at times we may choose to meet outdoors, for example walking together in a natural setting, if that feels supportive to the work.

Therapeutic Coaching

People often seek therapeutic coaching when life feels overwhelming, confusing or things feel difficult to shift emotionally, relationally or internally. This might show up as stress, anxiety, self-doubt, repeated patterns, or a sense of disconnection from yourself or your body.

My approach to therapeutic coaching is integrative, relational and trauma informed. It draws on humanistic and person-centred traditions, psychodynamic thinking, and contemporary evidence-informed approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Alongside this, I utilise a range of coaching approaches, with a particular emphasis on somatic coaching and the Thinking Environment.

In practice, this means we work at a pace that respects your experience, paying attention not only to thoughts and feelings, but also to how these are lived and expressed through the body and in relationship. Our work is collaborative,  supporting change that feels grounded, meaningful and sustainable.

Osteopathy

People often seek osteopathy for example for back and neck pain; peripheral joint pain such as hip, knee and shoulder pain; muscular tension; headaches; strains, sprains and injuries

These things can arise as a result of stress and tension, the cumulation of everyday demands and sometimes they are precipitated by a specific event such as an injury.

You may not always know exactly why and how your symptoms have developed but we can make sense of it together and most importantly then develop a plan for doing something about it.

As an osteopath I use a range of treatment modalities working collaboratively with patients to help decrease pain, improve function and crucially to befriend and become confident in their bodies.

I use structural approaches such as soft-tissue techniques, stretching, articulation and manipulation, as well as more subtle approaches such as cranial osteopathy and acupuncture. Our approach will always be lead by you. I am a true believer in movement as therapy having run marathons, sailed, dived, skied and cycled; meditation and mindful movement practices such as yoga and Pilates fundamentally influence my approach.


Learning Professional

My clinical work is supported by over twenty years’ experience as a senior lecturer and module leader in higher education, with responsibility for curriculum design and
assessment.

I teach, write and present on health philosophy and embodied approaches to practice, with a focus on making complex ideas accessible and
clinically meaningful.

“I have not come across many practitioners who have the skills, experience as well as the intuition that Soran has.

Both my body and mental health have greatly benefited from Soran’s holistic approach, and I would confidently recommend her to anyone. You have been a great source of help and comfort. “

SP

FAQs

It’s very common to feel unsure about what kind of support you need, especially when things feel complex and hard to put into words. You don’t need to have a clear goal or diagnosis in mind to begin.


A good place to start is noticing whether my way of working resonates with you: my emphasis is on collaboration, reflection and listening to both body and experience. We can explore this together in an initial conversation, where you can ask questions and get a sense of whether I feel like the right fit for you.

If it doesn’t feel like a good match, that’s okay too. Finding the right practitioner and approach matters, and I’m always happy to help you think about what might suit you best.

Osteopathy

In an initial osteopathy session, we’ll explore what’s brought you, your relevant medical history, and how your symptoms fit into your wider health and life context. Do bring along details of any medication or previous investigations if you have them.

A physical examination, observing how you move and using specific tests where appropriate, will help us summarise and make sense of your situation so that we can agree a plan to support your recovery and good function. Everything is explained as we go, and nothing happens without your agreement.

Therapeutic Coaching

In an initial therapeutic coaching session, we’ll explore what’s brought you and what you’re hoping for from our work. We work at your pace. There’s no need to arrive with a clear goal or plan: some people come with something specific, while others simply know that something doesn’t feel quite right.


Our sessions will always be collaborative and reflective, focusing on making sense of your experience together. I can explain how I work, answer any questions you may have, and we can begin to notice what feels helpful as we consider how we might move forward.

Yes. Our work together is confidential and treated with care. There are limited circumstances where confidentiality may need to be broken, such as concerns about serious harm or legal requirements, but these would be handled thoughtfully and where possible, discussed with you first.


I work in accordance with professional and ethical guidelines, including the Osteopathic Practice Standards and those of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I’m happy to talk through any questions you may have.

In practice, there is much overlap. Counselling and psychotherapy both involve talking therapy to help people understand and work with emotional and psychological difficulties. Counselling might focus on current issues, helping people make sense of their experiences and develop ways of coping; psychotherapy may involve more in-depth exploration of long-standing patterns. Coaching tends to be more focused on goals, decisions and change. I work integratively, drawing on all three where appropriate, and we would talk together about what kind of support feels most helpful for you.

All three are forms of manual therapy and aim to support movement, function and recovery. I’m an osteopath, so that is the discipline I can speak about most directly. Osteopathy takes a whole-person approach, considering the individual in the context of their life, history and circumstances. We explore how structure and function relate to one another in order to understand “why this problem, why now?” and from there develop a thoughtful, individualised plan to support recovery and wellbeing.


Many physiotherapists and chiropractors also work in holistic and person-centred ways. It’s often said that you may find an osteopath and a physiotherapist – or a chiropractor and an osteopath – who are more similar in their approach than two practitioners within the same profession.

What matters most, and what the evidence consistently shows, is that the quality of the therapeutic relationship is more important than the specific discipline. Much like choosing between yoga and Pilates, the best approach is often the one – and the practitioner – that feels right for you.

Not at all. While the body can be an important point of reference for our work, this doesn’t mean we need to work through touch. Many sessions involve talking only. At other times, we may decide together that some bodywork or movement-based work could add something helpful.


Similarly, when someone comes to me with a musculoskeletal issue, we will often be working with and through the body, but there may be moments where talking, reflection or movement practice is the most useful focus.

I also work online. These sessions can be just as thoughtful and effective – and, for now at least given the impressive pace of modern technology – remain entirely touch-free!

Wear whatever feels comfortable for you. Loose, easy-to-move-in clothing is ideal if we’re doing osteopathic work. I may ask you to remove outer layers or adjust clothing to allow access to the area we’re working with, but this will always be discussed with you first and you are welcome to keep as much on as you wish.
For therapeutic coaching sessions, there’s no special requirement: wear whatever helps you feel at ease and able to focus. If we include movement or body awareness, we’ll adapt this to suit what you’re wearing.

Yes, absolutely. I offer therapeutic coaching sessions online, which can be a flexible and effective way of working. Osteopathic sessions are usually in person, though remote consultations can sometimes be helpful if you’re looking for advice or support and can’t make it to the clinic.

Sessions are 50 minutes in length, but should you feel a longer session might benefit you, we can discuss this.

Some people choose to attend therapeutic coaching sessions regularly (for example weekly or fortnightly), much like traditional talking therapy. Others prefer to agree a specific number of sessions, or to return periodically after an initial phase of work to help maintain or revisit the changes they’ve made.

For osteopathic work, the number of sessions often depends on the nature of the issue you’re presenting with. In many cases, I can give you a sense early on of how many sessions may be helpful. Some people come for support with a specific concern, while others choose occasional sessions – perhaps monthly or every couple of months – as a way to ‘tune in and tune up’.
While meaningful change often happens over a number of sessions, sometimes a single session is all that’s needed or wanted, whether for therapeutic coaching or osteopathy.

If you’re unsure what might suit you best, you’re very welcome to get in touch. We can arrange a brief 15-minute call to talk things through and see whether I’m the right person to support you.

‘These pains you feel are messengers.

Listen to them’

Rumi