MY JOURNEY.

I’m Lydia a trauma trained somatic psychotherapist, embodiment coach and co-founder of I am Arla (a platform dedicated to helping women heal and thrive after gender based trauma).

I'm happy you want to know more about me, titles aside I’m just a woman trying to unravel generational cycles, discover a rich connection with myself and live in alignment with what my heart truly wants. Not easy, but so worth it.

The progression to becoming the woman I am today has definitely been a journey. Just like I tell all of my clients – it doesn’t just happen overnight, it takes commitment and a knowing that things can be different. It’s not a destination, more of a journey one I imagine I’ll be one for the remainder of my time.

Before I became a psychotherapist I spent 3 years working as a self love coach. During this time I helped women across the globe discover a deeper sense of self-worth and self-acceptance. I remember January 2020 sitting in my bedroom thinking ‘I want to help as many women as I can find more self-love’. After my own struggles with self-worth and body acceptance, I knew the power of it. So I set out on a mission to help others and it was the most fulfilling, beautiful experince, one that led me to this exact point in my life.

On the last website, I wrote about my long story to how I’ve gotten to this point in my life but to be totally honest with you I’ve grown so much in the last few years that it feels relevant to start here. Amidst the magic of the present and the version of me, the woman I am right now.

Part of my own development has been going deep into my own world to face the layers, the pain and the truth. It is this, that’s given me the ability to become myself more than ever, something somatic work has enhanced in a way I never knew possible. I spent so many years on my self development journey doing mindset work, thinking that was the key to becoming the woman I desired but the truth was, that version of me was made up. A mask I created, a version of myself bound up in big goals, pressure and achievements.

The last year of my healing journey has been the most profound, I realised so much about myself when I began giving my body and my being space. Each breath, energetic unwind, moment of pause, guidance from my nervous system and whisper from within unravelled new and beautiful layers of my woman-ness. Rage, deep sadness, grief, loneliness, pain, disconnection, uncomfortable patterns but also joy, connection, tenderness, softness, love and acceptance. Even discovering so much about my own relationship with self love and how it became a channel for a hyper-independent trauma response. Thanks to this work I’ve never felt more like myself and it’s a feeling that gives comfort, stability, love and acceptance.

Qualifications & Training:

Criminology (BA) - Liverpool John Moors 

Creative Psychotherapy and Counselling (MSc) - Edge Hill University.

Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certification 60hrs - The Embody Lab (2023)

Trauma-Informed Practise - Certificate in Trauma Toolbox (2022)

Dealing with Shock Trauma - The Embody Lab (2023)

Resisting trauma porn - The Embody Lab (2023)

Healing Trauma - Working with Somatic Wounds: 8hr Training with Dr Peter Levine. The Embody Lab (2023)

I am Arla.

I am Arla is a women’s mental health platform providing a safe space for trauma healing through conversations, sharing stories and community.