About me

My name is Lindsay and I am so happy that you are here, allow me to tell you a little about myself and my journey…

I spent the first half of my life working and travelling extensively as a professional dance artist, choreographer and theatre maker, before making the decision to retrain in Integrative counselling and psychotherapy. I believe this decision changed the course of my life and finally after years of battling with my own demons and fragile mental health, set me on my own healing journey. I have always held a deep fascination to understand the complexities of our human experience and I believe it is never just one thing that we need to heal. I bring together nearly 30 years of experience and training in psychotherapy, Somatic practices, body work and dance and weave all of this into the rich therapeutic support that I offer all of my clients.

I hold a Masters degree in Somatic Wellbeing from The University of Central Lancashire and I am a registered Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist with ISMETA https://ismeta.org/registered-somatic-movement-educators-therapists#!biz/id/5f44327328dd7c45be778a6e I am also a fully qualified Somatic Experiencing® practitioner registered with SEAUK https://www.seauk.org.uk/directories/lindsay-etchells-sep-ma-sme-smt-somatic-movement-therapist-ismeta-reg/ which is a specialism in working with Trauma and Complex PTSD.

I have a private therapeutic practice here in my beautiful home studio with views over the green Lancashire hills. I live here with my partner our two children, one small dog and two cats!

My passion for bringing this work to people and communities that would usually never benefit from the transformative benefits of somatic healing, drives my work and commitment to making this work accessible to everyone who needs it. I run courses and workshops supporting mental health and wellbeing, building resilience, and discovering new ways of attending to our nervous systems when dealing with acute stress and trauma.

My own personal journey gives me a unique understanding of working with trauma, grief and loss. Combining my advanced training in Somatic Experiencing has been the missing piece when working with clients who have experienced trauma, and also in my own personal healing journey, which deeply informs my practice with lived experience, empathy and compassion.

“Nothing gives me more joy than supporting people to find a greater sense of ease and aliveness in their bodies. When we experience acute stress and trauma we can lose connection to our bodies, when we are no longer able to listen to what our bodies are communicating to us, we lose ourselves. I see Somatic practices as an incredible way of healing and reclaiming our relationship to our bodies, a way of becoming fully alive, connected to ourselves and a deeper more joyful and fulfilling connection to the world around us”.

I receive regular professional supervision and adhere to the International Somatic Movement and Therapy Association (ISMETA) standards of practice and code of ethics: https://ismeta.org/about-ismeta/standards.

My Training

Somatic Experiencing® practitioner (SEAUK)

MA with Distinction: Dance and Somatic Well-being: Connections to the Living Body – University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN)

Registered Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist (RSME/T with ISMETA)

Dip HE – Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy, University of Southampton.

Diploma of Education, Professional Dance – Arts Educational Schools London

Continuing professional development trainings

Therapeutic presence, rhythm and connection with Dr Peter Levine (SOSI)

Transforming Stress into Calm and Confusion into Clarity by Embodying Key Embryological and Neural Pathways
a Body-Mind Centering® Approach

War Trauma with Dr Raja Selvam Integral Somatic Psychology

Developmental Trauma: Later Stages with Dr Raja Selvam Integral Somatic Psychology

Movement, Meditation + The Female Body with Kimberly Anne Johnson

Limits and boundaries through Somatic Movement with Kimberly Anne Johnson

Neurobiology & Embodied Spirituality with Jane Clapp

The Santa Fe Institute for Shame-based Studies – Hunger, Eating and Eating Disorders.
A Masterclass workshop, ‘’Between you and me’’ led by Miranda Tufnell, exploring the skills inherent in embodied relating: how we listen, connect and engage in all aspects of the relational field. 

Creative Space Journey – Moving through Winter with Miranda Tufnell.

Experiential Anatomy into movement with Amy Voris