Experiential Techniques
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Reconnecting to your inner world in an experiential way.
Sometimes talking about your feelings isn’t enough. You might have insight into your struggles — “I know this comes from childhood” or “I understand why I react this way”, but things still feel stuck.
The Intention of Experiential Techniques
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Experiential techniques make therapy an embodied and transformative process. Therapy invites you to speak about and integrate your experience through experiential embodiment. These approaches invite you to connect deeply with your internal experiences and parts of yourself, through guided imagery, movement, creative expression, and inner exploration. It invites a deeper connection to your body, and process emotional pain and trauma, in a way that feels safe and contained. Experiential therapy creates space for healing that is emotional, creative, and relational, embracing the mind-body connection for cognitive awareness and somatic processing to work together.
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With experiential techniques you don’t need to be “creative” or artistic, just curious and open to exploring what comes up when we give your inner world form, voice, and space.
Using Experiential Techniques in Session
Experiential techniques are woven into our work — especially with modalities such as parts work or Internal Family Systems therapy. They help bring your parts, emotions, and inner experiences into the room in real, tangible ways.
Here are some of the approaches we might use:
Imagery and Visualisation
Guided imagery allows you to access your internal world, often through metaphors, places, symbols, or sensations. You might meet an anxious part in the form of a tight ball of energy or picture a safe inner place where overwhelmed parts can rest. Imagery supports you to externalise experiences and invites perspective shifts, regulation and insight.
Writing from Parts
Writing is a technique that allows us to give our parts and inner experience a voice. Through guided questions and prompts we give our mind an opportunity to process thoughts fully. We support our parts to use their voice and invite a chance to express what may not have been said out loud. Writing supports us to access parts that might be hidden or scared to speak.
Drawing or Mapping Parts
Art and mapping techniques let us give form to your internal system.
You might draw your protector parts, use colours to express emotion, or sketch out the roles different parts play in your life. This expression supports you to externalise your inner world and create space to gain more clarity and insight about your internal world.
Rescripting and Parts Dialogue
Revisiting memories in a guided, safe way, but this time, where you get to bring in your wise self or supportive inner figures on the journey. This allows parts who are stuck in the past to receive what they needed: comfort, protection, clarity, boundaries. By externalising parts of you that might be in conflict, we can create internal dialogue with each and support you connect with each part more clearly and with compassion. It’s often powerful in moments of overwhelm, confusion, or emotional tension. These experiences can be deeply healing and often shift how you relate to old wounds.
Experiential therapy creates an opportunity to meet the parts of yourself that words alone can’t reach.
Who Might Find Experiential Techniques Helpful
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You struggle to put your feelings into words and often feel stuck in your head.
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Overthinking leaves you overwhelmed and disconnected from what you truly feel inside.
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You’ve done talk therapy before but it hasn’t helped you feel the change you’re looking for.
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You want a more embodied way to connect with your emotions and understand yourself more deeply.
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You’re curious to explore creative, somatic, or parts-based approaches that go beyond talking.