Welcome at Holistic Swan
My name is Olav. I am a psychologist and body-oriented therapist. My work focuses on the body—because I believe that in our society, we live too much in our heads. The body does not lie; it carries our history and our wisdom. By reconnecting with the body, we open the door to recovery, connection, and wholeness.
What touches and inspires me time and again is people’s enormous resilience. Even after traumatic events or prolonged pain, I see how the body and mind find ways to adapt and recover. That strength, often hidden beneath layers of protection, is exactly what I will seek to uncover together with you.
I work primarily in a body-oriented way, and my style of working is mainly based on Somatic Experiencing, NARM, mindfulness, polyvagaal theorie and holistic massagetherapy.
But above all, I work from person to person.
I love to really meet you. To slow down together, to feel, to become still—in a space where everything is allowed to be. Gentle, safe, and connected. No rush, no judgment. Just your experience, your pace, your path.
The body speaks
There are moments in our lives when we lose our balance, when things start to feel tight and squeaky. No two people are the same, and the ways in which this manifests itself can vary from person to person.
When we encounter prolonged stress, we often get ‘stuck in our heads’ and don’t even realize that we are going through life in survival mode. This ‘doing mode’ is what we may have learned in our lives, how we were raised, and is ‘familiar’ to us. There can be a lot of activation, and our brain hopes to be able to resolve the stress with it. You may experience symptoms such as restlessness, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, anxiety, and panic. It may also be that at some point we ‘switch off’, that nothing gets done, that we don’t feel like doing anything, we get stuck in a freeze mode. You may experience gloomy thoughts, listlessness, and general fatigue.
In body-oriented therapy, we look together at what the body has to say. We often don’t listen enough to our own bodies, which have so much wisdom to offer. We do this in a gentle and slow manner, at a pace that feels right for your nervous system. Safety is the key word here. Only when we feel safe is there room to open up and discover what is there. In this way, you increase self-knowledge and acceptance, and slowly develop more resilience, perspective, and options for going through life.
A program is always unique and tailored to your needs. In an initial session, we determine together what your needs are and whether we will embark on a program together.
If you are interested and/or curious, please fill in the form below and I will contact you as soon as possible.
You are most welcome!