Véronica Gaskell - Somatic Therapy, Vittoz Method

Veronica Gaskell

Somatic Therapist, Vittoz Method Certified by the Institut Vittoz-IRDC

Some of us live mostly in our heads. Thoughts race, worries loop, and the body becomes something we drag along rather than inhabit. Veronica's work is about coming back.

As a somatic therapist trained in the Vittoz method, Veronica accompanies people who feel overwhelmed, scattered, exhausted or disconnected from themselves. Her approach is gentle, concrete and grounded in the body. No long analysis of the past. Instead, simple sensory exercises that you practise in the session and take home into your daily life.

At Centre Ichigo Ichie, Veronica brings the "emotions and thoughts" dimension to our integrative health pathways. She works hand in hand with the rest of the team, sharing observations in our collective case reviews so that your emotional wellbeing is never treated in isolation from your physical health.

The Vittoz method: a therapy born in Morges

There is something special about practising the Vittoz method here. Dr Roger Vittoz, the Swiss physician who created it over a century ago, was born in this very region. His method has since spread across Europe, but its roots are local. At Ichigo Ichie, it has come home.

Vittoz developed his approach for patients suffering from what he called "insufficient brain control": rumination, anxiety, nervous exhaustion, insomnia. His insight was simple and ahead of its time. The mind does not calm down through willpower or reasoning alone. It calms down through the body, through the senses, through learning to be fully present to what is actually happening right now.

He called this psychosensory re-education. Today we would recognise it as an early form of mindfulness, developed decades before the word existed, and structured as a genuine therapeutic method.

How it works

The Vittoz method rests on a balance between two natural states of the brain:

Receptivity is the state of simply receiving what the senses offer. The warmth of a cup in your hands. The sound of rain. The feeling of your feet on the ground. Most of us have lost easy access to this state. We perceive the world through a filter of thoughts, plans and judgements.

Emissivity is the active state of thinking, deciding and doing. It is essential, but when it runs without pause, it exhausts us.

In sessions, Veronica guides you through simple, concrete sensory exercises that restore this balance. You learn to receive before reacting, to feel before analysing, to anchor attention in the present moment. The exercises are short and practical. They fit into ordinary life: walking, eating, listening, resting. This is the quiet strength of the method. It is not something you do once a week in a therapy room. It becomes a way of living.

What makes this approach different

It goes through the body. Emotions and thoughts are not only talked about. They are felt, located and regulated through sensation. For many people, especially those who have "talked enough" or who struggle to put things into words, this is a relief.

It is concrete. Every session gives you tools you can use the same day. Progress is tangible: better sleep, fewer racing thoughts, a steadier presence in stressful situations.

It builds autonomy. The goal is not to depend on your therapist. It is to give you a lifelong practice for regulating your own inner state. This fits the core value of our centre: helping you become an active participant in your own health.

It is gentle and accessible. No prior experience is needed. The exercises are simple enough for anyone, at any age, in any physical condition.

Who can benefit

Somatic therapy with the Vittoz method can support you if you experience:

Chronic stress, mental overload or the early signs of burnout
Anxiety, rumination or racing thoughts
Difficulty sleeping or switching off
Emotional overwhelm during life transitions such as bereavement, separation, maternity or professional change
A sense of being disconnected from your body or from the present moment
Difficulty concentrating or constant mental fatigue

It is also a valuable practice for anyone who simply wants to cultivate calm, presence and inner stability as part of a preventive approach to health.

Part of a team that talks to each other

At Centre Ichigo Ichie, Veronica does not work in isolation. Within our integrative health pathways, her somatic work complements acupuncture and Chinese medicine, sophrology and hypnotherapy, naturopathy and kinesiology. The team meets regularly to review pathways together, so each practitioner knows where you are in your journey.

If your stress shows up as digestive trouble, poor sleep and racing thoughts all at once, you will not have to explain your story five times. We already share it. That is what integrative care means to us.