Self Directed Healing

What Is Self Directed Healing?

Last Updated: Dec 2025

Self Directed Healing (SDH) is a somatic therapy approach developed in Australia that uses breathwork, visualisation, and emotional release techniques to identify and clear limiting beliefs stored in your body. When you work with an SDH practitioner, they guide you through a structured process that simultaneously addresses mental, emotional, and physical aspects of healing, creating what proponents describe as rapid and sustainable transformation.

The method focuses on emotions and trauma that become trapped in your physical body. Rather than concentrating on what you mentally remember about past events, SDH examines what happened inside your body during those experiences. When you go through stressful or traumatic situations, your nervous system in fight-or-flight mode doesn't have the capacity to fully process all the thoughts, feelings, and emotions arising. These unprocessed experiences get suppressed within your body, creating limiting beliefs, reactive behavioural patterns, and even physical pain.

A typical SDH session lasts 90 minutes and combines several elements. You begin with light meditation and breathing exercises to help you relax. Your practitioner then uses what they call emotional and cognitive testing to assess your current state and identify which issues need attention. Through breathwork and visualisation, you activate natural emotional releases, allowing suppressed emotions to surface and discharge from your body. As these emotional blocks clear, your practitioner helps you rewire neural pathways, replacing old triggers and patterns with greater self-awareness, compassion, and empowerment.

People seek Self Directed Healing for anxiety, depression, and stress, trauma and PTSD, grief and loss, addiction and self-sabotaging behaviours, relationship challenges, low self-esteem and confidence issues, chronic pain linked to emotional causes, and personal development and reaching their potential. The approach claims to work faster than traditional talk therapy because it addresses issues at the subconscious and somatic levels where they're actually stored.

The Origins of Self Directed Healing

Claire Besley created Self Directed Healing in Melbourne, Australia, in 2011 after years working as a life coach, business coach, and corporate leader. Throughout her coaching career, Besley noticed that her clients constantly dealt with high stress, anxiety, depression, and performance pressures. She recognised how powerfully self-doubt and heavy emotions affected both body and mind, and that conventional coaching and therapy approaches often took a long time to create lasting change.

Besley developed SDH to help people realise their potential, let go of limitations, and learn to heal themselves. The original healing process took several hours and involved multiple practitioners. Over time, she refined it into the streamlined method used today, which typically achieves significant shifts in a single 90-minute session.

She founded Inspirited Solutions as the organisation delivering SDH training and sessions. Since 2011, Inspirited has trained over 500 certified practitioners across more than 35 countries worldwide. SDH is now practised in over 10 languages. The method has been taught in educational institutions and corporate workplaces throughout Australia and has spread globally.

Inspirited Solutions is registered as an approved training provider with the International Institute for Complementary Therapies (IICT). The organisation offers a three-day intensive practitioner training programme, with courses running several times annually. Practitioners pay approximately $3,990 for certification, though payment plans are available.

Besley has conducted hundreds of one-on-one consultations and has performed mass group SDH healings for audiences of thousands across Australia. She's positioned SDH as "the future of healing," claiming it's the most rapid and sustainable form of healing in the modern world.

How Self Directed Healing Works

Self Directed Healing is based on several key principles about how emotions affect your body and how healing occurs. The foundational premise is that your thoughts, feelings, and emotions can become trapped in your physical body when your nervous system can't process them in the moment. This suppressed emotional energy doesn't just disappear. It remains lodged in your body, creating ongoing effects.

These trapped emotions form limiting beliefs that operate at both conscious and unconscious levels. They create reactive behavioural patterns where you respond to current situations based on past unresolved emotions rather than the present reality. Your brain recalls the attachment to fear from past experiences and continues pushing down emotional energy, which can manifest as physical pain, tension, or illness in your body.

SDH combines several therapeutic approaches. It uses somatic therapy principles, recognising that trauma and emotions live in your body, not just your mind. Inner child work addresses wounds and patterns formed in childhood. Cognitive elements help you identify and shift conscious beliefs. Breathwork and visualisation activate emotional releases. The method also incorporates concepts from metaphysical anatomy, the idea that specific emotions correlate with particular body areas and physical symptoms.

The SDH process follows a structured sequence. Your practitioner first assesses your emotional and psychological state using what they call "before and after measuring and testing." This helps identify which issues require the most attention and establishes a baseline for measuring progress. They work with you to set a clear, reasonable objective for the session.

The practitioner then helps you identify limiting belief systems operating both consciously and unconsciously. This awareness work is critical. SDH emphasises that unlocking beliefs on a conscious level speeds overall healing and ensures shifts sustain over time because you've consciously processed them. This is why it's called "self-directed." You're not just receiving healing from someone else. You're actively participating in your own healing process.

The emotional release portion uses breathwork and visualisation to bring suppressed emotions to the surface so they can discharge. This release clears blocked emotional energy from both your subconscious mind and your physical body. According to Besley, this process works on mental, emotional, and physical levels simultaneously, which is why SDH claims to create such rapid, complete shifts.

After releasing trapped emotions, your practitioner guides you through reframing and integration. You develop new perspectives on past experiences and create new neural pathways supporting healthier beliefs and behaviours. The "mirror concept" taught in SDH training helps practitioners teach clients deep, transformative self-awareness.

What Happens in a Self Directed Healing Session

Your first SDH session typically lasts 90 minutes, though some practitioners offer shorter introductory sessions. The environment is relaxed and comfortable. You remain fully clothed throughout, as SDH involves no hands-on healing or physical manipulation.

You begin with a conversation about what brings you to SDH. Your practitioner asks about your current challenges, what patterns you've noticed, and what you want to achieve. This discussion helps them understand your specific situation and prioritise which issues to address.

The session moves into a light meditation and breathing exercise designed to help you relax and become present in your body. This preparatory work is important. You need to feel safe and grounded to access and release deep emotions.

Your practitioner then conducts emotional and cognitive testing. Different practitioners use various methods for this assessment, but the goal is identifying your current emotional state and pinpointing which limiting beliefs are affecting you most. They might ask you questions about how you feel about yourself, your relationships, your worthiness, or specific situations in your life, noting your responses and the emotions they reveal.

Once assessment is complete, the core healing work begins. Your practitioner guides you through breathwork and visualisation techniques specifically designed to activate emotional releases. They might ask you to focus on a particular feeling, memory, or sensation in your body whilst breathing in specific patterns. As you do this work, emotions that have been suppressed, sometimes for decades, begin surfacing.

This emotional release can feel intense. You might cry, feel anger arising, experience physical sensations like heat or tingling, shake or tremble, or have memories and insights emerge. All of these are normal responses indicating that suppressed material is moving through and out of your system. Your practitioner holds space for whatever arises, supporting you through the process without judgment.

Throughout the release work, your practitioner helps you stay grounded and safe. They guide you to notice what's happening without becoming overwhelmed. SDH is designed to be a gentle process despite being powerful. You're always in control and can slow down or stop if needed.

As emotions release, your practitioner works with you on cognitive shifts. They help you develop new perspectives on the experiences that created your limiting beliefs. You might gain understanding about why something happened, recognise patterns you've been unconsciously repeating, or suddenly see yourself and your situation differently. These cognitive shifts integrate with the emotional releases, creating comprehensive change.

Towards the end of your session, your practitioner conducts post-session testing using the same methods as before. This gives you tangible data about what shifted during your session. Many people report measurable changes in how they feel about themselves, their confidence levels, or their emotional state.

After your session, you'll likely feel different. Some people feel lighter, more peaceful, energised and clear, or emotionally vulnerable. All these responses are normal. Your practitioner typically recommends drinking water, resting if needed, and being gentle with yourself as your system continues integrating the work over the following days.

The number of sessions needed varies. Some people experience significant shifts after just one session. Others work with their practitioner over several sessions to address multiple issues or deeper patterns. SDH claims to work much faster than traditional therapy, with many people achieving in a few sessions what might take months or years of talk therapy.

The Wide Range of Issues SDH Addresses

Self Directed Healing practitioners report working successfully with numerous concerns. Emotional and mental health issues respond particularly well according to practitioner accounts. People seek SDH for anxiety ranging from general anxiety to panic attacks, depression and low mood, stress and burnout, trauma and PTSD, grief and loss, and emotional numbing or inability to access feelings.

Relationship challenges are commonly addressed, including recurring patterns in relationships, difficulty with intimacy and connection, family breakdowns, divorce recovery, and abusive relationship recovery. The method claims to help you identify and release the emotional patterns that keep you attracting or staying in unhealthy relationships.

Self-sabotage and performance blocks also feature prominently. If you find yourself repeatedly getting close to success then pulling back, procrastinating on important goals, struggling with imposter syndrome, or feeling blocked creatively or professionally, SDH aims to uncover and release the underlying beliefs creating these patterns.

Addiction receives specific attention in SDH training. Whether it's substance addiction like alcohol or cigarettes, behavioural addictions, or emotional dependencies, the method works to identify the root emotional causes driving the addictive pattern and release them.

Physical symptoms with emotional roots can improve through SDH. Whilst the method doesn't claim to treat medical conditions directly, practitioners note that clients often experience relief from chronic pain, tension headaches, digestive issues linked to stress, and other physical manifestations of trapped emotions as the emotional components clear.

Low self-esteem, lack of confidence, difficulty setting boundaries, people-pleasing patterns, and feeling stuck or unfulfilled all fall within SDH's scope. The method aims to help you solidify genuine self-worth that's unshakeable regardless of external circumstances.

The Inner Child Component

Inner child work forms a significant part of the SDH system. This therapeutic approach recognises that many limiting beliefs and emotional wounds form during childhood when you don't yet have the cognitive and emotional resources to process difficult experiences effectively.

SDH's inner child techniques are designed for fast, deep childhood emotional healing. According to Besley, what makes SDH's approach unique is that you heal past experiences not only through mental and emotional processing but also through your physical body. The results are described as deep and lasting because all three levels (mind, emotions, body) are addressed simultaneously.

The inner child process enables self-love and forgiveness whilst unlocking human potential at the core of your awareness. When you access the parts of yourself that were hurt, scared, or traumatised as a child and allow those parts to finally release the emotions they've held, profound healing occurs.

Many adults carry unresolved pain from childhood without realising how much it still affects them. You might have beliefs formed at age five or seven that continue operating in your psyche decades later. SDH's inner child work helps you identify these young parts, understand what they needed but didn't receive, and provide that healing in the present moment.

Learning SDH for Self-Care and Professional Practice

Whilst professional SDH sessions provide the most comprehensive experience, Inspirited Solutions also offers resources for people wanting to learn SDH techniques for self-care. The organisation has created an online video course called "The Power of Self Directed Healing" available through platforms like Udemy. This self-paced programme teaches some of the fundamental techniques SDH practitioners use, bringing basic SDH tools directly to individuals.

The free 14-day SDH challenge provides another entry point. This programme delivers daily emails with journal prompts, educational videos, and hands-on activities introducing SDH concepts and practices. It's designed to help you start understanding and working with your emotions more effectively.

For those wanting to become certified practitioners, Inspirited offers a comprehensive three-day intensive training programme. The course covers emotional consciousness training (understanding emotional states and how to assess them), connecting the dots (quickly diagnosing core limiting beliefs consciously and unconsciously), inner child SDH component (healing childhood emotional wounds), emotional release training (the SDH release technique for clearing repressed emotions), and additional advanced components.

The training costs approximately $3,990 AUD, with payment plans available through Humm finance or Openpay allowing fortnightly payments over 12 months. Upon certification, practitioners gain access to listing on the Inspirited Practitioner directory, exclusive private Facebook support group, ongoing mentorship and resources, and the ability to charge recommended rates of $249 AUD per 90-minute session.

The training includes receiving one full healing session from a professional SDH practitioner so participants experience the work themselves before offering it to clients. Inspirited markets the training as a way to start earning income as early as one month after completing the course.

SDH and Other Healing Approaches

Self Directed Healing combines elements from several therapeutic traditions whilst claiming to be more effective than each approach used alone. The method draws on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) principles, recognising how thoughts influence emotions and behaviours. It incorporates somatic therapy, working directly with sensations and emotions held in your body. Inner child work from various therapeutic traditions features prominently. Breathwork and meditation provide tools for accessing and releasing emotions.

Many SDH practitioners hold additional qualifications. Some are life coaches, counsellors, or therapists who've added SDH to their existing practice. Others come from completely different backgrounds and find SDH through personal healing experiences, then train to offer it professionally.

The method positions itself as an alternative or enhancement to traditional talk therapy. Besley and other SDH advocates claim that talk therapy can be helpful but is limited because it works primarily at the cognitive level without accessing the somatic and subconscious layers where emotions are actually stored. SDH aims to go deeper and faster by working on all levels simultaneously.

For people in conventional therapy or receiving medical care for mental health conditions, SDH can potentially serve as complementary support. However, it shouldn't replace necessary medical treatment or therapy, particularly for serious mental health conditions.

The Evidence Question

It's important to address scientific evidence directly. Self Directed Healing doesn't have peer-reviewed scientific studies validating its specific techniques and claims. The modality is relatively new (developed in 2011) and hasn't been subjected to rigorous scientific research testing its effectiveness compared to established therapies or control groups.

The theoretical foundations SDH draws upon have mixed scientific support. The concept that emotions can be "stored" in the body and that releasing them creates healing has growing support from trauma research. Bessel van der Kolk's work, referenced by SDH practitioners, does document how trauma affects the body and that somatic approaches can help. The polyvagal theory explains how the nervous system responds to threat and how regulation can support healing.

However, some SDH claims go beyond what current neuroscience supports. The idea that specific emotions correlate with particular body locations (metaphysical anatomy) doesn't have robust scientific validation. The claim that SDH works faster than all other healing modalities is anecdotal, not scientifically proven.

The "emotional and cognitive testing" SDH practitioners use to assess clients' states doesn't appear to be standardised or validated like psychological assessments would be. The before-and-after measurements, whilst potentially useful for tracking subjective experiences, don't constitute scientific evidence in the way controlled studies would.

That said, many established therapeutic approaches started with clinical observation and anecdotal evidence before research caught up. Somatic therapies, breathwork, and inner child work all have growing research support even if SDH specifically hasn't been studied.

People do report positive experiences and meaningful shifts from SDH. Whether these result from the specific techniques, from general therapeutic factors (having dedicated attention, processing emotions in a safe space, expectation effects), or from the combination is unclear without proper research.

Safety and Considerations

Self Directed Healing is generally described as safe and non-invasive. However, several considerations warrant attention.

Emotional release work can be intense. When suppressed emotions surface, you might feel temporarily worse before feeling better. This processing period is normal, but it can be challenging. If you have a history of severe trauma, particularly if you've experienced dissociation, work only with practitioners experienced in trauma-informed care and ensure you have appropriate support systems in place.

SDH shouldn't replace necessary mental health treatment. If you're experiencing severe depression, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, or other serious mental health conditions, you need appropriate medical and psychological care. SDH might serve as complementary support, but never as a substitute for necessary treatment.

The rapid nature of SDH's claimed results could be concerning if practitioners aren't adequately trained in working with complex trauma or mental health issues. Rushing through emotional material without proper integration can potentially be destabilising.

The organisation's marketing makes bold claims about SDH being revolutionary, the fastest healing modality, and making talk therapy obsolete. These claims aren't supported by scientific evidence and should be viewed with healthy scepticism. Be cautious of any approach that positions itself as superior to all established treatments.

The relatively quick training (three days) to become a certified practitioner might not provide sufficient depth for working with complex cases. Whilst the training includes important components, three days is considerably less than the years of education and supervision required for licensed therapists, psychologists, or counsellors.

The cost structure, with practitioners encouraged to charge $249 per session and the training pitched as a way to earn money quickly, has potential for creating incentives that don't always align with clients' best interests.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between Self Directed Healing and traditional therapy?

Traditional therapy typically involves talking through your experiences, gaining insight into patterns, and developing coping strategies through conversation with a trained therapist over time. SDH claims to work faster by accessing emotions stored in your body through breathwork and somatic techniques rather than primarily through talking. Traditional therapy often takes months or years, whilst SDH claims significant shifts can happen in one to a few sessions. However, traditional therapy is provided by licensed professionals with years of training and operates within established ethical frameworks. SDH is relatively new and practitioners complete a three-day training. Both approaches can be valuable, but they serve different purposes and have different evidence bases supporting them.

How long does it take to see results?

SDH claims to produce results quickly, often within a single 90-minute session. Many testimonials describe significant emotional shifts, increased confidence, or release of long-held patterns after just one or two sessions. However, complex trauma or deeply entrenched patterns might require several sessions. The rapidity of results is one of SDH's main selling points, though these claims are based on practitioner and client reports rather than controlled studies. Individual results vary, and some people might not experience dramatic shifts as quickly as others.

Is Self Directed Healing safe for everyone?

SDH is generally safe for most people seeking personal growth or working on emotional issues. However, caution is warranted for people with severe trauma histories, active psychosis or severe mental illness, dissociative disorders, or anyone in acute mental health crisis. The emotional release work can be intense, and not everyone has the resources to handle material that surfaces. If you're currently in therapy for trauma or mental health conditions, discuss SDH with your therapist before proceeding. Pregnant women should check with their healthcare provider before engaging in intense emotional release work.

Can SDH help with addiction?

SDH training includes specific modules on addiction release, and practitioners claim success helping clients with various addictions including alcohol, cigarettes, and behavioural patterns. The approach aims to identify and release the underlying emotional wounds and limiting beliefs driving addictive behaviour. Some people report breaking free from addictions through SDH. However, serious substance dependencies typically require comprehensive treatment including medical supervision (particularly for alcohol or drug withdrawal, which can be dangerous), addiction counselling or therapy, and often ongoing support through groups or programmes. SDH might serve as one component of addiction recovery but shouldn't be the only approach for serious dependencies.

How much does a Self Directed Healing session typically cost in Australia?

In Australia, SDH sessions typically cost between $200 and $300 for a 90-minute session. Inspirited Solutions recommends practitioners charge $249 AUD per session. Some practitioners offer shorter sessions at lower rates, whilst others charge more based on their experience or location. Initial consultations might be slightly longer and priced accordingly. Some practitioners offer package deals for multiple sessions. Check whether your private health insurance provides any rebates, though coverage for SDH specifically is unlikely given its recent development. Many insurers don't cover modalities that aren't well-established or that lack practitioner regulation.

What qualifications should an SDH practitioner have?

SDH practitioners complete a three-day intensive training programme through Inspirited Solutions, followed by examinations and case study submission for certification. This is considerably less training than licensed therapists, counsellors, or psychologists receive. Some SDH practitioners also hold other qualifications like life coaching certification, counselling degrees, or training in other healing modalities. Having additional credentials in mental health or therapeutic work indicates more comprehensive training. Ask potential practitioners about their training, how long they've been practising SDH, their experience with issues similar to yours, whether they have other therapeutic training, and whether they carry professional insurance. Given SDH's recent development, even experienced practitioners have only been working with it since 2011 at the earliest.

Can I learn SDH techniques for myself?

Inspirited Solutions offers an online video course teaching basic SDH techniques for self-care. The "Power of Self Directed Healing" course on Udemy provides an introduction to the modality's fundamental practices. There's also a free 14-day challenge introducing SDH concepts. These resources can help you work with your emotions more effectively and practice some release techniques on your own. However, the full SDH process as practised professionally requires certification training. Self-directed work has limitations. It's harder to access deeply suppressed material on your own, and you lack the outside perspective a practitioner provides. For significant trauma or complex issues, professional support is advisable.

How does SDH differ from other somatic therapies?

SDH is one of many somatic (body-based) approaches to healing trauma and emotional issues. It shares similarities with Somatic Experiencing (developed by Peter Levine), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), Hakomi, and other body-centred therapies. What SDH claims makes it unique is the combination of cognitive work, inner child healing, breathwork, and somatic release all in one structured session, plus the speed of results. However, unlike some established somatic therapies that have decades of research and refinement, SDH is relatively new and lacks the same evidence base. The rapid training for practitioners also differs from more established modalities requiring extensive education and supervision.

References and Further Reading

Primary Resources and Training

• Inspirited Solutions
• Inspirited SDH Practitioner Directory
• SDH Training Information

Educational Resources

• "The Power of Self Directed Healing" Online Course
• "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma" by Bessel van der Kolk, MD
• "Metaphysical Anatomy: Your Body Is Talking, Are You Listening?" by Evette Rose
• Australian Government Health Resources on Emotional Storage

Related Modalities

• Somatic Experiencing – Body-oriented trauma therapy developed by Peter Levine, focusing on releasing trauma stored in the nervous system.
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) – Evidence-based trauma therapy using bilateral stimulation to process traumatic memories.
• Breathwork – Various breathing practices used to release emotions, regulate the nervous system, and facilitate healing.
• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT/Tapping) – Energy psychology method combining acupressure points with psychological focus.

This guide was written by the Bodhi Holistic Hub team according to their editorial policy.