How to Choose the Right Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner for Your Healing Journey

Choosing a somatic therapy practitioner is one of the most personal decisions you can make. The quality of the relationship matters enormously, more, in many cases, than any particular technique or method. This guide walks you through exactly what to look for when choosing a Compassionate Inquiry practitioner, what questions to ask, and how to know if someone is the right fit for you.

What Is Compassionate Inquiry?

Compassionate Inquiry (CI) is a somatic psychotherapeutic approach developed by Dr Gabor Maté, the physician, author, and trauma expert. It is designed to help people uncover the unconscious beliefs, emotional patterns, and bodily held stories that drive their behaviour, often formed in early childhood, and to do so with curiosity and compassion rather than judgement or force.

CI works at the intersection of somatic awareness (tuning into sensations, tension, and breath in the body), psychological inquiry (gently exploring what beliefs and stories are held beneath the surface), and compassion for yourself and the parts of you that formed protective patterns long ago.

It is particularly effective for people who have found talk therapy helpful but insufficient, those who sense that the real work is happening below the level of words.

7 Things to Look for in a Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner

1. Verified Certification Through the Official Programme

Compassionate Inquiry is a specific, trademarked method. There is one official training programme: the Compassionate Inquiry Professional Training, developed by Dr Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur ND. Certified practitioners have completed this training and passed assessment requirements.

What to check: Ask directly whether the practitioner is certified through the official CI programme. You can also verify this on the Compassionate Inquiry website.

2. Experience Working With Your Specific Challenges

CI is effective across a wide range of issues, but practitioners often develop particular experience with certain areas, trauma, addiction, relationship patterns, burnout, grief, or identity. Ask about their experience with what you are bringing.

3. Personal Therapeutic Work

The best practitioners in any somatic modality are those who have done, and continue to do, their own healing work. Ask whether your potential practitioner works with their own therapist or supervisor. This is not just a nice-to-have; it is a sign of ethical practice and personal integrity.

4. A Free Discovery Call

Most reputable CI practitioners offer a free discovery or consultation call before you commit to a session. This is your opportunity to ask questions and, crucially, to notice how you feel in their presence. The therapeutic relationship is everything in somatic work.

5. Clarity About Their Approach and Boundaries

A good practitioner is clear about what CI can and cannot address, their boundaries around session content and contact, their cancellation and rescheduling policies, and confidentiality.

6. A Trauma-Informed Approach

CI is inherently trauma-informed, but it is worth asking how the practitioner holds trauma in their work. Do they move at your pace? Do they check in regularly? Do they understand the importance of regulation and not pushing too far too fast?

7. The Right Fit for You

This is the most important one and the hardest to quantify. After a discovery call or first session, ask yourself: Do I feel safe? Do I feel seen? Do I feel like I can be honest with this person? If the answer is yes, you are in the right place.

Questions to Ask a Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner

Before booking, consider asking:

• Are you certified through the official Compassionate Inquiry Professional Training?

• What experience do you have with [your specific challenge]?

• Do you work with a supervisor or your own therapist?

• How do you structure sessions?

• Do you offer a discovery call before committing?

• How many sessions do you typically recommend to start?

• What is your cancellation policy?

Online vs. In-Person CI: Which Is Better?

Both formats are effective. Online sessions are ideal for ongoing work, accessibility, and flexibility, allowing you to work from anywhere with more practitioner options to choose from. In-person sessions offer deeper embodied presence and full somatic contact, which can be particularly valuable for intensive work or your first experience of CI.

Many people begin online and continue long-term, the relationship and the method translate very well to video. Others prefer to begin in person and continue online. There is no wrong answer.

Working With Me

I am a certified Compassionate Inquiry practitioner offering online sessions worldwide and in-person sessions in Ericeira, Portugal. I work with clients who are healing childhood trauma and early relational wounds, navigating recurring patterns in relationships or self-worth, feeling disconnected or like something is missing, ready to go deeper than talk therapy has taken them, and drawn to an approach that works with the whole person, body, mind, and spirit.

I am trained through the official Dr Gabor Maté programme, and I also weave in complementary energy healing for clients in Ericeira who want to work at both the somatic and energetic levels.

If any of this is resonating, I would love to hear from you. I offer 1:1 energy healing and Compassionate Inquiry sessions in person in Ericeira, Portugal and online worldwide. Book a free discovery call here and we can explore what you are working with and whether working together feels right.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if Compassionate Inquiry is right for me?
CI tends to resonate with people who feel that something important is happening beneath the surface, that their patterns, reactions, or feelings are being driven by something they cannot quite access through thinking or talking alone. If you feel drawn to body-based work and want to understand yourself at a deeper level, CI is likely a good fit.

How is CI different from CBT or other therapies?
CBT works primarily at the level of thoughts and behaviours. CI works at the level of the body, emotions, and unconscious beliefs, often reaching material that cognitive approaches miss. It is slower, more somatic, and often more deeply transformative.

How many sessions do I need?
This varies. Some people experience meaningful shifts in a handful of sessions. For deeper or longer-standing patterns, a longer series is usually more effective. We will discuss this in your discovery call.

Is Compassionate Inquiry suitable for severe trauma?
CI is a powerful tool for trauma work, but if you are experiencing active crisis, psychosis, or severe dissociation, please seek clinical mental health support first. CI works best alongside a stable foundation, not in place of crisis intervention.

Can I do CI alongside other therapy?
Yes. Many clients work with me alongside other therapeutic support. CI often complements rather than replaces other work.