Body Psychotherapy and Biodynamic Massage in Central London
Body psychotherapy is a verbal and non-verbal approach which introduces bodywork into the therapeutic encounter on the understanding that mind and body cannot be separated. Through talking, touch, massage, movement and expression, body psychotherapy seeks to clear the mental and physical blocks preventing a person from being who they really are.
**I currently have limited in-person availability. Please enquire for further details. Online sessions available**
What has happened to you has happened to your body too. Often your body will hold past conflicts until a time when you feel ready to process them. Sometimes 'just talking' doesn't produce the depth of transformation needed for healing. At this point body psychotherapy will look for the truth that is held in the body to guide a person to their inner knowing. Your body is wiser than you think and the path to feeling more whole, alive and happy lies within!
Biodynamic massage is a method used alone or within body psychotherapy that explores where and how our psychological issues are being held in the body, releasing places of tension and waking up areas that feel lifeless. Within the therapeutic relationship, the biodynamic massage therapist tries to sense how their touch is being received by the client and where there may be anxiety or numbness in addition to safety and connection.
As humans we have a biological need for warm and supportive relationships. Many of us, growing up, were not cared for in a way that made us feel free and validated in our bodies and minds. As a body psychotherapist, I work from a place of deep acceptance and positive regard that offers a reparative model of relationship allowing the client to begin to trust themselves and their own wisdom.
My practice is located in Marylebone central London W1, just off Oxford Street and a few minutes walk from Bond Street Underground Station. Call me on 07914 043041 or click here to email and let me know how I can help with:
- feelings of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem or emptiness
- a traumatic event or developmental trauma throughout childhood
- physical symptoms that may also be psychological
- feeling disembodied or stuck in one's head
Trauma experts increasingly agree that the body provides the key to healing. This is because trauma can become locked in the body if there has been inadequate processing and support. Body psychotherapy helps trauma sufferers release distressing experiences, reclaiming safety, harmony and inner identity lost to overwhelming circumstances. Click here to read more, and see below the opinions of two leading pioneers in the study of trauma.
"..in order to change, people need to have physical experiences that directly contradict or replace past feelings of helplessness, frustration, and terror" - Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score
"..trauma is not, will not, and can never be fully healed until we also address the essential role played by the body" - Peter Levine, author of Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma
Attachment theory underlies nearly all forms of therapy, but is particularly relevant for body psychotherapy. The type of emotional support we received from our primary caregivers determines not only the way we attached as children, but our ability to form healthy co-regulating adult relationships. Adverse parenting can be reversed by the secure attachment occurring in therapy - and body psychotherapy goes deeper still by introducing powerful non-verbal interactions that mirror attuned parental care. Click here to read more.
Self-regulation comes from co-regulation. As inherently social beings, we derive our ability to calm ourselves from successful co-regulation with others. For those who struggle to find balance, biodynamic psychotherapy offers a co-regulation of close communication between therapist and client, with two nervous systems in safe and trusting resonance. Neurologically and physiologically, we thrive in connection, as humans are relational building resources and resilience from supportive interaction. Click here to read more.
The history of body psychotherapy is intrinsically connected with the birth of psychotherapy itself, when Wilhelm Reich, a close associate of Freud, explored psychological issues that manifested physically in his patients, addressing these directly through touch. Reich's ideas went on to influence the many branches of body psychotherapy that then emerged as humanistic psychology replaced Freudian psychoanalysis. Click here to read more.
Combining a background in counselling with full training in body psychotherapy and biodynamic massage, I offer therapy that is both talking and body-based. I'm located in Marylebone central West London W1, by Mayfair, Oxford Street and Bond Street tube. For psychotherapy that includes therapeutic bodywork, call me on 07914 043041 or click here to email. To read more about my training, qualifications and therapeutic approach click here. To read what my clients are saying about me click here.
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Biodynamic Body Psychotherapy: talking therapy, trauma healing, massage and bodywork. By Oxford Street and Bond Street Underground Station in London W1.
Listen to your body, and especially your gut instinct. You will find the answers you are looking for. Because your body can’t lie. It has deep wisdom and integrity. It knows the truth, and will guide you…
London W1
07914 043041