Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

CBT is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave.  It is a clinically and research proven therapy for a wide range of mental health problems in adults, young people and children.

CBT can help you to change how you think (Cognitive) and what you do (Behavioural) by challenging negative automatic thoughts and the associated feelings and behaviours that may be causing you problems.

A CBT approach may look at the origins of your disturbance, often in childhood.  Importantly, the approach will focus greater emphasis on how the disturbance affects you in the ‘here and now’.  Your CBT Therapist will introduce you to tools and techniques designed to support increased self-awareness of your thoughts, feelings and subsequent physical responses in the present. 

CBT is an empowering approach that supports the idea that you are the expert on you.  Through awareness of self and the CBT model, you are encouraged to become your own therapist.  Building confidence and trust in yourself offers an opportunity to step away from negative past experience and to consider a more desirable future.

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine is prescription based and is used for conditions which need energy to be added to your system. The herbs add energy to promote recovery from the causes as well as the symptoms of disease and are often necessary for conditions which do not respond to other treatments. Herbal medicine can be used in conjunction with acupuncture to speed recovery. The herbs are all plant derivatives and are manufactured under GMP quality control.

Bowen Technique

Bowen Technique is based on the principle that the body instinctively knows how to heal itself. 

The technique is increasingly being recognised as a powerful and effective therapy for balancing the body, aiding postural realignment and releasing muscle tension.

A treatment consists of a series of gentle moves across muscles, tendons and ligaments. Short wait times of 2 minutes are incorporated between certain moves to allow the therapy to activate responses in the area just worked on. Bowen moves trigger the nervous system to assess tensions and start the process of releasing the tension allowing the body to realign and balance itself. 

There are a range of moves and procedures which allow the practitioner to focus on specific problem areas such as shoulders, knees/ankles, back, pelvis, jaw, digestive and respiratory. 

Deeply relaxing and suitable for all ages, it can help in the management of a wide range of health problems.

Bowen can be described as "a treatment which involves use of thumbs and fingers on precise points of the body to perform unique sets of rolling-type moves which stimulate the muscles, soft tissue and energy within the body.  These movements are very gentle, pain free and prompt the body to heal from injuries and long-standing complaints by realigning and dealing with these imbalances itself. 

Bowen is thought of by many practitioners as a way to draw the brains attention toward avenues of imbalance and pain.  The rolling movements create a physiological response over the lines of fascia which cover all the muscles and tissues in the body, which is picked up on by the brain.  In order to allow this process to take place, the treatment environment must be silent, peaceful and most uniquely the therapist leaves the room for several minutes during sets of movements, to remove any distractions from the clients environment."

Body-Mind Centering®

Somatic Movement Education sessions focus on skeletal alignment and breath motion as the basic underlying support for the body to find comfort, ease and healing. The muscles often work against the body, pulling the bones away from a natural easeful alignment; finding the clarity of the bones and their innate response to gravity provides a way to re-pattern and release holding patterns that may have built up in response to acute or chronic injury or unhelpful postural habits.

The bones also provide the underlying architecture for all body structures and functions: well aligned bones lead to well aligned blood vessels, nerve pathways, lymphatic vessels, glands, organs, and muscles! In terms of breathing it is possible to identify and release holding patterns in the area around the ribs, shoulders and upper arms leading to more natural, full and free breathing - the very basis of all healthy human functioning. Working to embody your own unique postural alignment is not about imposing an ‘ideal’ form, it is an enlivening and surprising process of discovery and recovery.

WHAT TO EXPECT DURING A SESSION?

After an initial discussion about the nature of the health issue, injury or movement restriction, and any other relevant information, your practitioner will then facilitate the embodiment process through various techniques which include:

• Guided visualisation to help clients relax and quiet down the busy thinking brain so that it becomes possible to ‘hear’ the body’s signals
• Hands-on listening and responsive touch to help with structural awareness and to support and encourage repatterning
• Ongoing dialogue so that the client experience is fully integrated into the direction of the session
• Sharing of images and anatomical knowledge to support clients as they begin to inhabit the body landscape more fully
• Recommendation of movement patterns and sequences which can be practiced at home

Please wear comfortable loose-fitting clothing, suitable for gentle moving, bare feet or socks. 

Aromatherapy Massage

Aromatherapy massage involves the use of natural essential oils and dates back to ancient civilisations. 

Each oil has unique properties and can be used to aid a wide range of physical and emotional problems including back and neck pain, muscular aches and pains, depression, arthritis, PMS and general stress and anxiety. 

Aromatherapy is a holistic treatment that takes into account the whole person - mind, body and spirit. It can be very rejuvenating and can help leave you feeling relaxed, refreshed and restored.

Alexander Technique

The Alexander Technique is used to help rediscover our natural balance and poise, both physically and emotionally. By learning to use ourselves in a more conscious, constructive way we can deal with the causes underlying such conditions as back pain, poor posture, migraine and breathing difficulties. 

The Technique is a powerful tool for stress management, making life less tiring and more enjoyable.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a system of healing that has been practised in China and other Eastern countries for thousands of years. It focuses on overall well-being, rather than the isolated treatment of specific symptoms. 

Our health is dependent on the body's motivating energy known as Qi (chi), moving in a smooth balanced way through a series of channels beneath the skin. When the Qi becomes unbalanced, illness may result. 

By inserting fine needles into the channels of energy, you can stimulate the body's own healing response and help restore its natural balance. Many common complaints can be treated with acupuncture, and addictions such as those related to smoking, alcohol, food and drugs can also be helped.