Somatic Psychotherapy

Hello, My name is Berni, if you are curious about me then you can scroll to the “about me” section, which is towards the bottom of the page where it belongs.

The important person here is you. How can you be helped? You might be an experienced sports person looking to find a different way of bettering your performance, or just someone who feels that they need a way of finding a more comfortable balance in their life. Regardless of your situation I believe that the form of  Somatic or “Body Centric” Psychotherapy that I practice can help you.

I say that because although I may or may not have direct experience of the issue(s) that you arrive with, I apply the same principles regardless. Only the focus is different depending on your requirements. Together I guide you to a better place, both mentally and physically. In this way I can help you.

So what is this technique based on? It is a fusion of Tai Chi and the Feledenkrais method. Not the sort of Tai Chi that people typically think of when they see it expressed as slow movements in the park (for instance), but something else. You will not be learning Tai Chi as such. Certainly not any external movements. I expand on things a little in the next section below.

For those who are interested here are a couple of short definitions of Tai Chi, and the Feldenkrais Method (these from Wikipedia).

Tai Chi: Is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits, and meditation. The term Tai Chi is a Chinese cosmological concept for the flux of Yin and Yang.

Feldenkrais Method: Is a type of exercise therapy designed to reorganise connections between the brain and body and so improve body movement and psychological state.

A quick note on Yin and Yang. Please do not get too hung up on this. Although a fundamental concept, really you just need to know that they represent opposites, and are always changing to achieve balance. So really for our purposes we can think of them as either “too much” or “too little”.