Introductory Weekends Body Psychotherapy

CHIRON PSYCHOTHERAPY - IS IT FOR YOU ?

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We offer psychotherapy for individuals who feel in need of help as well as those who want to deepen their self-understanding and their capacity for fulfilment and participation in life. This can be in one-to-one sessions or group psychotherapy.

Why Psychotherapy?

You may be seeking help for any variety of reasons, whether it is a long term problem that just does not seem to improve, or an immediate crisis that is causing you distress. You may feel overwhelmed by emotions or physical symptoms, or, rather, experience life as empty of either meaning or vividness.

You may have a very clear idea of what you want to get from therapy or you may know nothing more than that you want some sort of independent help or support.

About Body Psychotherapy

The body is like a mirror of thoughts and feelings. All our attitudes express themselves in the manner in which we move, hold, contract or tense, relax or expand our bodies. In every situation of our lives all external and internal circumstances are somehow memorised and stored in the cells of the body, creating innumerable inner connections.

Pleasurable thoughts and feelings bring about an expansion and lightness in the physical body; repeated or chronic conflicts with others at home or work cause tightness and a sense of narrowness, in the mind as well as in the muscles and other body tissues. If this ‘narrowness’ goes on for too long or becomes unbearable, the body remains in a constant state of contraction and may get ill. In the early stages, dis-ease may manifest as aches, pains, tensions, fatigue, listlessness and exhaustion. If little or no attention is paid to these symptoms they may eventually develop into more severe emotional/physical disturbances such as depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunctions, desperate loneliness and illness.

Other activities at the Chiron Centre

In addition to individual psychotherapy the Chiron Centre offers biodynamic massage, group psychotherapy, couple therapy, short introductory courses (weekends). If you are interested please ask for one of the following leaflets: ‘Chiron Open Programme’, ‘Biodynamic Massage Treatment’ or ‘Psychotherapy Groups at Chiron’.

Body Psychotherapy Groups

For some people, group psychotherapy can effectively complement an individual process. A psychotherapy group is a space for exploring - yourself. You will meet like-minded people who are intending to explore the intangible and often mysterious link between their inner world, and the outer life they are engaged in. In practice this means that through the interaction in the group, and with the help of the group leader, you will have the opportunity to explore your feelings, your thoughts, your patterns of behaving and relating. The group serves as a 'container' which focusses both familiar and often unfamiliar life issues, beliefs and feelings in a 'graspable', tangible, immediate way.These groups are offered either on a weekly basis, running over a whole academic year, or as an introductory group over 3 weekends.

Professional Development Programme

Chiron continues to run a Continuing Professional Development Programme which offers short courses for qualified counsellors and psychotherapists. If you are interested, please ask for a copy of the programme to be sent to you.

A one-year Certificate course in Biodynamic Massage Therapy is also offered. Please ask for details if interested.

What is Chiron Psychotherapy?

It is an integrative form of Body Psychotherapy. The term Body Psychotherapy was coined by the European Association for Body Psychotherapy in 1991 and is rooted in a tradition since 1920 which has developed from the work of Wilhelm Reich. Chiron Body Psychotherapy encompasses various different approaches to working with the body, mainly Reichian Vegetotherapy and Biodynamic Psychology. It is integrative because it assimilates other philosophies, models and methods such as Gestalt, transpersonal approaches and Object Relations. It is called a Body Psychotherapy because it takes particular account of the way the body is also involved in your psychological life, by holding trauma and expressing distress, as well as embodying and expressing well-being and pleasure.

Our approach is holistic. We believe that we have to pay attention to the whole person.Only by increasing our awareness of our body, mind, heart and soul can we develop a deeper and truer sense of our self.

The therapist may sometimes work directly with the body, using touch - in massage for example - or work with breathing or body sensations without touching. This work may take place while you sit on a chair, mattress or cushion, or you may lie down on a massage table or a mattress on the floor.

Alternatively, you may spend some or most of your time sitting in chairs, when talking and listening are the main activities. Exactly how you work together will develop out of discussions, and will take as much account as possible of your expressed needs and wishes as well as being guided by the therapist’s professional judgment.

Chiron as ‘the Wounded Healer’

The name Chiron was chosen to represent our aim of teaching and practising therapy in a way that encourages and allows therapists to stay connected with their own wounds and vulnerability as the basis for understanding and meeting both the pain and the potential of those they work with. In Greek mythology, Chiron was a wise elder and healer amongst the centaurs, and although a healer, he could not cure his wound in his own knee.

What will happen next if you are interested?

The first step is to telephone the Centre at our office in Ealing and arrange an initial consultation. This will take place in Ealing at 26 Eaton Rise, with one of our psychotherapists and will last about an hour. The meeting is confidential, and a fee of £40 is charged. (There is a low cost scheme of £25 or £20 in special circumstances). Please do not just drop in for such interviews - we are only able to see you by appointment.

You will have the opportunity to talk about yourself, and the interviewing staff member will advise you about further procedures. There will also be time for you to ask questions. If after this you wish to pursue Body Psychotherapy and if the interviewing therapist considers our way of working appropriate for you, you will be asked to fill out a registration form and give it back to Chiron. The next step is that your situation will be discussed, anonymously and confidentially, with another senior team member. We will choose a therapist for you whom we think could work with you and your particular situation. The clinic co-ordinator will let you know who your therapist will be, so that the first meeting can be arranged. This will usually take place within two weeks of the initial consultation.

What is the commitment?

In general clients are seen for one hour weekly and usually the session will be on the same day and at the same time each week. The cost of the session will be between £35 - £50 and there is also a low cost scheme of £25 or £20 in special circumstances. Because the therapy we offer is rooted in a human relationship rather than being simply a mechanical application of technique, we will expect you to honour a regular weekly commitment and cancellation terms will be negotiated with the psychotherapist. The therapist might be able to offer an alternative time to make up for a cancelled session, otherwise you are expected to pay. The exact contract will be discussed and agreed with your psychotherapist, which also includes holidays etc.

We suggest a trial period of six sessions for you to get to know the work and the therapist. After the initial phase you and your therapist will decide whether to continue for a longer period. Sessions may take place at either of our two clinics, one at 26 Eaton Rise, Ealing, London W5 2ER and one at 90 Harvist Road, Kilburn, London NW6 6HL. Short term psychotherapy may last only for a few months, but for more in depth self discovery it is likely to last between two and five years.

Confidentiality, Ethics and Complaints Procedure

All Chiron psychotherapists have completed the training and have obtained the Certificate in Body Psychotherapy. They are bound by the Chiron Code of Ethics and Complaints Procedure which is available on request. The Chiron Centre is a member of the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapy (UKCP) and is bound to their ethical guidelines.

These disturbances are urgent signals to come ‘home’ into your body and find within it resources and ways to resolve your life conflicts. This is an extremely valuable alternative to the usual endless circles of fruitless thinking. What also takes us away from our ability to heal ourselves is the habit of filling our days with mindless busy-ness, blind compulsions or distractions, which may lead to a degree of self-forgetfulness that becomes intolerable to the whole organism.

In this sense, pain, illness, unhappiness and frustration can be seen and used as challenges to overcoming self-destructive attitudes and behaviour. By becoming aware of these destructive patterns it is possible to find more constructive and creative ways of living, and through this to gain a stronger sense of inner fulfilment.

In our psychotherapy, we want to help you become aware of how mental, emotional, physical and spiritual attitudes reflect each other, and to find a way back to joyful presence within yourself. We believe that living consciously in the body provides a tremendous support for living in the world in a satisfying way.

Our therapists aim to be as sensitive as possible to the differences between us, be they of age, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, class, culture or religion, as well as being prepared to share the elements of our common humanity.

Like most approaches of psychotherapy, we base our work on the experience that to be listenened to by the sympathetic and accepting presence of an other can be deeply therapeutic. But this could also be provided by a good friend - so why see a professional psychotherapist ?

What any professional therapist would aim to provide beyond a friendly ear is a skilled and neutral enough presence that will help and encourage you to 'stretch' yourself: by exploring your 'inner world' and those conflicts and problems which cause you pain or which limit your potential. Because we assume that in coming to a psychotherapist (rather than a doctor or a social worker) there is a recognition that the problems are indeed psychological, that is they are rooted in 'inner' and usually inner conflicted experience.

Our particular approach at Chiron places great emphasis on working with the 'whole' person, including body, emotion, mind and spirit, relying especially on the neglected role (and wisdom) of the body. Some people are quite clear when they look for therapy that their problems have an obvious link with the body, as for example in conditions such as stress and hypertension, anxiety or panic attacks, addictions and eating disorders or sexual difficulties. But there are many less obvious ways in which clients discover that their 'presenting problem' is rooted in certain physical-emotional 'states'. These states can be experienced as feeling trapped or overwhelmed, numb or in physical pain, but usually there is some sense of being 'out of control'.

Whenever the body is experienced as 'out of control', what becomes more apparent is an underlying 'body-mind split'. This is the fundamental conflict, so endemic to our culture, which Chiron psychotherapy tries to address.

The methods which may be used in Holistic Body Psychotherapy include, apart from the basic verbal interaction, a variety of bodywork techniques (ranging from body awareness and vegetotherapy to biodynamic massage and bioenergetics to breathwork and regression), Gestalt, role play and psychodramatic techniques; visualisation, imaging and dreamwork; and creative expression through painting, movement, sound, etc.

These powerful techniques - potentially facilitating such experiences as catharsis of long-held emotional distress - need to be used appropriately and at a pace suitable to the client's process. Clients are never required to do anything they do not want to do. Therapists will draw on a variety of theories, particularly concerning relationship processes of transference and countertransference, to help them assess what is appropriate and can be contained. In this way our work attempts to bring together a variety of often contradictory approaches and can therefore be called 'integrative'.

See also our more detailed description of a session in the Training Booklet.

BIODYNAMIC MASSAGE

Biodynamic Massage can be part of the psychotherapy process as one way of working with the body and is also available as a treatment on its own to work with tension and stress, psychosomatic symptoms and to increase body awareness.

Biodynamic Massage reaches for the inner dynamic of a person. Its aim is to establish a harmonious flow of energy throughout the body. It was Gerda Boyesen who brought biodynamic massage to England in 1968, having developed it from methods commonly used in Norwegian Psychiatric hospitals by physiotherapists working in conjunction with psychotherapists. It consists of a number of techniques which work specifically with the energy held within the physical structure of the body, from bone and muscular levels to the connective tissue and skin layers as well as the energey field. With its holistic and therapeutic understanding, biodynamic massage is very much part of the Body Psychotherapy tradtion and follows and expands basic theoretical principles elaborated by Wilhelm Reich (i.e. that physical symptoms have their emotional counterpart and psychological stress may lead to various bodily manifestations).

You can download this information as a leaflet in printable pdf-format by clicking here

What is biodynamic massage?

Biodynamic massage is a form of bodywork. It is holistic and integrative and comprises a range of diverse and complementary techniques. It works both at the physiological level of skin, tissue, muscle and bone, and at the level of the more subtle energy How in the body. Biodynamic massage is designed to respond to the particular needs of each individual. Its range is broad - from revitalising and invigorating, to working deeply to release tension, to providing the support and comfort of a gently flowing massage.

The history of biodynamic massage

Biodynamic Massage was brought to England in 1968 by Gerda Boyesen, who developed it from methods commonly used in Norwegian Psychiatric hospitals by physiotherapists working in conjunction with psychiatrists. Boyesen's unique contribution was the discovery of how the gut is involved in actually digesting feelings and the after-effects of stress through our digestive organs. She introduced the use of a stethoscope for listening to what she called the psychoperistaisis' (tummy rumblings). This provides a particular feedback which helps the massage therapist monitor your internal state while they work. By focussing on the nervous system, The massage therapist can address stress at its roots in the body.

How is it different from other kinds of massage?

Biodynamic massage is based on a psychological understanding of the body. Biodynamic massage therapists are trained to respond appropriately to both the emotional and physical dynamics in the body, and with this can help make sense of both the physical and psychological aspects of, for example, "having cold feet". The therapist's presence, combined with touch and talking, assists the process of making connections between mental, emotional and physical states. The encouragement of body awareness supports you to be more in touch with yourself.

We recognise that feelings are reflected directly in the body. In a variety of ways, Biodynamic massage helps dissolve "blocks" of accumulated tension, offering space to appreciate the depth of our feeling and restore our sense of balance. This enables us to live more fully - completing cycles, and prepare us for the next phase.

What are the benefits of biodynamic massage?

Biodynamic massage has the capacity to go right to the heart of the person, working with the effects and origins of stress. It can promote deep relaxation, improvement of circulation and immune functioning, increased energy and well-being.

It may help relieve chronic symptoms such as headaches, hypertension, pain, digestive problems, skin complaints, depression, anxiety and insomnia.

Because of its combined physical and emotional scope, Biodynamic massage is especially suited for working with psychosomatic symptoms.

It is effective as a therapeutic approach in its own right, and it is useful in complementing medical treatment or alternative therapies such as homeopathy, acupuncture or osteopathy.

Biodynamic massage is also increasingly being appreciated as an adjunct to psychotherapy or psychoanalysis, because it supports and enhances the development of self-awareness. Insight is anchored through a deeper connection to the sensations and feelings in the body. Your therapist's permission and support for this process is vital.

Professionalism

Biodynamic massage therapists are fully trained, and are required to be in supervision and adhere to a strict professional code of ethics. The Chiron training is recognised by the British Massage Therapy Council and the British Complementary Medical Association.

Practical Information

Please phone to make an appointment to talk to a clinical supervisor. You will be asked to say a little bit about your life, your medical history and why you are interested in massage. This is confidential and may be done over the phone or in person. They will then recommend a suitable massage therapist. We suggest a trial period of six sessions for you to get to know the work and the massage therapist. After this you may choose to continue for a longer period.

Sessions usually take place at either of our two clinics: 26 Eaton Rise, Ealing, London, W5 2ER or 90 Harvist Road, Kilburn, London NW6 6HL Occasionally it may be possible to refer you to a massage therapist who works in private practice closer to your home.

Cost

Biodynamic massage currently costs between £28- £40 per session (a few low-cost places are available for the unemployed).

Biodynamic Massage Training

We also run a one-year Certificate Course in Biodynamic Massage.

Comments from clients about the experience and benefits of biodynamic massage:

“It helps me find space around the nitty gritty of living....relief from pressure. It has enabled me to cope through a very stressful time.”

“There’s been a huge change in my breathing and in my sense of aliveness. The parts of my body feel more connected and my senses are sharper....”

“I used to have really bad period pains, and I’ve seen a real change in that, both physical and emotional. The psychological effect was in terms of my role as a woman”.

“I get fewer headaches, reduced back pain and generally feel better.”

“The massage therapist is sensitive to how much I want to talk.”

“During the massage I had images of a warm stream flowing through my body.”

“I have been deeply touched - stirred by the contact - and opened to my own inner life through biodynamic massage. As I become aware of my inner life, it is related to through the therapist’s touch, without anything necessarily being verbalised. Something is known and met from outside (from another) and from inside (as I allow myself to know myself).”

PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUPS

Much of the pain and suffering that we experience in our lives is a reflection of 'internal' struggles and forces, many of which are not at all (or only partly) conscious. These internal conflicts manifest in how we feel and think, in our behaviour, in relationships, in our body, in our attitude to life. 

The various psychotherapeutic approaches seek to address and help to transform these symptoms and problems - on the most basic level through providing a supportive and confidential space. Most approaches recognise the importance of unconscious forces, and conceptualise and work with these in a variety of ways which allow awareness and maybe transformation and healing to occur.

Whereas many forms of counselling and psychotherapy concentrate on the verbal level, at Chiron we see the person as a 'whole', embracing physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and relational / social aspects. The body is an often neglected part of this 'whole', with its own wisdom and truth, and is therefore a possible avenue into deeper layers of the Self. It can be said that "the body never lies" - in the sense that our physical being reveals - through its deep and intricate connection with our psyche - a more complete picture of who we are than our mental image of ourselves.

A psychotherapy group is a space for EXPLORING - yourself. You will meet like-minded people who are intending to explore the intangible and often mysterious link between their inner world, and the outer life they are engaged in. 

In practice this means that through the interaction in the group, and with the help of the group leader, you will have the opportunity to explore your feelings, your thoughts, your patterns of behaving and relating. The group serves as a 'container' which focusses both familiar and often unfamiliar life issues, beliefs and feelings in a 'graspable', tangible, immediate way.

Most people's everyday life requires them to perform a variety of roles, which usually involve goal-oriented and appropriate behaviour. Although these roles give us a sense of who we are, this identity is not always true to our inner reality, and to our potential for pleasure and joy. In our work at Chiron we want to encourage you to be with your inner impulses, without anxiety-producing expectations of how you should be. The group provides a space in which you have the freedom to develop your identity organically.

When under pressure, the bodymind constantly compromises for survival and will choose and maintain routines and well-known patterns, no matter how painful in themselves, rather than take unfamiliar steps to see if there are other ways of living. Even without 'external' necessity - as is possible in the group - we often find ourselves caught in these roles and patterns. But usually the interaction in the group also challenges some of these routines and habits. We will encourage you to allow these 'disturbances', but will never go beyond your willingness to explore. In these moments it often becomes possible to notice, for example, how your words and body expression are in conflict, how well-being is lost in relationships, or how you inhibit your energy. You will gradually discover how your life story is expressed in apparently insignificant details.

In the end, it is in relationship with others that it becomes possible to know ourselves and find our inner truth. People in the group mirror the many known and unknown faces of our inner world. Just as each person is considered a 'whole', so the group can be seen as an organism, a body - with each group member playing a vital part in the evolving discovery. You will be invited to contribute to the atmosphere of the group and its potential for attention, safety, acceptance and authenticity, so that the inner worlds of each of us can dare to show themselves.

The group does not have a pre-determined structure. As the group is closed, and lasts for a whole academic year, structures evolve organically, created out of the relationships within the group and facilitated by the group leader. The leader takes responsibility for the group as a whole without taking over.

Psychotherapy Groups at Chiron are offered on a weekly basis over the period of a year, 7pm - 9pm on Monday evenings plus one residential weekend or nine residential weekends.

INTRODUCTORY WEEKENDS

Throughout the year we offer a variety of introductory weekend workshops which are an opportunity to become acquainted with our work in an experiential way.

Introduction to Chiron Body Psychotherapy

As experiential, embodied learning is such a central aspect of our work and training, these weekends provide an opportunity to actually experience our approach before you commit yourself to anything. They are meant to give you a taste of what Chiron psychotherapy and the training may be like and are designed with the needs of potential clients and students in mind. The weekend also offers the opportunity to experience and work with yourself in a group situation which can be a good addition to individual psychotherapy. You will get a sense of how the Chiron work would suit you and how it would respond to the varied needs and interests of what usually turns out to be a fairly diverse group. The atmosphere of the weekend is meant to be exploratory and engaging. While there is an intention to introduce various body-oriented methods which are part of our work, the weekend has no pre-determined structure. There is space for participants to meet each other as people and shape the weekend together - we want to let the structure of the weekend emerge from the group. In this way each weekend may reveal a collective theme, an underlying thread, which brings and holds the group together. The weekend places no requirements or obligations upon you, and if you bring yourself as you are, plus a little curiosity for what may evolve, you already have all the necessary ingredients to make this weekend work for you. For a description of our work, and especially the role of the body within it, please ask for our leaflet 'About Our Approach'. For a more technical description, please refer to our Training Prospectus.

For details of the next weekends coming up, see our Open Programme.

BIODYNAMIC MASSAGE

Biodynamic Massage can be part of the psychotherapy process as one way of working with the body and is also available as a treatment on its own to work with tension and stress, psychosomatic symptoms and to increase body awareness.

Biodynamic Massage reaches for the inner dynamic of a person. Its aim is to establish a harmonious flow of energy throughout the body. It was Gerda Boyesen who brought biodynamic massage to England in 1968, having developed it from methods commonly used in Norwegian Psychiatric hospitals by physiotherapists working in conjunction with psychotherapists. It consists of a number of techniques which work specifically with the energy held within the physical structure of the body, from bone and muscular levels to the connective tissue and skin layers as well as the energey field. With its holistic and therapeutic understanding, biodynamic massage is very much part of the Body Psychotherapy tradtion and follows and expands basic theoretical principles elaborated by Wilhelm Reich (i.e. that physical symptoms have their emotional counterpart and psychological stress may lead to various bodily manifestations).

INTRODUCTION TO BIODYNAMIC MASSAGE

Introductory weekends

These weekends provide an opportunity to become acquainted with some basic principles of Biodynamic Massage as taught and practised at Chiron.

Biodynamic Massage employs a variety of techniques, from within an holistic framework, to meet an individual uniquely and as a whole person.

While working on the physical level, the massage therapist takes in and is moved by the intricate interplay of body, emotion and mind as they interweave in response to the touch.

In order for a process of this nature to become possible, the first task is to create a sufficiently safe and open environment, to start from where we each are, physically, emotionally and mentally.

You will have an opportunity to explore your capacity for using intuition through your hands. The main goal will be to balance the autonomic nervous system to relieve anxieties, stress and tension. We therefore invite you to bring yourself as you are, and please wear loose and comfortable clothing.

Date: For details of the next weekends coming up, see our Open Programme.

Biodynamic Massage Training

We also run a one-year Certificate Course in Biodynamic Massage. Please ask for details if you are interested, or you can download a leaflet on Massage Training in printable pdf-format by clicking here