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The Lone Therapist - a Resource Pack

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This resource pack which you can dowload above is entitled The Lone Therapist and has been created by Lindsey Nicholas and Sue Frazer from ABMT and Gina Lilley from Amatsu Therapy. As part of a Mental Health Working Group initiative within GCMT (the Council for Soft Tissue Therapies), the Lone Therapist is designed to support massage therapists in terms of the mental health implications of their work. In biodynamic massage, we already understand the intrinsic connection between emotional and physical health and this understanding informs much of the interactive material in the resource pack. In particular,  we hope it will support and encourage other massage modalities to recognise the emotional implications of the client/therapist relationship.
 
It is an interactive, visually orientated document and is still a work in progress, and we are interested in how it works for you in terms of its flow of ideas and the linked sections. It is available for anyone to download and feedback would be really helpful – also in terms of how it might be of use to you.
 
This resource document offers:

  • support for you in terms of your own mental well-being as you go about your practice as massage therapists.
 
  • the opportunity for you to deepen your awareness of what might be going on between you and the client in relationship,  beyond the physicality of the therapy you are providing.
 
  • help to use this knowledge to create good boundaries and confidence to encourage and refer clients to mental health therapy.
 
  • more detailed insight into the intrinsic relationship between emotional and physical health.
 
  • case studies and a section on massage on trauma
 
  • advice and recommendations on self-care.

AGM and Voice Workshop, 20th November 2021


We welcome members to our AGM on Saturday 20th November at the Hallam, 44 Hallam Street, London W1W 6JJ. The meeting runs from 11am to 1 pm and our Afternoon Session from 2pm to 4 pm. Please RSVP at [email protected],  if you'd like to attend either or both sessions. The Afternoon Session is free and open to members and also non-members.

We have chosen a large venue for this event. The room is internally ventilated and thoroughly cleaned between events, and we are reassured that as much hygiene protocol as possible has been followed. You are also welcome to join us on-line, if you would prefer. Please register at the Eventbrite link here. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/agm-for-association-of-biodynamic-massage-tickets-207093220397
 
Our Afternoon Session will be a workshop run by Gestalt Therapist, Hannah Rees. This is what Hannah has to say about the workshop:

In her client work Hannah draws on her love of singing to work with the “sung voice”, as the most intimate expression of our relationship to self, free from the burden of expectation and conditioning. She incorporates breathing, movement, natural sounds, toning, vocalisation and improvisational singing within the client-therapist dyad.
 
Improvisational dyadic singing can be an immediate way of accessing wounded, even pre-verbal parts of the self that have remained silent for a long time. By bringing them into vocal expression, those parts previously alienated from the self can be welcomed and befriended – creating a new, self-sounding narrative.
 
In this introductory workshop Hannah will begin by showing you how to connect to your sung voice in an embodied way through gentle sounds and moves followed by a practice that supports safety through sounding, having in mind Porges’ Polyvagal Theory. You will then move into practices that involve sounding and vocalising in pairs as a form of co-regulation as well as joining in call and response singing and then ending collectively in a group improvisation of interweaving voices.
 
Zoom participants can sing along on MUTE for all of these exercises. For the work in pairs, you are welcome to go into breakout rooms. It is advisable to switch off “Original Sound” in order to hear each other.
 
No singing experience necessary. No solo singing required!
 
Hannah has written an article for publication next year entitled “Embodied Sound: Voicing the Voiceless Self” for the Institute of Arts in Therapy and Education where she is a guest lecturer.
 
 
I really would encourage you to join is if you feel able. This will be a good opportunity for us to renew our collective energy and reconnect as friends and practitioners!
​

Covid-19 Guidance September 2021

Covid 19 - Practice guidelines:
The latest government guidelines published on 15.09.21 for close contact services can be found below: 
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-covid-19/shops-branches-and-close-contact-services
​
The full CNHC guidelines can be found here: https://www.cnhc.org.uk/working-during-covid-19-latest-updates-0, and include reference to safety precautions and use of PPE.
​Please read these guidelines carefully to ensure you comply, if and when you feel it is safe to return to work. Of course, if you do not feel it is safe and right, it is equally important not to practise.
 
As usual, if you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of the Committee.

On-line Content

The link below will take you to a recent  YouTube video made by Theo, our Professional Development Officer about body psychotherapy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnQln4iA10w&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3rAkoRxxv74s-ScBdAXBbqKmfiD_RSuxSjnMfTG5Lpacv5bZ58O93lBH8

There is also one for Welldoing.org by our Chair, Lindsey about the unique therapeutic contact we make in biodynamic massage:

https://welldoing.org/article/what-biodynamic-massage-therapy-video?fbclid=IwAR3J0iAZtwkW9DQRie2uz-5aaGOyzi2UaFrEToevIKocltFTNEvuGyMjK1I

Scarwork and Fascia



​We had a fantastic Afternoon Session on 23rd November, from Jan Trewartha, who spoke about her pioneering work in the field of scarring and working with the fascia. This is relatively new work in the UK and certain to develop extensively in the coming years, as its effects are transformational.
 
I’d like you to read the testimonial below of one of our members, Laura Hawksley, who volunteered for Jan’s taster session, and to draw your attention to the course Jan is offering in July next year. Here is the link.
https://www.bodyinharmony.org.uk/event/sharon-wheelers-scarwork-5
If you are thinking of applying, Jan has offered a £30 discount on the next course for members of the Association. All you need to do is to email her before applying.
 
Here is what Laura has to say:
 
"The AGM last weekend was an opportunity for those who attended to meet Jan Trewartha and hear her speak with a gentle conviction about Sharon Wheeler's ScarWork. Her demonstration of a couple of techniques and opportunity to practise on each other added an experiential element to a really relevant and fascinating session.
 
For myself, I had the added experience of being able to  volunteer a scar and thought I would share a little bit about it. Jan worked on my caesarean section scar, using feather touch and down the rabbit hole techniques. Using the lightest of touch and subtlest of movements I could feel shifts down my left leg, gluts and abdomen, leading to a feeling of more freedom of movement as I walked to the station. That night I was exhausted! 
 
At home both my partner and daughter noticed a change in the shape of my belly, less of a fold tightly pulled in and more of a flop! For myself, my gluts remain more relaxed, and I feel less constricted across my lower abdomen. My scar is shallower than it was and less tightly attached to my abdominal muscles. 
 
It is difficult to feel that I am doing justice in describing Jan's skill and the changes she has instigated in my scar. It feels that these benefits are continuing over time and I sincerely thank her."
 
For those of you interested in this training, the course will be held at the North London School of Sports Massage, not far from Seven Sisters tube. Here is the link again:
https://www.bodyinharmony.org.uk/event/sharon-wheelers-scarwork-5
 
To attend, you need to be a practising body worker with at least one year’s experience. 
It is also possible to pay in instalments. – you pay a 20% deposit and then spread the rest of the cost over 8 months.


Our Journals

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The ABMT aims to produce two journals a year - our most recent being in September 2019. You can find out more about these and how to submit for our peer-reviewed publication here:
http://www.abmt.org.uk/the-journal.html

Listing in Welldoing.org

We are very pleased to announce that biodynamic massage is now included in the on-line therapy site,  Welldoing.org, The link is: https://welldoing.org/types-of-therapy and there is a listing in the drop-down menu. To register as a practitioner therapists must be registered with UKCP or BACP. Thanks to Amy Barnes for her efforts here!

CNHC

The ABMT is a verifying organisation for the CNHC and as such can support Biodynamic Therapists who wish to register with the CNHC. From May 2021 therapists will be required to have both a Biodynamic Massage qualification and a prior massage qualification (min Level 3)  to ensure that they meet the CNHC Core Curriculum requirements. Therapists who are currently members will retain their membership.

Keeping in Touch

To receive information about ABMT activities including updates on research, articles from our journal and events join as an Associate Member and receive our bi-annual journal and regular newsletters. Discover more