Client examples

8 Real examples of sessions

Adrian had been suffering from deep exhaustion with a diagnosis of M.E. When we listened closely to his body there was also a very chaotic "all over the place" energy that he usually hid from the world by stiffening up his shoulders. We found that he had a poor image of himself and didn't know what he really wanted to do in life. I used massage to relieve his aches and we used movement and meditation to help him connect to a more still, centered part of himself. As his self worth increased his energy gradually came back.

Molly came to me with severe pain in her neck and shoulders. We found that her symptoms had come on after the death of her mother. I helped her explore her posture and the function of her tension which was trying to keep herself going. She realized that underneath she was still both angry and sad. I used touch to support her body and role-play with movement to help her get her feelings off her chest.

John had feelings of guilt in his relationship that were weighing him down. His feelings were making his muscles tense, his stomach clench up and his breathing restricted. By working with his posture as well as massage on the affected areas I was able to help John feel "like a different man" in his body. We integrated this new sense of being proud with the way he behaved with people using discussion and role-play.

Every time Michelle felt particularly stressed her back would seize up. Using movement we looked at how stress made her go into the flight or fight reflex which tightened up her muscles. We explored how her body could deal with the pressures in a different way by letting herself breath more deeply and her legs get more support from the ground. She was then able to face stressful situations without pain. Massage helped iron out the knots in her muscles and we looked at ways she could be more accepting of herself.

Richard was suffering from extreme muscular tension. He was able to express this in movement and he realized he was angry. I used role-play and discussion to help him be more assertive and worked to increase the strength of his voice to help his confidence. We used massage to relieve his physical pain.

Jackie's experience of sexual abuse stopped her letting people get close. By drawing her body and its pain on paper, expressing her anger with sounds and slowly allowing her body to be touched on her terms she regained more openness and control of her personal space.

A hard worker, Eric had felt cut off and numb in his body for many years with increasing bouts of depression. I used massage to reawaken the sensations of his skin and by using slow movement and dialogue he began to really listen to what his body needed. He realized he was being driven by the fear of failure and had suppressed his sensual, playful side. He began to enjoy more time with his family, his sex life improved and he took up exercise.

Katie found that stress was increasingly harming her body with symptoms of tiredness, headaches, poor digestion and insomnia. By examining her response to deadlines at work we noticed that muscular tension, tight breathing and ungrounded legs were contributing to her sense of anxiety. She discovered a couple of simple exercises to help prevent the onset of these symptoms. We looked at the expectations she had of herself and I used massage to relieve her physical pain.