I originally trained as a body psychotherapist with Nick Totton and Em Edmondson and have over twenty five years’ experience of working with individuals and groups. A large part of my practice is focused on working with men and I became a co-leader of the Mandorla Men’s Rites of Passage programme in 2001. I have worked extensively with perpetrators of domestic violence , both adult and teenage and am a Respect approved trainer and supervisor. For more information about this side of my work please visit www.twowolvesconsultancy.co.uk.
I have been greatly influenced by teachers such as Robert Bly, Malidoma Somé and Martin Prechtel. Most recently I have completed a foundation course in Process Oriented Psychology, an approach which increasingly informs my practice.
I am a fully accredited member of the Association of Facilitators - for more information please visit http://www.associationoffacilitators.co.uk
Let the body’s doings speak openly now, without your saying a word, as a student’s walking behind a teacher says "This one knows more clearly than I the wayRumi
Body psychotherapy offers a range of interventions & techniques to enable us to make contact and interact with some of the deeper aspects of our being. It invites us to ‘come home’ to our embodied selves & to those parts of us which may have been alienated or in exile and are now calling to us via the language of the body, via symptoms, movement and posture.
Body psychotherapy sessions will often look and feel like ‘normal’ talking therapy. At other times, where appropriate, we will work with touch, breath, movement and sound to follow and ‘unpack’ the client’s spontaneous process. This can often lead us into some surprising places—invariably though there is a sense of ‘rightness’, of depth and of deeper awareness and authenticity.
Most men lead lives of quiet desperation (and go to the grave with the song still in them)
The above quote, paraphrased from Henry Thoreau, seems as distressingly apt today as it did when it was written over 150 years ago. Despite the advances made by feminism, the 'new age' & the 'men's movement' levels of depression, violence & suicide in men, particularly young men, are tragically high.
I have over twenty years ‘ experience of men’s work and provide a robust and supportive space for men and teenage boys to ‘break the silence’; to address such issues as depression, isolation and violence and to find their own ‘song’. I offer short and long term work for both individuals and groups, as well as Rites of Passage retreats and other gatherings for men.
Rites of Passage are ritual events whose purpose is to provide the possibility of redefinition for an individual—they occur at times of important transition in the course of a life.Stanislav Grof & Joan Halifax
Rites of Passage events offer men an invitation to move into what Stanley Kunitz called ‘the layers’ - into a deeper , grounded connection with our authentic selves. From here we can gain a fresh perspective on a crisis, mark an important milestone in our lives and find support and challenge as we step into the unknown. Set in spectacular elemental locations, with a highly experienced team of facilitators and the extraordinary power of men in community, these gatherings offer participants memorable and potentially life-changing experiences.
It was a wonderful experience, something I can always draw strength from and keep building on.C.L.
Simon’s depth of experience in running workshops for and about men was clearly evident. I recommend his course.L.S.
I offer workshops and training for organisations, professionals and interested individuals. Titles include:
Additionally I can work with your group or organisation to create a bespoke training package especially suited to your needs. Please contact me for more information.
Simon's workshop is very apposite; much needed at this time. He invites us to look very squarely and honestly at the male and masculine archetypes and find value and integrity. A challenging workshop for therapists and the therapy culture.C.E.
The divination experience has been a long term process. Framing the question, the ceremony itself and the gentle unfolding of the tasks have all given me a profound sense of something awakening within me.P.D.
I practice a form of cowrie shell divination, as taught by Dr. Malidoma Some, tribal elder of the Dagara people from Burkina Faso. Divination is not fortune telling-it is rather an extremely sophisticated and beautiful piece of ‘indigenous technology’. A powerful diagnostic tool that shows us where we may be out of step with our deeper purpose, divination provides us with directions for ritual acts to help us re-align and remember.
The whole concept of divination may seem bizarre or even ridiculous to our western scientific minds. In acknowledgement of this Malidoma counsels us to ‘just pretend you believe in it and see what happens!’
For more information about any of my work please call me on 0771 2264011.