What is  a SHEN® session like?

You lie fully clothed on a special SHEN® “cradle”, close your eyes and relax. That’s it! There’s no need to move or interact during the therapy session. The practitioner gently places their hands on and around the body in a specific set of “unlocking” sequences that are carefully tailored to your individual needs.During a session you may feel deeply relaxed and you may even fall asleep for a while. People sometimes experience mild tingles and/or other physical sensations. Emotions, thoughts and memories associated with past events can often come up. These can range in intensity;  however, your SHEN® therapist will carefully support you through the experience. They facilitate whatever healing you and your body are ready to achieve.

 

When is  SHEN® Therapy most effective?

When emotions are high, challenge present, and stress somatically obvious  SHEN® can be at its most effective. It catches the emotional and physiological intensity of these times and meets them with gentle and effective holding and release.

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How many SHEN® sessions do I need?

Each person is unique in terms of process.For some one or two sessions help meet the immediate need for emotional processing of what is currently challenging or overwhelming. For others more sessions are required. Over years of practice what seems to be the case is that for longer held issues five- six consecutive weekly sessions starts to see clear energetic and experiential shifts.

 

Can I just have a SHEN® session to relax?

Absolutely. The restorative or relaxation SHEN® is perfect for you. If deeper work is not needed the restorative SHEN can be just that - a way of deeply relaxing and deeply meeting general stress. People often fall asleep in this process, letting go of the general day to day stress. If there is deeper trauma underpinning then the therapeutic SHEN® work is recommended for you.

 

Is all my communication private?

As in every respectable therapeutic practice all that is said and experienced is strictly confidential. If anything needs to be taken for supervisory processes no personal details will be shared.

 

Do I have to talk about what most pains me most?

SHEN® is a body-based therapeutic treatment.  Usually prior to meeting a history form is taken of  which you can fill in as much or as little as you feel comfortable. In the sessions themselves we discuss what is currently up for you emotionally and assist the processing of that somatically (i.e through the body). On the SHEN® cradle feeling into the body is what is important for emotional and somatic processing- during this time talking can often inhibit deeper processing BUT if something deeply needs to be shared then this is of course part of the therapeutic work. At each and every stage deep respect is given for personal process and timing. Before work on the cradle you are encouraged to share as best as you can about what is currently up for you BUT we are trained to assess where the present constrictions are in your body and breath and to work there in clear respect.

 

Can SHEN® help with old injuries?

SHEN® can be surprisingly effective when there has been emotional inhibition or challenge occurring at time of injury. If other conventional treatments have proved long term ineffective it could be because of this aspect.

 

Can SHEN®  help with fertility and pregnancy?

SHEN® in my experience has been a great assist in women getting pregnant, post miscarriage and otherwise. This is of course not a medical response. SHEN® helps the body let go of old trauma and inhibitions and in doing so a receptive space is created wherein new life can both figuratively and literally arise. It has been my deep surprise to have had this happen time and time again. There are physiological constraints to be taken into account and SHEN® can help with the emotional processing if the time is not currently right for you.

 

Can SHEN® help with my stress?

The roots of stress can be multifold. SHEN® has been found to be effective in terms of meeting the stress of the moment and helping the body to relax enough so that other choices for well-being arise naturally. As a trained Yoga teacher I  might suggest certain postures and breathing relationships that can deeply assist long term emotional integration as an adjunct to the SHEN® therapy work.

SHEN can be like house clearing- sometimes we accumulate things/relationships/methods of relating that are no longer healthy for us and hence stress arises as a message to change these behaviours or perspectives. SHEN® relaxes the mind and body to a state where this process of release and discernment can happen with deeper ease.

 

What if I have been told my condition is psychosomatic?  (i.e a physical illness or other condition caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress).

SHEN® deals with the bodily processing of stress and internal conflict. It is as such often a perfect meeting ground for conditions which seem to have no or little physiological basis medically speaking. SHEN® can really help meet the stress, fear or trauma that might underlie these physiological manifestations.

 

How does SHEN® work with medications?

With everyday medications there are currently no known adverse side effects to having SHEN® treatment. SHEN® is inherently gentle.

I have worked with a number of clients who have been reducing prescribed drugs for psychological assistance. SHEN® has been a clearly effective assist at this time, helping stabilise the body and psyche to meet the deeper internal states that are arising for integration as the body/mind adjust to new levels of self-support.

It has also conversely been found that deeper levels of emotional integration can be inhibited by such medication. At this stage any reduction in medication is delicately approached with clear communications between myself , you as the client (ensuring you feel safe and supported at all stages) and all respective medical professionals.

 

How is SHEN® for medical professionals/clinicians/therapists?

Due to SHEN®'s significant capacity for somatic release and integration SHEN® can be a great assist for all people working in the caring field.

It is a clear somatic meeting ground for stress that might arise out of the challenges- specific and general- in the work-place. As tension arises SHEN® can deeply help the integration and release of said states.

 

 

So what can SHEN® help with?

All of the above and more. Where stress. trauma, life challenge and crisis arise SHEN® can help. It can help with the emotional underpinnings during chronic or terminal illness. It can help the body to achieve new levels of relaxation. It can help during a myriad of transformative processes. SHEN® can be a stand alone or very effective complement to traditional talk therapy. From my clinical experience nightmares are very quickly reduced and often eliminated in the SHEN® process. SHEN® really can help when you are all talked out and just need to feel safe enough, held enough to feel what has felt too much, too painful, too hard. SHEN® can deeply help when all the body needs is gentle touch to feel safe again. SHEN® can help when you just want to trust in life and yourself again. I look forward to supporting you during any of these processes.