Holistic Therapy
Bernardine McManus
If you feel that talk therapy no long meets your need, read on ......
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Based in Ireland I am known for my passion for learning. I have re trained in recent years as neuroscience has opened our understanding of the nervous system and the human condition. I am excited by what I have learnt and look forward to sharing it with you or anyone you know who might be interested in learning and experiencing more. My work is a mix of tops down learning which respects my clients need to understand how I work and a bottoms up experiential process that values the bodies knowledge of all that a client has lived in their life.
Approach
My work has evolved over the last 25 years to understand
the importance of using breath, voice and movement in a mindful way.
This opens the door for an embodied sense of self,
and an understanding that our history of relationship
affects our capacity to be in relationship today, with self and other.
Together this offers a way of working which aims to support clients
find a more peaceful way of being in the world,
regulated and open to connection.
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My work is strongly influenced by Stephen Porges Polyvagal Theory
which understands the fragile nature of our human nervous system
as it learns to first survive and then thrive in today's world.
The vagus nerve as a part of the autonomic nervous system evolved
differently in humans creating what Porges called a social
engagement system. In our early years it is essential
to our sense of safety and our survival that we can call out
to a safe other who will respond to our physical and emotional needs.
Being seen and heard at this early stage is vital to developing
a sense of our worth and learning that our needs are valid.
Childhood is about first having our needs met by another and then learning
with support how to meet our own physical and emotional needs.
Often our physical needs get met but not our need
to express emotions safely, we can learn to fear our emotions.
We are a social animal.
This bond between primary carers and child
is essential for the child's sense of safety in the world
and is the basis of all future relationships.
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Below are the different approaches that I weave together in my work
under the heading of ...
RE-PARENTING ... becoming your own go to person
1.
Dramatherapy
Life is movement at its most basic level. With out movement there is no life. Even in stillness we are breathing.
Using voice and movement to explore our world creatively,
the relationships and
the challenges it presents us on a daily basis,
we engage other parts of our brain in the spontaneity of the moment.
Insights and emotions can arise in a more embodied way
and we can find our emotional voice which is other than the spoken word which can be limiting.
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2.
Somatic Experiencing
Trauma is experienced uniquely by each person because of their individual life experiences which have shaped their nervous system.
When we understand that old traumas are remembered by the nervous system for survival purposes we can begin to heal and learn to develop our capacity to self regulate in the moment and adapt to our ever changing environment.
Trauma is in the nervous system not in the event.
Developed by Peter Levine
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3.
NARM
The Neuro Affective Relational Model looks at the affects that early life experiences and relationships had on our developing sense of self. We learn to value our self based on how those responsible for our care were able to meet our needs emotionally and physically.
How we learned to value ourselves, or not, through the eyes of the other can last a life time affecting future relationships unless we realize as adults we can choose to do it differently.
Developed by Larry Heller.
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4.
Yoga
Yoga is a deep spiritual practise. Initially embraced in the West as a physical practice of asana postures, it is increasingly being understood as a mindfulness practise for well being, developing awareness of health of mind and body through exercise, diet, pranayama, chanting service and more.
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Service is part of a larger sense of belonging taking us beyond our own needs to that of our community.
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This mindful way of being is central to healing.
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Finding the balance of my needs and another's needs is challenging.
5.
Voice
as soul
A passion of mine is voice and its role in healing and preventing trauma.
Research shows that music, singing and the mother's voice especially
has the capacity to soothe and regulate a babies nervous system, pre and postnatal. Many parents carry their own traumas and they fear passing the emotional effects on to their children.
By learning to self regulate parents can break a negative cycle of
trans-generational learnings passed to them from their own family of origin. No one to blame
- just parents doing their best.
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