What is The Sensory Journey?
When I first started my therapeutic practice I knew I wanted to combine it with my love of the outdoors and using all of the senses.
My experience over the years supporting people with different issues has helped to form the model of The Sensory Journey which is the framework and foundation of all the sessions that I run.
The foundation of Sensory Journey is based on compassion and self care. I am passionate about the holistic connection between mindbody and soul. Elements of all of the curated journeys include meditation, facial reflexology, mindfulness, talking therapy, EFT - tapping therapy, eco therapy, walking (Chai & wander session), cooking for wellness, colour therapy, sound healing, working with the energy centres in the body and using art & writing as aids for therapeutic healing. I work with individuals, couples, women going through the menopause journey, children and young people. See below for a sample menu. I offer all of these in person, online and I run workshops.
The Sensory Journey is a fully immersive experience which uses all of the senses. The Sensory journey is different for everyone and is tailored to your needs.
I am so pleased The Sensory journey has been offered online during the pandemic and I have had positive feedback from participants.
The Sensory Journey is tailored to you; it is helpful to see the different types of journeys that are offered. Please see the example menu and you can book this as a package or choose different elements from each offering. I always welcome a conversation!
CHAI & WANDER / CHAI & WONDER
As an experienced and certified eco walk & talk therapist I am passionate about nature being our co-therapist.
These specially curated sessions connect us with nature and its wonderful restorative properties. Depending on your needs we will incorporate a guided wander. It is well evidenced that being in nature can give us back our energy and vitality, restore our mood and promote well being.
This journey can be tailored to your needs for example and if incorporating as part of a package I may also include the use of sound healing with crystal bowls and or a homemade bircher breakfast jar to be enjoyed during the walk. Often I will provide an audio for you to enjoy as part of this experience. We will need from 60 - 120 minutes for these sessions.
FROM MY MOTHER’S KITCHEN…
My mother has been my greatest teacher. She taught me that to show kindness to others one must also go inwards and tend to our internal and external home that is the body and mind. This journey is based on the concept of “Kindfulness” towards oneself. We will go on a journey of compassion and tenderness as we practice the ritual of self-massage, heart coherence exercises and EFT - tapping therapy. If this is an in person session I will incorporate the wonderfully healing element of facial reflexology, gentle release and EnerQi. The journey will end with a guided visualisation on compassion and tenderness. This session is based on remedies that my mother has shared with me and we will be nourished with a home made herbal tea or chai and a nourishing edible treat based on her restorative recipe.
EXPLORE
As a trained and experienced talking therapist , integrative psychotherapist and counsellor, I will support you to find out what will help you in this journey. In my experience I have found some people come to me for talking therapy and prefer to explore their creative side through walking, eco therapy or using art as a therapeutic tool. During this Journey I will gently introduce many of the modalities I work with and we will explore this through talking therapy, eft - tapping therapy, the use of mindfulness and weather permitting - walking in nature. Although being outside in nature has been incredibly healing for the people I have supported, come rain or shine we can rely on the elements to hold us as we let go. I may also suggest gentle movement in the form of yoga as this has been incredible in soothing a tired nervous system through restorative postures and the use of mantras and affirmations.
SEED…
During Seed The Sensory Journey we will look at our seeds of thought and how our thoughts and beliefs (perhaps from childhood) may have shaped our thinking. Thoughts do not come in a straight line they come from so many different directions and have can have impact on our sense of self. It has been said we have thousands of thoughts that enter and leave our brain everyday. I will support you in looking at some of your thoughts and we will work on exercises that have a positive impact on strengthening your neural pathways to reframe these beliefs. I may incorporate hypnosis in this journey.
During this journey we may explore aspects of self through creative writing, hypnotherapy, yoga, exploration with parts / feelings boards (similar to the concept of a vision board but looking at the part that may be stuck) and you will be guided on a beautiful visualisation, We will look at aspects of your younger self and we will do this in a safe and supported space. Some people like to add on Vietnamese facial reflexology to this element. You can also add breakfast or lunch as part of this session to make it into a beautiful self compassionate retreat.
BOUNDARY…
A large part of self care is releasing what does not serve a purpose and letting go of these limiting thoughts is setting boundaries – for ourselves and others. This journey will focus on these attachments and we will work together to release with kindness; to allow room for space and clarity. Boundaries are different for everyone but they are essentially guidelines on how we respond to others. Setting boundaries helps immensely in our communication with others.
Tapping therapy combined with movement is very effective for releasing limiting beliefs so we will spend time talking about these beliefs and tapping along to release them. Automatic thought writing has been known to release unconscious thoughts on paper allowing for space and reflection – and we will also incorporate this into the session to free up space to start working towards better boundaries. I may use hypnosis during the sessions - this is very gentle and non invasive.
ROOT…
We are bombarded by thoughts – thousands come and go each and every day. Quite often when we are stuck in a thought it can manifest into our bodies and we experience ill health. Our wellbeing is affected and the cycle can often continue. It may be difficult to perceive but by strengthening our neural pathways; through soothing and kind self talk, working on boundaries, meditation, talking and doing things that nurture you these stuck thoughts can diminish over time.
This journey will focus on the concept of mindfulness and will look at how we use boundaries to support this. I will show how you can stay present to what is going on around you in a kind and nurturing way. We will work on soothing strategies that you can access at any time. I will also record an audio for you to use in your own time. which is a progressive muscle relaxation that will gently reset the nervous system. This journey will include a mindful eating exercise and we will also explore our sense of scent with the use of essential oils.
A GENTLE RELEASE and EnerQi facial rejuvenation.
I am delighted to offer this wonderfully soothing and powerful therapy. Gentle Release Therapy is considered a mixture of energy work and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) which combined with gentle techniques that allow the body to release in a restorative and soothing way. I have experienced this for myself virtually – which was remarkable as I wasn’t sure how effective it would be online however I released tension in parts of my body that I didn’t realise were there.
As a qualified Gentle Release Practitioner my main focus is supporting you to regain balance in your body and holding a space for you to explore the release. I have used this wonderful therapy alongside hypnotherapy to induce a relaxed and calm state before starting the release work.
How does it work?
I am pleased to offer these treatments in person now but they can be done virtually! You are lying down and fully clothed. I have also worked on clients that want to remain seated. I use Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to understand what's going on in the body. By placing my hands gently on parts of the body I will support the release. The parts of the body are linked to the organs according to TCM. In addition to the organs I will also work on cranial release (head / neck).
We also have extremely gentle emotional release techniques that we can use if there is an issue in particular that's causing you stress.
In addition to the TCM work with the abdominal organs we also incorporate cranial release into treatments which involves an extremely light touch that allows the body to further release. We also have techniques that release the endocrine (hormone system) and lymphatic system. All treatments are tailored to deal with what your body needs to release at that moment in time. EnerQi can be added onto this session which includes face massage using Gua Sha and Jade roller to target specific points on the face. This has had wonderful restorative and relaxing effects on my clients - men and women love it.
NOCTURNE…
I have experienced insomnia since childhood and I know how debilitating it can be. During this journey we will look at your patterns of sleep and support you with gentle tweaks that may help towards better rest. We are all different and having supported many people over the years with sleep related issues and I am certain we can find a way to help with your sleep journey. How to cultivate a loving relationship with your mindbody. During an in person session we may do a combination of the following:
a series of gentle restorative yoga movements - this is very gentle and aims to promote deep release.
sleep focussed mindfulness rituals - techniques that I have used over the years to support my sleep journey.
a beautiful soothing guided visualisation to send you on a restorative journey of deep rest.
use the restorative power of facial reflexology and Gentle Release Therapy.
use a hypnosis audio.
will also show you how to incorporate self-massage into your sleep routine.
Practise the art of automatic thought writing and drawing.
Use tapping and talking therapy to unfurl ruminating thoughts.
WORKING WITH PARTS
I have used Art as a therapeutic tool to support my own wellbeing for some time now.
My experience over the years has been to encourage using different modalities such as art and writing to articulate feelings that we cannot express through the spoken word. I am hugely passionate about therapeutic boards; also known as vision or story boards. At times we are unable to articulate in words how we feel so I encourage the use of these boards as a way to tap into our unconscious mind. You do not need to be good at Art to do this! We use images, photographs, dried flowers, magazine clippings anything that helps with the making of your board. These boards can be used in a number of ways from working out the next journey that you want to go on or mapping out what may be hindering your journey in tbe present..these boards are also used for inner child work and combined with hypnotherapy a wonderfully supportive tool for your well-being journey.
We will start the session with a wonderful creative visualisation and tapping therapy. I will provide all of the tools you need for this wonderfully creative and enlightening session.
Board pictured created by a beautiful young client of mine (aged 18)
PRISM..using colour as a therapeutic tool
You may find that certain colours create a certain energy when you either wear or are surrounded by them. Colour has been widely used for centuries to support well-being. Having completed training in the use of colour as a therapeutic tool; I have always been fascinated by patterns and shapes but more importantly the colour that feels like home. Your internal compass. We will look in detail at what this means to you.
During this session we will look at the colours that are connected to your internal compass, your colour chart and focus on one or two energy centres in your body that may need support. This session will involve a soothing guided visualisation using each energy centre in your body to promote a sense of balance and grounding. The beautiful addition of crystal quartz singing bowls and hypnotherapy may complement your journey.
CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE
I have supported children and young people in a therapeutic capacity for over 20 years. I am a qualified creative youth well-being mindfulness coach. Having worked in a charity supporting families with disabled children I have training in managing behaviour, autism and disability awareness and inclusion. I have also held groups for children and their families.
I have worked at schools and support children & young people of all ages. My ethos is based on the concept of the triad of support. That is - where possible - to work with the child, parent guardian and teacher. My support has been well received by the young people I have supported over the years. Support includes woodland walks and eco-therapy, therapeutic art, writing for wellness, tapping therapy, mindfulness, sand tray work and meditation. During the pandemic I have supported teachers on line with relaxation and mindfulness. I am currently offering well-being support at several schools in Surrey and London.
COMMUNITY
Growing up in a community in South London; our home was always open to everyone. I run The Collective Hug monthly via zoom all proceeds go to charity. For more information about the hug see the events and journey page.
Supporting charities is very close to my heart. I have held fundraisers for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, UNICEF and their urgent appeal to help children and young people in Yemen and supporting those seeking refuge by donating to The Refugee Council. We have together raised over £10000
The Sensory Journey is also open to all and I welcome collaborations, supporting groups and charities.
I was a part of Holland & Barrett’s me.no.pause campaign, an ambassador for NEOM Organics and held several in-store sessions for their staff team and clients. I have collaborated with Odacite, Lululemon, Sweaty Betty and Kiki K.
I have worked with corporate clients to support the well-being of their staff. There are options for everyone.
I love your special light Ati - you are such a gift.
Thank you x
I really felt connected and held and it was really beautiful and just what I needed
what we all need
Kate