One to One Sessions

The one to one sessions we offer can be ‘one off’ or a series of treatments. At present we are within four schools and one after school club where we offer a series of 8–15 weekly reflexology sessions to children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. These are specific partial treatments aimed at calming down the children and young people so that their behaviour becomes less challenging within the classroom and generally, making the mainstream more accessible.

The children and young people’s difficulties can vary from bereavement to neglect, sexual, emotional, mental and physical abuse as well as exposure to drugs and alcohol. Some have witnessed and experienced horrific events within their country of origin and are separated from family members. Many have English as a second language and belong to ‘hard to reach communities’ who experience a lot of alienation and hardship within society. The difficulties can be exacerbated if the clients have learning difficulties or special needs. The experience of living in an unsafe environment over a period of time or a severe threatening experience can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or an unbalance within the bodies systems which can lead to anti-social behaviour.

The reflexology works specifically with the nervous and endocrine system to reduce the ‘fight or flight’ response which these children/young people often exhibit due to their environment or experiences. This response causes a mixture of irritability, anger, difficulty concentrating, hyperviligance, difficulty staying or falling asleep and exaggerated responses. This causes abnormal levels of key hormones such as an increase in adrenaline, nor adrenaline, natural opiates, enhanced thyroid function and higher cortisol levels. The treatment aims to balance these levels so that the client can start to feel secure within their environment, change their perspective and learn different techniques of dealing with their stress and frustrations.

The results from evaluation to date show a reduction in aggression, stress and anxiety and an improvement in focus, concentration, self esteem, listening skills and confidence.

At the end of each session we go through breathing techniques to give the clients another skill in dealing with their anxiety and stress. This is very important as it is physiologically impossible to get angry, panic or lose control when breathing deeply and correctly.

Parents give signed permission for the treatments and if the children/young people do not give their permission then we do not give the treatment. We cannot touch a client without their consent.

The children and young people really enjoy the sessions and some self refer.

We are presently extending our service to offer some of the parents of the children we treat a series of treatments. This is a more holistic approach as everyone calms down making dialogue and communication easier.

One off Sessions

One off sessions may be offered to parents to de-stress or to children and young people before exams. These do not have a long term affect but ease immediate anxiety and stress and the benefits can last 1-4 weeks depending on the individual. Signed parental permission is needed for children and young people.

The therapies we offer at present are Reflexology, Indian Head Massage and Healing.

Research

Research is one of our main aims and at present we are in the process of setting up a research project into the effectiveness of the service we offer.

Workshops and Classes

Workshops and classes promote positive touch which can be shared between children and their families and between parents/carers and their families/children. It is empowering, a new skill and very relaxing to give as well as to receive. It aids in reducing aggression, bullying and violence as attitudes are transformed when a positive caring form of touch is introduced and been shared.

The workshops and classes we have done to date demonstrate that there is a need for these services and the users are delighted to be able to access them.

Workshops and classes offered include yoga, peer massage, baby massage, reflexology and Indian head massage.