Working with babies and children requires special practitioner skills and for the practitioner to undergo further training. I am a member of Our Birth Journey– a community of practitioners and therapists who are interested in pre and perinatal psychology and birth. I have trained with Karlton Terry, a leading baby therapist, and previously studied Shonishin/Japanese pediatric acupuncture with Stephen Birch and Junko Ida.
My training with Karlton was in relation to the ‘Birth Mask’, where early life photos tell the story of the compressive and drag forces that occurred during one’s birth. The twists and turns of birth, the compressive forces on the cranium, and the impact of maternal pain relief medication and other birth interventions, including planned and unplanned caesarean births, can literally shape us for a lifetime with lasting physical impact – and deep psychological impact through implicit bodily held trauma memories. Working through the infant (or adult’s) birth trauma offers an individual a profound potential for healing and it is especially valuable for infants where distress cannot be spoken of. Karlton offers a diagnostic studio and online consultations, which I encourage clients to utilise as they will help guide my work – an online Birth Mask consultation with Karlton allows the practitioner to be present to continue to support the infant or adult client as they go forwards.
My training with Stephen Birch and his wife Junko Ida taught me how to support children using Japanese pediatric acupuncture/Shonishin techniques. This is a very gentle approach where great care is taken not to ‘overtreat’ because children are incredibly sensitive.
Babies and children love receiving gentle therapy where a practitioner is attuned to what is troubling them. In some cases it may be best to work with the baby or child in their home setting where they feel safe and secure so if I am working with a new baby or child, I would like to speak first with a parent to decide how best to support. Please give me a call to discuss the situation and we can decide how best to proceed.
Shonishin Case history – 5 year old boy with night time enuresis
Charlie came to see me with his mum, Penny, in August 2016. He wet his bed 5 or 6 nights a week and was very demoralised. He struggled to get to sleep because of fear of wetting the bed, and would wake late, feeling tired, and struggling to get up.
I treated Charlie with craniosacral therapy and shonishin and showed Penny how to do shonishin herself. These two treatments combine really well for children of Charlie’s age and they love receiving treatment from their parents. The physical contact of shonishin brings closeness and reassurance – and it can be a fun routine for a child.
After the first treatment Charlie was getting to sleep more easily and waking up less tired. This improvement continued after the second treatment and by the fourth session his bedwetting began to improve.
I left it to Penny to continue with the shonishin and return if needed, as Charlie seemed to be doing so well.
One year on and Penny has been in touch to say that she and Charlie are absolutely delighted to report that Charlie has been dry at night for six months.
“We are all delighted with his achievement and it was your guidance that put us on the right track. Your relaxed approach and environment really gave us the confidence to work through this stressful time. Thank you so much”