Pesso Boyden Experiential Workshop at Number 42, London Bridge

Pesso Boyden all day Group workshop, Sunday July 14th 2024 Room 9, Number 42, the complete psychotherapy and well-being practice, 42 Borough High St. London SE1 1XW

Workshop details.

This one-day workshop offers the opportunity for up to 10 participants to take part in a group process using the Pesso Boyden psychotherapy method. It is open to anyone, including psychotherapists, who wish to experience this method. No previous experience is necessary.

Facilitators: Mick Sands and Sasha Maye Brue, both members of the Number 42 practice (see more below).

Time: Arrive at 9.00am. for a prompt start at 9.30 – finish by 5.30. Refreshments and snacks are provided throughout the day. Bring a packed lunch (there is a kitchen on the same floor) or there are many cafés/shops in the area.

Cost: Membership of the group for the day is £80 per person. There are 4 'structure' places available, 3 of which can be reserved in advance with a further payment of £40 (total cost £120).

On the day itself, the unreserved 4th structure will be selected by means of a simple lottery for those group members who wish to put themselves forward.

Refunds are only available if we can fill your place.

Mick and Sasha will both facilitate two structures each during the day. Please note, places are not secured until payment is made. Contact Mick (0775 235 9616) if you want to come but are finding it difficult to pay.

To register and pay and for more information: Please contact Mick (0775 235 9616).

*If you are a therapist you can earn 6.5 hours of CPD for attendance*

What is Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor? (PBSP)

PBSP is a unique way of realising our potential to live a more fulfilling and satisfying life. It was discovered and developed by Albert Pesso and Diane Boyden from the 1960s and is now flourishing in the USA , UK, Holland, Germany, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

It works gently and imaginatively with difficulties we have in our present and have roots in our past. Often these difficulties lead us to respond to the world

as survivors, either because in our early years our development needs were not met sufficiently or, because we experienced trauma i.e. too much came in that was beyond our control or, when our care-givers had difficulties themselves we tried to solve them – or something of all three. The Pesso system has innovative ways of identifying and transforming these obstacles to our self-fulfillment. To hear a breif description, visit this link.

The Pesso group and how it works.

The aim of the group is to create the circumstances in which a person having a ‘structure’ can have a positive, healing experience through creating new memories with the help of Ideal figures.

All group members undertake to stay until the end of each day unless otherwise agreed.

The therapist works with an individual in a therapeutic process called a structure, lasting about an hour. Together they externalise how the person maps their experience of the world through tracking their feelings and thoughts clarifying how their history creates this map. This is done with the help of objects, figures in the air, and other members of the group. While doing this, they create new personal memories, a new map, a re structure. If we can experience these new memories in our bodies and imaginations and put them back into moments in our history when we most needed them we can have a better basis for living a satisfying, pleasurable, meaningful and connected life.

The role of participant observer group members.

First of all, they witness the structures like a theatre audience might. Then someone may be invited to take a more participatory role as an Ideal figure. No initiative, improvisation or acting is required. Their position, movement and words are given them by the client and therapist. They are there to accommodate the needs of the structure person and to contribute to a vivid and believable experience. This can be also powerful for the accommodator.

After each structure group members have opportunities to share what is happening for them as they witnessed/participated in this experience.

Bessel Van Der Kolk worked with Al Pesso and did some training as a PBSP therapist. About structures ( in his book “The Body Keeps the Score”, chapter 18 p.307), he says, “ Structures harness the extraordinary power of the

imagination to transform the inner narrative that drive and confine our functioning in the world.”

Facilitator Therapists

Sasha Maye Bruce is a UKCP member and trained in Contemporary Psychotherapy, developed by Pamela Gawler-Wright of the Bealeaf Institute in London. CP integrates approaches from a variety of therapies, including understanding from psychodynamic, Gestalt, existential, systemic, NLP, and advances in neuroscience. Sasha has a background in coaching and leadership in digital organisations and is a mental health first aider. She facilitates Ecstatic Dance Folkestone and is a Sound practitioner. She is a trained Pesso Boyden therapist and has been part of the Pesso community in the UK since 2017 when she was introduced to the method in a London group.

Mick Sands is an experienced Pesso Boyden therapist and has a Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Psychotherapy. He has a background in secondary and special education, professional theatre and music and extensive experience in therapeutic communities, learning disability, social and palliative care. He worked for three years in the No.42 Reduced Fee Service.

For further information and PBSP resources: www.pessoboydenuk.org

Quotes from previous workshops:

"It might just transform you from historical trauma"

"I got so much out of the workshop it’s hard to put it into word. I’m still very much digesting the experience but it has given me faith in humanity and the power to heal. The sense of community support was deeply nourishing and the boundaries put in place made it feel like a really safe space to let go."

"Have already recommended it to a couple of people who are doing talk therapy on family issues that aren't shifting. A great, safe way to do more embodied, communal practice that I think is really powerful."

"It's an opportunity to be real in a safe place with the good will of ordinary people"

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Number 42, 42 Borough High Street, London, United Kingdom