The Mind Movement: Integrating Body, Breath and Movement in Therapy

The Mind Movement consists of two main areas of social change: 1) a social movement for individuals to talk about and learn to take accountability for their mental health, and 2) motivating people to move and exercise. The book aims to bring together ideas, theory and practical tools that are accessible and highlight the overlap and connections in thinking to support clinical practice. The Mind Movement: Integrating Body, Breath and Movement illuminates the process of working with the body, breath and movement in therapy. The purpose is to give mental health practitioners the confidence to notice moments where they can integrate these tools creatively into their current clinical practice, in person and online. Presenting both psychoanalytic theory and practical tools offers a deeper understanding of the science behind working with body, breath, and movement. This will support practitioners to begin sharing the wisdom of neuroscience, the autonomic nervous system, and vagus nerve with their clients. The aim of the book is to stimulate new conversations and reiterate the deep connection between mind and body. AUTHOR: Lorna Evans is a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and trainer with an MSc in body awareness and psychotherapy. She proudly integrates psychotherapy and the body, focusing on movement and breath as healing tools for trauma, anxiety, and depression. Lorna has been in private practice for many years, previously working in primary care for the NHS and Mind.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements

About the author

Part I: Body
1. Conflicting forces of Mind and Body
2. Issues in the tissues: Exploring the fascinating role of fascia in mental health
3. Standing on the shoulders of giants

Part II: Breath
4. Let the healing tools begin: The autonomic nervous system and vagus nerve
5. Your embodied relationship with your clients
6. Is somebody missing? Where did Spirit go?

Part III: Movement
7. Breaking the taboo
8. Yoga
9. How I work

Further reading

Index

Lorna Evans is a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and trainer with an MSc in body awareness and psychotherapy. She proudly integrates psychotherapy and the body, focusing on movement and breath as healing tools for trauma, anxiety, and depression. Lorna has been in private practice for many years, previously working in primary care for the NHS and Mind.

Lorna is exceptionally proud to teach trauma-informed yoga and be constantly learning from the students of ReCoCo (NHS Recovery College Collective), Crisis UK, Changing Lives, Mind, and many other trauma survivor groups and charities across the UK. She has collaborated on books, documentaries, and projects with The Guardian, the Samaritans, Psychologies magazine, MTV, BBC, and SKY. She also works as a media spokesperson for the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

Lorna’s YouTube channel, 'The Mind Movement', provides positive psychoeducational content and spreads awareness about the importance of trauma-informed practices involving the body, breath, and movement to improve and maintain mental well-being. Subscribe to the channel, and, if you wish, join Lorna for some yoga.

The Mind Movement is a timely work of a holistic integration of embodied practices in contemporary psychotherapy. It offers both a rich historical understanding of psychotherapy’s disembodied legacy and the practical means to repair it. With careful attention to clinical, spiritual, and cultural factors, it brings the body home to the therapeutic encounter.