About Louisa
Hello
I’ve been practicing as an osteopath since 2013, working in East Dulwich since 2014. I moved to Devon in September 2020 and work from two osteopathy clinics in the south, but still travel to London for a week a month to see patients there. I qualified from the British School of Osteopathy (now called University College of Osteopathy) and went straight into studying post grad cranial osteopathy courses with the Sutherland Cranial College of Osteopathy (SCCO) and a diploma in women’s health in osteopathy with the Molinari Institute of Health from 2013-2015. This proved to be very formative, as I’ve gone on to specialise in ante and post natal issues for women. I continue to do regular courses with the SCCO, and this year am co-editing their yearly magazine.
I received my ITEC qualification in Sports massage in 2010, while studying osteopathy, and have been working as a sports and deep tissue massage therapist since then too. I’m registered with the General Osteopathic Council and am a member of the Institute of Osteopathy.
There’s a strong community of people supporting women’s health in East Dulwich, and since last year I’ve been part of a collective called Bloom, offering services such as yoga and hypnobirthing and providing regular talks for pregnant and post natal women (see Osteopathy - Useful links).
Since having Alexander techniques lessons when I was a teenager, which improved my mood as well as my posture, I’ve had an interest in mind/body interactions. This led me to do an introductory course in Process-Oriented psychology www.aamindell.net/process-work in 2017/18, where we looked particularly at how chronic physical symptoms relate to beliefs we hold about ourselves and emotions we don’t allow ourselves to feel. I’ve been interested in trauma work for many years and keep up to date with the latest research (see Osteopathy - Useful links) into how traumatic memories are held in our bodies. This puts osteopaths in a crucial position in the resolution of trauma, alongside psychologically based therapies, as we provide a safe space for the body to relax and develop resilience before other change can take place.
I’m passionate about working with people to look into why their symptoms may have developed in the first place and what small changes they can make in their lifestyle that can make a big difference to their experience of being in their body.
This passion, as well as a desire to get to know my own body better, led me to do a 2 year yoga teacher training between 2017 and 2019 https://www.vajrasatiyoga.co.uk . I can now offer people detailed advice on what kind of stretching and strengthening would help them, and offer classes too.
In the past few years I’ve also worked collaboratively with friends to put on workshops and events. The photo on the left is me leading a movement and yoga nidra session as part of a day workshop with Sounding Bodies Trio. It was a day focused on listening and how it can help us be better at being present to ourselves. Emmanuel Spinelli https://emalorienweb.webs.com started the day with a sound walk and Portia Winters https://portiawinters.com followed with a vocal workshop. I’m fascinated by what happens when we slow down and tune into our bodies. There is a world of helpful information waiting for us if we can get to that still but vibrant point in ourselves.