There are so many different “methodologies” that work with reflex integration. The best known in the UK are the INPP, RMT and MNRI. There’s also Padovan and dermal stimulation (brushing).
Which is “best”? Is there a “Gold Standard”? How do you choose who to go and see?
When I see people asking for recommendations for who to go and see, please remember that each therapist has their own merits, and it’s up to YOU who you go to.
Each method has its merits – some share movements/exercises, and some will work for one person and not another.
Ultimately, you/your child has to feel SAFE when they go to a session, and the session has to be tailored to the child. So, if a child is, for example, too exhausted to engage, a therapist who continues trying to work with the child may not really be for them. The best METHOD for your child is actually ANY of the above, as long as your child enjoys going to sessions and it doesn’t seem like hard work for you.
To me, personally, a real red flag is when I hear a therapist dismissing another therapist – or being possessive about their patch, which is something I’ve seen recently with some being rude (jealous?) about another methodology.
Recently, I sent an SSP client to a colleague who was geographically closer for regular RMT sessions. The client reported back that the therapist totally dismissed SSP – because I happen to know that this person doesn’t understand how it works – and tried to push another therapeutic listening programme, which works in a completely different way.
I asked Svetlana Robertson, a neuro-developmental therapist based in Bedfordshire, who has also worked extensively with her own family and has seen a variety of different practitioners specialising in a variety of modalities over the years, for her thoughts:
Another red flag is when your therapist can’t really answer your questions about how the therapy works and some ‘magic’ is promised, or it is said that things can be sorted out quickly. If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is… Trust your instincts and do your own research – there are no miracles, it always takes time to bring about profound change and any real success is down to commitment and working on the challenges consistently.
Svetlana Robertson – neuro-developmental therapist
My greatest advice is to DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. If you don’t click with a therapist on the phone, or even in a first session, you can always go elsewhere. Also, it’s important to understand that your therapist doesn’t know everything and shouldn’t be trying to advise you to take supplements, alter your diet etc unless they are QUALIFIED to do so. We are trained in bodywork to calm the nervous system, and that is where our boundaries should lie.
In my opinion, the method you use makes no difference – it’s how you work with your therapist – a very important relationship for success! I’ve had one client cancel THREE times on the day – is someone with that level of commitment simply wasting their money?
I work within various clinical settings and network with colleagues for this reason, as then I can suggest that people go to see someone else if need be. Sometimes, your child will need to bounce between various therapists in order to make progress – they may reach a plateau with one modality, then go and see an osteopath or do SSP or something else and suddenly make a leap, at which time you could go back to your original therapist or whatever feels best at the time.
From the point of view of a parent who has been on this journey myself, I personally avoid anyone who does a hard sell. That is why I am so dreadful at promoting my own work, because I simply cannot advertise myself – it feels wrong! Instead, I talk with enthusiasm about results I’ve seen – people either engage or they don’t. This is my way of “selling”, and ensures that people who want to engage with me because they like my persona will come to me.
It’s a JOURNEY – a labyrinthe, in fact, and one I have been on myself for six years now with my own family. It’s not a quick fix, and process of establishing and strengthening those new brain connections shouldn’t be either, when you consider the length of time that a person has been living with their inefficient brain wiring.
In my opinion, the method you use makes no difference – it’s how you work with your therapist – the most important relationship for success!
