MAKEPEACE & MASSAGE
Helping individuals open their hearts & minds to understand & move beyond their pain, from a purpose built clinic space in West Hagbourne, South Oxfordshire
A trauma-informed blended manual therapy approach, that offers the
missing puzzle piece on pain:
Your tissues may have healed, and they can still hurt.
What are the steps out of Chronic Pain?
Healing from chronic pain is a tough, challenging path to undertake, especially when you're arriving after surgery(ies), & having been in pain for a long time.
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Most clients have seen many professionals before me, are often at their wits end, wondering whether anything can actually help.
I really understand, having been in the same position, seeking help & wondering if the promises being made were genuine.
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While I’ve helped people reduce or eliminate pain, I don’t make guarantees because care must be tailored to each individual.
Most of my clients see improvement in their pain, without pharmaceuticals, even in the first session.
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However, healing is complex, and other therapies may be needed along the way.
I try to connect you to wonderful talented therapists in other domains to support you in every aspect of health.
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This roadmap offers the key ingredients that come together at different moments to empower individuals in their own healing journey.
01 Listening to you
Stopping & taking the time to listen to your experiences is fundamental to healing. ​
The details you share—timing, location, and how it feels—reveal which tissues are involved, whether trauma is present, and if it's chronic or acute.
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So often chronic pain could have been avoided by this one step, the one step that matters, hearing someone's experience and knowing it to be truth.
Being able to share your whole story, with all its complexities, is the first step in lessening the weight of emotions (anxiety, fear, and grief, and so many other feelings) that arrive when we're hurt.
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This sets the tone of how all the other steps integrate.​​
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Listening to You
pathology
02 Identifying Musculoskeletal Causes
We determine whether a physical injury is still present to ensure your safety by identifying any signs requiring emergency care.
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Complementary care settings, often focus only on the causes of pain beyond physical injury, (from trauma or a triggered nervous system).
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My approach integrates both:
1. Pain from direct tissue damage & encouraging the tissues back to healthy movement & ease
2. The nervous system, stress, trauma, & emotional factors that contribute to pain.
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We're currently building resources to help you at home, condensed from research papers for common MSK conditions (arthritis, herniated disc etc)
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03 Exploring Pain Science Together
Understanding pain science is essential for healing. Pain isn't purely physical.
Studies show individuals can have severe injuries with little pain or minor injuries with intense pain.
"Pain is in the brain" oversimplifies this, leaving many feeling invalidated & gaslit.
Pain involves the entire body, including the immune, nervous, & other systems, & is shaped by factors like previous experiences, emotions, & subconscious responses.
As pain persists, the body becomes more sensitive to it, and produces more pain from less.
Effective treatment starts with listening & approaching pain with compassion & understanding.
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pain science
An embodied, blended approach prioritises your needs over specific techniques.
I’ve learned that true healing comes from being compassionately present with pain.
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A trauma-informed approach gently rewrites the body’s pain response reducing alarm.
It allows the body to find its own pace & release patterns on its own terms, instead of forcing.
A therapist embodies compassion in the way they listen, & hold the body
And enables us to shift our relationship to pain.
This approach combines all the science of which structures need help, with the embodiment of peace & healing.
When we create space for a body to be heard, this enables a body to heal within a new balanced state.
Healing isn’t just an intellectual process—it’s a way of being.
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04 Embodied Manual Therapy
embodied
treatment
Personally, I know how disempowering it feels to rely entirely on treatments while pain builds between sessions.
After your first appointment, you receive a detailed write-up of our findings, including physical, emotional, & social factors that contribute to pain.
This includes personalised self-care recommendations, whether stress reduction or simple stretches,
designed to empower you and keep progress going between sessions.
The goal is to create a plan that fits your needs, preferences, & lifestyle, so you feel in control of your healing. ​Even a cup of tea in a mindful moment can make a difference reducing stress.
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05 Empowerment At Home
empowerment
at
Home
Learning to be with pain takes time and isn't achieved in just one session.
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While significant pain relief is often felt after the first treatment repetition is key to deepening these positive changes in both the brain & body.
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The frequency of positive input (just like when pain started) is crucial in reducing pain.
Trauma-informed therapies like Cranio-Sacral treatment recognise how pain can become hardwired into the nervous and hormonal systems.
Most clients experience pain relief within 1-6 sessions, though long-term issues may take longer.
After your first appointment, you'll receive a personalized recommendation of the number of sessions needed, but this is always flexible, honouring your individual pace, time, and resources.
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06 Ongoing Support & Treatment
Ongoing
Treatment
I believe that being with pain with compassion is the key to overcoming it.
I begin with exercises like stretches, strengthening, & mobilisations to help injured areas reintegrate, but we always approach this with gentleness, never forcing or punishing the body.
I teach movement strategies that respect pain science, staying within pain-free ranges and gradually expanding movement range with patience & care.
Over time, this approach fosters self-compassion and mindfulness, helping us reconnect with our bodies amidst life’s distractions.
This not only prevents future pain but transforms how we handle stress & anxiety, guiding us toward deeper peace and happiness.
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07 Building Embodiment
Embodiment
Touch Based trauma-informed therapies, help address the effects of shock & trauma in the nervous & hormonal systems, often beyond what words can express.
These therapies complement talk therapy by opening the body to process past experiences.
For trauma, I recommend combining bodywork with trauma-informed psychotherapy.
With severe trauma (PTSD or abuse), collaboration with a psychotherapist is essential to ensure your safety. Healing from trauma is a deep journey.
I am dedicated to creating a safe, compassionate space for you, alongside a fully resourced team to support your care and well-being.
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I've carefully sought out amazing professionals in the movement, psychological, and embodied therapies.​ No one therapy can ever solve everything.
We have many sides of ourselves: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. I know where I fit in on a journey
& I'm excited to connect you with wonderful professionals who can take you further.
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08 Integrating Other Therapies That Resource Trauma & Pain
other
therapies
Healing is a deeply personal journey.
I believe it cultivates more compassionate, empathetic people.
Resilient, kind individuals can share their strength & understanding with others who are suffering.
Just as we learned about the spread of disease during COVID, kindness has its own ripple effect—one act can impact five others.
Let’s work together to create a more compassionate world, one that truly listens to those in pain and avoids the harm caused by dismissing their experiences.
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09 Let's help more people together
Resiliency
remember your journey is yours
These steps outline a journey, but please remember that healing is rarely linear. Some stages may be revisited. Progress looks different for each person.
We value listening & awareness of all the physical, emotional, & psychological factors that contribute to chronic pain; to create a personalised treatment plan tailored for you.
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This blended approach often includes manual therapy, movement, emotional release techniques, & mindfulness practices.
The aim is to co-create a healing environment addressing both the immediate & underlying causes of your pain.
Your treatment is as individual as you are, designed to evolve with you as your journey progresses.
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What remains constant is our commitment to adapting and refining your treatment to suit your evolving needs to create a path to lasting change.
We respect each individual’s choice of the journey you wish to embark upon.
My goal though is to give you the tools, empowerment & resiliency to know how to work with your body & have the knowledge & skill to be with the sensations that arise around pain, whether that’s during one or one hundred sessions.
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I try to deliver these results with the most ease, and least time input.
I take my role seriously and try to act with as much thought & personal ethics as possible, continuously updating what I am learning.
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If you resonate with this approach, and would like to work together, please drop me an email & let's get started.