Bob has been working as a neuro-developmental therapist since 1994 when he completed his training with Steven Clarke at the Centre of Developmental Difficulties. He worked as Steven’s senior therapist until 1997, when he set up his own practice alongside an Osteopath in Windsor. Sadly, due to Steven’s sudden death, the Centre for Developmental Difficulties no longer exists and this has left only a handful of therapists using his dermal stimulation technique.
In 1997 Bob trained with Dr Peter Blythe at the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology (the INPP) in Chester. The INPP has been instrumental in creating a movement-based programme to inhibit primitive reflexes based on over 40 years of research.
Having seen the respective benefits and potential of the dermal stimulation technique and movement-based technique, Bob uses a combination of both as they can be used in different ways, enabling him to provide a programme best suited to each individual case.
In 1999, in order to further enhance the scope of his programme and better help children presenting with speech, language and auditory processing issues, Bob trained with Dr Kjeld Johansen in the use of his Hemisphere Specific Auditory Stimulation Programme.
Bob has worked with children and adults of all ages ranging from 10 months to 72 years. The children present with a range of behavioural , emotional, physiological and learning issues including anxiety, dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism, ADD , ADHD, OCD, tics, prolonged bedwetting, sensory issues and cerebral palsy.
Adults make up around 25% of Bob’s caseload. They have often learned to compensate for the effects of any retained primitive reflexes but find that as they’ve got older or life has become more stressful this has become harder to do. This can lead to issues such as nervousness and anxiety, feelings of overwhelm, indecisiveness, lack of confidence and low self-esteem – to name but a few. The excess adrenaline in their system may also have resulted in physical issues such as poor sleep, digestive and bowel issues.
Bob has trained several more therapists , one in the States, one in Athens and five based in the UK including Sarah Baker, Lucy Simmonds and Sandy Denyer who work alongside Bob in his Windsor practice.
I see clients at the clinic in Windsor on Friday mornings. I treat all ages and particularly enjoy meeting the younger visitors to the clinic! I have personal experience of neuro-developmental delay, as Bob Allen treated both of my children before my training began. This experience motivated me to change career and myself become a therapist for neuro-developmental delay. I completed my training with Bob in November 2017. In addition to treating clients in Windsor, I run my own treatment practice based in the Twickenham/Teddington area of London.
I am also studying part time for a BSc in Health Sciences. This has involved study of human biology, including study of the brain and nervous system, and the body’s stress response. It has also included elements of psychology and mental health.
In my previous career, I worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in the field of ultrafast laser physics. I was based at Imperial College London, where I gained a PhD in 2004. My research has been published in high profile research journals such as Science (2006) and Nature Photonics (2011) magazines. In the future I would love to use this experience to begin researching the dermal stimulation technique, with the aim of raising awareness of this important intervention within the medical and educational professions.
I see clients at the Windsor clinic on Wednesdays . I became interested in neuro-developmental therapy after Bob successfully treated my 3 teenage children. Having seen the profound effects of the therapy ( my daughter's story features in the documentary "Attention Please" ) , I was inspired to train with Bob in order to become a neuro-developmental therapist myself.
Having experienced first-hand the learning , emotional and behavioural difficulties children face if their primitive reflexes remain active, I am passionate about helping others overcome these issues and, better still, prevent them from arising by early diagnosis and treatment.
Through my own children, I have gained a good understanding of the many different facets of neuro-developmental delay , including the psychological implications it can have , especially in terms of mental health. Having taken my own family through the treatment process, I am able to use my own experience as a parent to guide and support others on this developmental journey. As well as treating clients in Windsor, I have my own treatment practice in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.
Before having my children I worked as a solicitor, initially in New Zealand and then in the City for 10 years. I gave up my legal career to be a full-time mum which I have found equally challenging but much more rewarding!
I have a BA(Hons) in Social Work (2007), a Masters in Delinquency and Social Intervention (2009) and a Post Qualifying Diploma/Bournemouth University (2010).
My experience in the social work field for the past 16 years has equipped me with strong abilities to empower and assist families and their children during what appeared to be insurmountable crises. I have gained an understanding of the unique challenges faced by families with children with disabilities and/or mental health and these experiences have ignited my passion to advocate for these individuals and enable their holistic well-being. I have provided counselling and assistance to equip them with skills so they can address the emotional, educational and social aspects of their disability and mental health difficulties.
I have completed training in counselling, neuro-linguistic programming, and life coaching to learn about the fundamentals of interaction and communication and to broaden my skills in working with families in crisis, childhood trauma, mental disorders and those entrenched in life difficulties and conflict. Always being in search of services and therapies to support the children in my work, I discovered Bob Allen’s unique intervention.I have also been on the programme myself, which has been revolutionary and life changing. I feel that nothing is holding me back anymore and I can fully use my unlocked potential, I am no longer hyperactive and hypersensitive and my reading, writing, and working memory are no longer impediments to my growth.
Following my own process, I was motivated to train with Bob. Part of this is because I have always been passionate about enabling individuals to have the best life they can have. But also, because I now have the answer as to why, despite many avenues and therapies/methods of intervention accessed by individuals, their difficulties persisted. My training with Bob Allen gave me a much deeper understanding of how to optimise functioning of the central nervous system and remove barriers caused by the retained primitive reflexes which prevent children from achieving in line with the potential they were born with. As well as treating clients in Windsor, I have my own practice in Portsmouth, Hampshire. For more information, please visit my website at www.theunlockclinic.co.uk
I see clients at the Windsor clinic on Wednesdays and Fridays . I am also a Johansen IAS provider. I first contacted Bob when my then six-year-old son began to struggle at his new school with behavioural issues and had also developed a tick. As we started the therapy for my son I soon realised that this is what I needed for myself also (the spinal reflex resonated), as I was widowed after 3 months since relocating from London for my son to attend a Steiner school. I intuitively felt that something on a physical level, rather than addressing my head with talking therapy could help me with the grieving process. I believed the therapy helped me through a very difficult time. My children and I began to settle into life and the teacher stopped talking to me daily about my son's misbehaviours. This was the main impetus for my training with Bob which was completed in 2016. It was a real transformational shift as besides a change of career path, my lifelong asthma has now also reduced to the point that the inhaler has become a thing of the past. I believe that these therapeutic inputs are ways to remove hindrances in one's journey through the path of life.
Besides working for another clinic, which is centrally located in London, I also work for myself from my home in west London on Saturdays. I have a background training in anthroposophy/Waldorf education (both lower school and early years)-an educational and therapeutic philosophy established by Rudolf Steiner - which has its base in human development. I had worked in the early years setting at the Steiner school that my children attended for 10 years and supported many parents as they began to grow with their families.