Integrative Baby Therapy
What is Integrative Baby Therapy? Integrative Baby Therapy (IBT) acknowledges babies as sensitive and aware beings, who remember and are affected by their life in the womb as well as their birth experiences.
When Help is needed
Babies and children are very resilient and can often recover quickly from their experiences, but inconsolable crying, restlessness, colic, sleep and feeding problems can often be traced back to earlier issues that have not been resolved. These may be recognised by the IBT therapist as the baby displaying ‘Baby Body Language’, which parents or guardians are then supported to understand. We may identify ‘Memory Crying’ which can be differentiated from a ‘present moment needs cry’, such as hunger, tiredness or boredom. Based on decades of research in the field of pre and perinatal psychology, IBT helps babies to move through their earlier experiences that have not yet been integrated. Working with the inner impulses of the baby, IBT supports natural self-regulation, where this has been disturbed.
All work is strictly permission based, with parents and babies being consulted and informed throughout the sessions. At its core, IBT gives space for babies to ‘tell their story,’ and non-judgmental support is is offered so parents or guardians can also acknowledge their own feelings. This enables the family as a whole to settle and relate together at a deeper level than was previously possible.
IBT in practice
There are no specific age limits to IBT. Its principles are adaptive to include antenatal support for parents, work with newborns, infants and children of all ages. This may include using play and creative expression to uncover the underlying prenatal or birth story that is still active in the child’s psyche. It can also inform work with adolescents and adults. IBT recognises that our nervous systems carry the ‘imprints’ of our early experiences and that birth is a profound transition that will influence how we react in times of stress and transitions later on in life. This can include behavioural issues in children and difficult feelings or recurrent nightmares at any stage in life.
About Me
I am Joy, an Integrative Baby Therapy practitioner and former registered nurse and midwife. I started my nursing in 1984 and soon realised that it was the youngest and most vulnerable members of society who needed most care and understanding. I qualified as a registered midwife in 1990 and enjoyed working in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for a year before returning to nursing children in a residential care home.
I became a mother to my first son in 1993 after a complicated birth. I was so grateful to have my baby, but my baby screamed with ‘colic” for the first 3 months, and I suffered with postnatal depression for the first year of his life. I gained a certificate in counselling skills and a GCSE in child development in 1994, hoping to better understand my child. I had my second son in 1997 and really struggled to parent him because he had various health issues. I continued to work as a nurse and midwife for 37 years (21years as a midwife), in which time I specialised in caring for families who’d experienced difficult or traumatic experiences in their pregnancy, birth, or postnatal journeys. completed my Integrative baby therapy training with my teacher, Matthew Appleton in 2023. I have also completed the “My birth journey” course, and am currently studying “The templates of embodiment” which explores the conception journey.
Find out more about Matthew’s work here http://matthew-appleton.co.uk/
Work with Me
I work from The Sacred Birth Centre 90, The High Street, Glastonbury, Somerset. UK, BA6 9DZ, or from my home office in Glastonbury.
Appointments can be booked on Mondays and Tuesdays between midday and 5 PM, and Fridays between 10am and 2 PM
Sessions cost £70 an hour.
Book with me directly by emailing joy@birthjoy.co.uk or phone me on (+44) 07939 247462.
Further Resources
ICON have information and comfort measures suggestions https://iconcope.org/advice-for/parents/comforting-methods-can-help/
Help with crying babies https://www.cry-sis.org.uk/ Cry-sis Helpline – 0800 448 0737 – Lines open 7 days a week 9am – 10pm
The NSPCC also have great resources for parents https://www.nspcc.org.uk/advice-for-families/babies-and-crying/
Cranio sacral Therapy can be useful for babies and parents https://www.craniosacral.co.uk/about-cst/parents-children/ ask me about local practitioners
Karlton Terry – https://ktbabytherapy.com/
Association of pre and Perinatal psychology https://birthpsychology.com/resources/
IBT is taught in a number of countries and its graduates include obstetricians, nurses, midwives, doulas, psychotherapists, osteopaths, craniosacral therapists and other body-workers. Find more about Matthew Appleton’s training courses here https://conscious-embodiment.co.uk/