ABOUT
Core Sentience is the essential ability to know things, reason with knowledge and an awareness of feelings and sensations.
OUR STORY
Our story began several years ago, meeting at a trauma training course. We connected instantly through our shared passion for our therapeutic work and also our frustration at the limitations experienced working with a one dimensional approach of talking therapy. People can only truly be understood from a holistic perspective, we are more than just a cluster of biological influences, behaviour or mental health symptoms.
Our mission is to deliver healing practices that work, can be easily understood and applied by everyone. We know that people have an innate wisdom for healing and we have combined our training, skills and 35 years of clinical experience to create Core Sentience.
ABOUT EMMA
I am Dr. Emma Cathcart, a Chartered Counselling Psychologist (CPsycol) The majority of my training centres around the integrative approach with a strong leaning towards Existential Phenomenological principles. My Doctoral thesis examined ‘The Experience of Womanhood in Addiction Recovery’. Since completing my Doctoral research I have worked in a variety of settings. These include abnormal bereavement, residential rehab for addiction and dual diagnosis, various specialties in GP medical practices, the education sector and private practice. I have also continued to obtain further specialist training in Trauma, including certifications in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), Sensorimotor therapy and NADA Ear Acupuncture.
I have trained in sound-healing, meditation, mindfulness, body and breathwork, and have also spent time connecting to the wisdom of indigenous communities in the Amazon and Andes. Collectively, these experiences have shaped my therapeutic practice into one grounded in human nature; the emphasis being on the uniqueness of our individual experiences and providing the tools to explore ourselves, both internally and in relation to the world around us.
ABOUT NICOLE
I am Nicole Bender, a Specialist Trauma Psychotherapist. I have worked in various settings including substance misuse charities, the criminal justice system, social services and mental health teams. I was a therapist with the Priory Group, working with the addictions treatment team supporting residential patients. I have a private practice and facilitate training and critical incident debriefing to many organisations.
My training was an integrative approach blending Humanistic, Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavior therapies. I went on to study, at the Sensorimotor Institute, working with Janina Fisher, one of the leading trauma psychologists. I gained specialist trauma training at the Naos Institute, further certifications in EMDR, Compassionate Inquiry with Dr Gabor Mate and I hold a Reiki Master certificate.
This combination of training and experience enables me to work holistically by creating a relationship that encourages for post traumatic growth.
THE SYSTEMS
Individuals often don’t understand the physiology at work that traps them in unhelpful cycles. We have created a model for understanding the Systems at play:
THE MIND SYSTEM
A new way of engaging with Mental Health that will give you an understanding of the difference between the Mind and the Brain.
Working with the different thought processes, memory functions and beliefs.
Identifying destructive conditioning, such as the stories that we tell ourselves, and making them transparent to enable change.
THE EMOTIONAL SYSTEM
Relearning the true function of human emotions and emotional language.
Mastering how to identify emotions and deduce the meaning.
Understanding the difference between beliefs and emotions determines if we are operating from the past or functioning in the present.
THE SENSORY SYSTEM
Understanding your nervous system and why ‘Regulation’ is essential to health, wellbeing and creativity.
Working with your dysregulated nervous system to tackle issues such as concentration, brain fog, indecision, panic, anxiety and depression.
THE BODY SYSTEM
Understanding the impact of stress and inflammation on the immune system. Damaging the body, internal organs, gut health and other physical conditions that suppress our life force.
Signposting key ways we tend to soothe externally for example with food, alcohol, caffeine and overworking.
Building resilience with our extensive resourcing techniques. Knowing how to make changes though behaviour, choice and action.