English 🇬🇧 – VALERIE TATON

VALERIE TATON SOPHROLOGIST

Sophrology

What?

Sophrology is a brief, gentle, non-touch therapy which allows you to feel better daily, and to develop your potential, harmonizing your body and your mind.
It can be practiced for therapeutic purposes and/or for personal development. It can be used with many goals from well-being to supporting serious illnesses(*).
Sophrology is not a medicine, it does not cure, but it is an excellent method of support leading to well-being, helping in the management of symptoms.

Through body-mind exercices of controlled breathing, muscle relaxation, and visualization of positive images, you experience sensations, physically, mentally, and emotionally. You then become aware of your own power to improve a state of mind.
It is an effective tool to develop serenity, to know yourself better, to have a positive outlook on your life, to keep hope…

Sophrology, created in 1960 by the neuropsychiatrist Alfonso Caycedo, was inspired by neurology, hypnosis, psychoanalysis, relaxation, auto-suggestion, phenomenology, yoga, zen

(*)Sophrology is never a substitute for health professionals: it does not provide medical diagnosis or prescriptions, and never interferes with medical treatments or medical care.

For whom,
and why?

Sophrology is for anyone seeking to improve their lives, and to develop well-being and relaxation.
It works with different goals:

Improve your daily life, and get along with issues:
– manage stress, anxiety, overwhelming emotions
– regain well-being
– improve self-confidence, concentration, memory
– live your adolescence with serenity
– get back to a quality sleep
– live a fulfilling pregnancy

Optimize your potential for an event, live it in full possession of your abilities:
– driving license, exams
– sports competition, stage performance
– birth

Optimize medical treatments or psychological follow-ups⁽*⁾:
– depression, burn out
– chronic pain, physiotherapy rehabilitation
– cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer

⁽*⁾Sophrology supports and optimizes medical treatments, but in no way replaces them.

Manage pathological behaviors⁽**⁾:
– addictions
– phobias
– urges
– eating disorders

⁽**⁾Sophrology supports these behaviors only as a complement to medical/psychological care and does not replace it.

How?

This therapeutic method allows you to reach your goal in an average of 8 to 12 sessions, one per week.
Each session is personalized to meet your specific needs, using your personal resources.
You can also relax and feel better during one unique session, lasting about an hour.
The technique is simple, accessible to all and applicable to everyday life.

During each session, you learn to relax, to distance yourself from your overwhelming emotions, but also to focus on your feelings, using mind-body exercises based on controlled breathing (light retentions, more or less intense exhalations…), muscle relaxation (gentle tension, relaxation…), and positive visualization (mental suggestion, creation of images…).
Then, through moments of dialogue, you’ll feel free to express yourself on your sensations, and your feelings, in order to become aware of them.

Motivation and training are essential during a course in sophrology: a daily practice is necessary to integrate the techniques, and become completely independent in the management of your symptoms.

Sessions by appointment only – in France, at the office
Go to this page for more details (in French)

My background

I have always given a lot of importance to human beings and their well-being. Whether on a personal level (my husband, the education of our 3 children, my family), or in my relationships with others (socially, professionally…), my personal development has allowed me to evolve as an individual while remaining attentive to others.
Thus, during my life as an expatriate (22 years), I have naturally supported people with « everyday » problems: stress, self-confidence, parenthood, adaptation to a new life…

I discovered sophrology in Singapore, during a period of doubt and questioning. I learned to step back from overwhelming situations, and to appreciate the present moment. This path made me want to become a sophrologist, in order to have an effective and recognized therapeutic framework that I can use to continue supporting the ones in need.