Clinical Neuropsychologist & Tai Ji Instructor
I bring two very different strands of training and experience together in a unique combination to offer a mind-body intervention for people with neurological conditions (see CV giles_neuroflow_cv_012017.docx). I am a chartered psychologist (British Psychological Society), registered with the Health Professions Council (HCPC) and the Tai Chi Union of Great Britain, have full DBS clearance and professional insurance as both a Tai Chi instructor and clinical neuropsychologist.
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Firstly, my core clinical professional training is as a clinical neuropsychologist. I have been working in neuro-rehabilitation for 17 years, including internationally-renowned services (the Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Cambridgeshire, and the Community Head Injury Service in Buckinghamshire, where I still work for most of the week). My clinical work has been dedicated to the development and adaptation of psychological therapies, cognitive rehabilitation strategies and community interventions for people with acquired neurological conditions. I have developed my knowledge and perspectives through nearly two decades of this work, and I hold a core assumption that the emotional support for people with neurological conditions be delivered in varied, creative and innovative ways.
I have written several journal articles, book chapters and books on this subject. I also am editor of the journal Neuro-Disability & Psychotherapy, dedicated to the development of differing psychotherapies for people with neurological conditions. I am an invited international keynote speaker and trainer, have supervised many junior colleagues during my career, received an award from the British Psychological Society Division of Neuropsychology, and sat on a range of advisory boards and committees.
Tai Chi Instructor
Secondly, I am a Tai Chi instructor. I have been a practitioner of martial arts for nearly two decades, but had a revelatory moment when I visited the misty forested slopes of Wudang mountains in central China. The peaks of these mountains are scattered with ancient Daoist temples and many claim Wudang to be the birthplace of Tai Chi itself. When I witnessed Daoist monks and nuns practicing Tai Chi as part of their health cultivation practices and spiritual devotions, I was deeply moved. My first visit to Wudang was in 2006 and since that trip I have developed my connection with the mountain and Daoism further with the passing of time. I returned to the mountain to study Tai Chi and Kung Fu with a Daoist priest and my initially-personal practice of Wudang martial arts developed to a point of teaching others. I have been undertaking a Wudang instructor training programme (2014-2017) and opened a Wudang martial arts school in Oxford in 2015, teaching in the evenings and some weekends alongside my clinical practice as a neuropsychologist.
During the same period of time I was interested to read studies of Tai Chi for people with neurological conditions in my professional neuro-rehabilitation literature. Although at an early stage, it has been encouraging to see evidence found for psychological benefits in addition to physical functioning gains for people with neurological conditions who practice Tai Chi. However I was also surprised at significant omissions and gaps in the way Tai Chi was being thought about and researched for this clinical group (read more).
These gaps prompted me to take steps towards delivering and researching Tai Chi with people with neurological conditions myself, developing the Neuro-Flow Group © approach that aims to remedy some of these limitations. Firstly, I have undertaken additional training (diploma) in Tai Chi for rehabilitation, which has equipped me with Tai Chi and Qi Gong movements that are accessible to people with disabilities and also strategies for adaptation in response to physical difficulties. Secondly, I have published my own theoretical papers on the topic in peer-reviewed journals and supported the dissemination of related research (see CV). Thirdly, I have applied for funding to support the research evaluation of Tai Chi for neurological conditions in the NHS, and have secured my first grant this year (2017), in partnership with the organisation Enrych. I and my rehabilitation colleagues and academic collaborators at Oxford Brookes University Department of Movement Science/Centre for Rehabilitation Research (link) will evaluate a pilot Tai Chi group for acquired brain injury at the Community Head Injury Service, Buckinghamshire.
I am very excited to also develop this personal venture and offer Neuro-Flow Groups © and individual sessions to people with neurological conditions in Oxford and the surrounding area. As this becomes an established community resource I hope to evaluate this specific approach systematically and develop a training programme to support the roll-out of similar groups in other areas. For now, this remains an exciting new approach to community support for people with neurological conditions, uniquely delivered by someone who is both a clinical neuropsychologist and Tai Chi instructor.
I bring two very different strands of training and experience together in a unique combination to offer a mind-body intervention for people with neurological conditions (see CV giles_neuroflow_cv_012017.docx). I am a chartered psychologist (British Psychological Society), registered with the Health Professions Council (HCPC) and the Tai Chi Union of Great Britain, have full DBS clearance and professional insurance as both a Tai Chi instructor and clinical neuropsychologist.
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Firstly, my core clinical professional training is as a clinical neuropsychologist. I have been working in neuro-rehabilitation for 17 years, including internationally-renowned services (the Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Cambridgeshire, and the Community Head Injury Service in Buckinghamshire, where I still work for most of the week). My clinical work has been dedicated to the development and adaptation of psychological therapies, cognitive rehabilitation strategies and community interventions for people with acquired neurological conditions. I have developed my knowledge and perspectives through nearly two decades of this work, and I hold a core assumption that the emotional support for people with neurological conditions be delivered in varied, creative and innovative ways.
I have written several journal articles, book chapters and books on this subject. I also am editor of the journal Neuro-Disability & Psychotherapy, dedicated to the development of differing psychotherapies for people with neurological conditions. I am an invited international keynote speaker and trainer, have supervised many junior colleagues during my career, received an award from the British Psychological Society Division of Neuropsychology, and sat on a range of advisory boards and committees.
Tai Chi Instructor
Secondly, I am a Tai Chi instructor. I have been a practitioner of martial arts for nearly two decades, but had a revelatory moment when I visited the misty forested slopes of Wudang mountains in central China. The peaks of these mountains are scattered with ancient Daoist temples and many claim Wudang to be the birthplace of Tai Chi itself. When I witnessed Daoist monks and nuns practicing Tai Chi as part of their health cultivation practices and spiritual devotions, I was deeply moved. My first visit to Wudang was in 2006 and since that trip I have developed my connection with the mountain and Daoism further with the passing of time. I returned to the mountain to study Tai Chi and Kung Fu with a Daoist priest and my initially-personal practice of Wudang martial arts developed to a point of teaching others. I have been undertaking a Wudang instructor training programme (2014-2017) and opened a Wudang martial arts school in Oxford in 2015, teaching in the evenings and some weekends alongside my clinical practice as a neuropsychologist.
During the same period of time I was interested to read studies of Tai Chi for people with neurological conditions in my professional neuro-rehabilitation literature. Although at an early stage, it has been encouraging to see evidence found for psychological benefits in addition to physical functioning gains for people with neurological conditions who practice Tai Chi. However I was also surprised at significant omissions and gaps in the way Tai Chi was being thought about and researched for this clinical group (read more).
These gaps prompted me to take steps towards delivering and researching Tai Chi with people with neurological conditions myself, developing the Neuro-Flow Group © approach that aims to remedy some of these limitations. Firstly, I have undertaken additional training (diploma) in Tai Chi for rehabilitation, which has equipped me with Tai Chi and Qi Gong movements that are accessible to people with disabilities and also strategies for adaptation in response to physical difficulties. Secondly, I have published my own theoretical papers on the topic in peer-reviewed journals and supported the dissemination of related research (see CV). Thirdly, I have applied for funding to support the research evaluation of Tai Chi for neurological conditions in the NHS, and have secured my first grant this year (2017), in partnership with the organisation Enrych. I and my rehabilitation colleagues and academic collaborators at Oxford Brookes University Department of Movement Science/Centre for Rehabilitation Research (link) will evaluate a pilot Tai Chi group for acquired brain injury at the Community Head Injury Service, Buckinghamshire.
I am very excited to also develop this personal venture and offer Neuro-Flow Groups © and individual sessions to people with neurological conditions in Oxford and the surrounding area. As this becomes an established community resource I hope to evaluate this specific approach systematically and develop a training programme to support the roll-out of similar groups in other areas. For now, this remains an exciting new approach to community support for people with neurological conditions, uniquely delivered by someone who is both a clinical neuropsychologist and Tai Chi instructor.
Find out more about me in this podcast:
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-neuro-clinic/giles-yeates-on-developing-2_HeDidK5vE/?_gl=1*p65gyu*_ga*YW1wLXBXWUtHRW9sbWptSW9mTnBVc0lGeHc.
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