Responsible: Liv Helvik Skjærven, PT, PhD, Teacher in BBAM, Professor in Physiotherapy Emerita, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway; Master of Physiotherapy in BBAM, University of Almeria, Spain.
Fourteen highly motivated Physiotherapists from 11 Countries and four Continents participated in the four days Online International Introduction Course in BBAT April 19th – 22nd 2021, all through zoom-communication. The participants were from: United Arab Emirates, Germany, Hong Kong (2), Estonia (2), Singapore, Greece (2), Spain, US, UK, Denmark, Canada. See photo below, followed by a personal description from one of the course-participants. (26.04.21, lhs)
Reflection from BBAT Online Introductory Course April 2021
Angela Watson, Physiotherapy Team Lead, Leverndale Hospital, Glascow, Scotland.
Throughout my physiotherapy career I have worked in the specialty of Mental Health, largely focused within in-patient hospital care. I was very lucky in my earlier years within mental health to learn form some extremely experienced clinicians who had education in BBAT and attend a short introductory course. Before starting this course I hadn`t been part of any BBAT sessions for several years and the main aim for me was to refresh my knowledge.
I was initially worried about the course being online and how I would adapt to this as I have always practiced BBAT face-to-face, but I was pleasantly surprised how rich of a learning environment it was which is to the credit of Liv.
Each day began with theory in the form of a power-point, followed by practice in lying, sitting, standing and walking – in essence we are the patient. Personally, I found that I was only really able to understand the theory through practice and this course is very much about experiencing BBAT through self-practice. Finally, we all had an opportunity to feedback at the end of the each day, responding to: “How was this for you”?
The past year have been very difficult for me, both personally and professionally due to the challenge COVID has brought and I was grateful to have the opportunity to spend time on me. To try to put other distractions out of my mind and focus on how I connect to the ground, how I find the center of my body and how movements and sounds align my breathing in a way you are not initially conscious of. I learned how much preparation of the environment benefit my experience and it taught me the importance of inviting and guiding participation as opposed to instructing and directing. This allowed me to explore what I feel and how I move – after all I am the person who knows my best.
With the course being available online it allowed clinicians all over the world to come together every afternoon for 4 days, and it was the opportunity to spend some time on me. It was a valuable opportunity to listen to every ones` experiences of BBAT. This course won`t allow you to use BBAT with service users, but it is a great way to personally start exploring and practicing and to give you the opportunity to see if it is something you want to continue to learn though further education.
Glascow 21.04.2021
Angela Watson
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