Janice Filer, Ph.D. is dedicated to maximizing the abilities of all people with and without disabilities through the medium of movement.
In my work in the field of therapy and education, I combine person-centered practice, research, and training with writing.
I am an Early Years and Primary Specialist/Consultant with over forty year's experience in the field of outdoor physical education, and dance/ movement therapy. I started my career as a secondary PE teacher and after my five children were born I retrained as a nursery teacher, becoming a SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) and Early Year's Consultant. This work included securing on-going grants for Action Research and setting up a multi-agency project to meet the needs of vulnerable families not accessing other agencies.
I have worked in the 'helping' professions for over forty years, primarily with women and children with particular expertise in Attachment and continue to work mostly with women as a counsellor.
I am currently working in private consultancy and for a local authority offering children, families, and adults one on one support, group work, parenting, coaching, supervision, mentoring and professional training through my Developmental Movement Therapy and courses.
Jan Filer Developmental Movement Therapy and Courses
I combine therapy, supervision, consultancy, research, writing, and training in the fields of education and therapy. My work takes place across voluntary and statutory organizations. As an international speaker, I have presented workshops and seminars in Norway and Sweden as well as throughout the UK. I am a published author since the end of the 1980s in specialist educational journals and have written several books. Information about some of them can be found on the PUBLICATIONS page. My published books are based on my practice and research with children in educational settings and with clients where the focus is working with families experiencing social exclusion and marginalization, and relationship issues due to complex trauma and loss, DVA and attachment disorders. I manage a small parent support project that has continued to be supported by charitable funding since the end of the 90s, I am trained to facilitate many parent group work projects including The Incredible Years Parent Child Series, Mellow parenting and Mellow Babies and The Freedom Programme as part of my work with the North Bristol Domestic Abuse Forum (NBDAF/BAVA).
My work may look diverse but it all feels inter-connected to me because although I channel my drive into helping individuals in emotional distress in my therapy practice, I am also drawn into wanting social change. To me, the two cannot be separated and I tackle my work through the channels I know best from experience.
Safe touch
In my work, I aim to help people develop confidence, self-esteem and self-worth. I use touch as a means of communication to enable participants to achieve a deeper understanding of each other's thoughts and feelings alongside providing a means to release pent up emotions and stress.
Living from my soul
Central to all my work is the underlying philosophy of person-centered values based upon the need to feel at home in our own bodies and to be able to make relationships with others. First and foremost is the importance of family to me. My role as mother to five very special, beautifully grown-up children and grandmother to three equally special and beautiful grandchildren has enriched everything I do. They teach me so much and enable me to grow intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. My relationship with them all has provided me with so many precious resources that have enriched both my life and work. Seeing the world through a child's eyes three times over is pure joy.
The future is my motivation because It's never too late to create memories for life ....
