In The Loop

                                               THE SOURCE-POINT CALM CLINIC

One Year Pilot Scheme

 August 2010-August 2011

The Source-Point Clinic was a community initiative set up by Ken Hettiarachi and Ruth Solomon, two Shiatsu Health Professionals. They ran a pilot monthly CALM CLINIC for a year to provide hour long Shiatsu treatments for people with social anxiety and related medical conditions. These people were drawn from the Leading Light self-help community enterprise which trains and supports people who are finding it hard to cope.

The model that we used for the Clinic was an open “Holding” space for quiet listening treatment, sharing tea and refreshments together and with consideration and respect to one another.

This Calm Clinic proved to be really popular because those attending could use it as a basis for many other kinds of involvements both within the group and in their personal life.

HISTORY

The Source-Point Clinic was established by Ruth and Ken in August 2010

The Source-Point Calm Clinic began it's life in the Resource Centre, Holloway Road making use of office space kindly donated by the penrose Organisation in out-of-office hours. This was an arangement set up between Steve Light, ther flunder of Leading Light Community Enterprise Ltd and penrose. Since Source-point was also providing a service for leading Light we became involved in this way. We later moved to: 9 Manor Gardens and ran a successful fortnightly Clinic from this new premises that gave us more flexibility.

BACKGROUND:

*I got to know ken through working at Community Events with him and other therapists in Hackney and Islington.

*Both of us were employed by a Clinic which was funded to provide one-off "Taster" treatments at these local Events.

*Both ken and I were interested in setting up Clinics that would be on-going; that would respect the need to work thoroughly and over time to address issues that people come with.

*Open Clinics would be the preffered model where more than one therapist is working with different clients at the same time in a common space. Rather than seeing these "Public Clinics" as a "second best" or money saving device, we feel that they can generate a very special atmosphere. This attentive space creates a quality of engagement that is held together and valued by everyone and in which everyone is responsible. Another issue to take into consideration is that for many people, having a touch therapy such as Shiatsu is something they are doing for the first time. It is therefore reassuring for many to be in a commonly held space.

RESOURCES

1.Source-Point Clinic Introduction

2.Source-Point Token Exchange

This document outlines in more detail our idea for a Token Exchange System to ensure that people visiting our Clinic are entitled to a series of on-going treatments.