Pesso Boyden System of Psychotherapy
Origin of Pesso Boyden Therapy
Pesso Boyden therapy (also known as PBSP, Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor) was created in the early 1960s by Albert Pesso and Diane Boyden. Al and Diane were working as choreographers and dance teachers in Boston, and were looking for approaches to help dancers overcome emotional blocks to movement. This work eventually developed into an integrated body psychotherapy incorporating psychodynamic and system-oriented aspects, as well as mindful awareness and a form of psychodrama.
Al Pesso's work significantly influenced development of several body-based psychotherapy methods and his students included Peter Levine (developer of Somatic Experiencing), Pat Ogden (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy), and Ron Kurtz (Hakomi), as well as Bessell van der Kolk, the author of The Body Keeps the Score.
Filling the gaps in our needs
Pesso Boyden method is one of the few therapies that can effectively help to fill the gaps in our early development, where some of our essential needs have not been satisfied consistently by our carers. Every baby arriving into the world and every child growing up has the need for the following: (1) Place - both physically safe, and somewhere where we can belong; (2) Nurture - both physical and emotional; (3) Support - both physical and emotional; (4) Protection from harm; (5) Appropriate Limits / Boundaries. Where these needs have not been consistently and appropriately met, we are likely to grow up with a sense of something missing, with emotional wounds and defences that limit our vitality, our ability to connect with others and to be fully ourselves.
The Ideal Parents
With Pesso Boyden therapy, we employ the archetypal figures of "Ideal Parents" to provide us with an embodied experience of what we needed in the past. This is best achieved through role play/psychodrama in a group, and is also possible in one-to-one sessions through the use of our imagination. In the Pesso Boyden method we do not aim to deny the reality of someone's history and do not 'rescript' actual memories of childhood, but provide an alternative experience which the client can remember, connect to and use as a resource.
You can listen to a conversation between Pesso Boyden facilitators Masha Bennett and Clara Charlesworth on this method and some of its benefits here.
'This is the only thing that works' - Bessel van der Kolk
One of the world's foremost trauma specialists Bessel van der Kolk himself is on record saying that the Pesso Boyden method is the only thing that works to heal trauma (in one of the videos recorded by NICAMB). Whilst this is likely to be quite an exaggeration on his part, as other methods also work at least some of the time for at least some people, this is a great endorsement of this way of working.
Bessel also talks about his experiences with this approach in Chapter 18 of his acclaimed book, The Body Keeps the Score.
Enquire about Pesso Boyden therapy
I am unable to take on individual new clients for regular sessions at the moment but may be available for occasional one-off Pesso Boyden therapy sessions, which cost £80 (concessions available if you are on low income).
Pesso Boyden evening group
The Pesso Boyden evening group at The Sand & Sound Centre started in October, and is now closed. To be put on the waiting list for t For more information please email masha@practicalhappiness.co.uk
Pesso Boyden weekend workshops
Most of our experiential Pesso Boyden workshops are offered at The Sand & Sound Centre in in Reddish, Stockport by me and my colleagues. Timings are 9.30am start, usually 6pm to 6.30pm finish, with a break for lunch; both days must be attended.
* Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th February - facilitated by Masha Bennett and Clara Charlesworth - at The Sand & Sound Centre, STOCKPORT
* Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th March - facilitated by Masha Bennett and Pete Joscelyne - at The Sand & Sound Centre, STOCKPORT
* Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th May - facilitated by Masha Bennett and Clara Charlesworth - NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE (venue to be confirmed)
Please note that these workshops are intense and we strongly recommend that you take at least a day or ideally two off work after the event and do not schedule any demanding appoints or tasks, to allow for rest and processing.
Workshop fees for 2025:
* Client participant (including your own 1 hour structure/session) - £250
* Observer participant (without your own session, but otherwise fully involved) - £125
A small number of concessionary places is available for those experiencing financial hardship.
PLEASE READ Booking Guidelines, Terms & Conditions for 2025
1. If you have not experienced Pesso Boyden therapy before, please complete the booking form at the bottom of this page and request a slot to talk with one of the facilitators over the phone or online, to ensure that this work is suitable for you, and to give you an opportunity to ask any questions. If it is agreed that you can have a place, payment details will be emailed to you. We reserve the right to refuse a place on the workshop if we feel it isn't appropriate for a person to be exploring the depth of this work at this time.
2. If you have previously attended one of our Pesso Boyden workshops and do not have any additional questions or concerns, please complete the booking form at the bottom of this page and payment details will be sent to you (please note that payment details for our Pesso Boyden events will be different in 2025, so do not send money to the account you have used in the past)
3. A deposit of £60 will secure your place. The deposit is not refundable but if you cancel more than one month before the workshop, it may be partially transferrable to another date at our discretion - £25 admin fee will be charged in that case.4. The balance of the workshop fee is payable at least one month before the start of the workshop and after that is not refundable for any reason. We realise this may seem harsh in comparison to our previous more flexible approach - but given the amount of work, time and energy that we have to put into organising, marketing and facilitating these events, short-notice cancellations would make our Pesso Boyden workshops unsustainable unless we do charge for them.
5. If, on a very rare occasion, we have to cancel a workshop your deposit/fee will be refunded in full. Unfortunately we would not be able to compensate you for any accommodation or travel expenses incurred in connection with the workshop.
To express interest in one of the workshops and to receive further information, use the booking form at the bottom of this page.
Feedback from previous participants
'The whole weekend was collaborative, respectful and accepting of our humanity and we all had lesser or greater roles to play in the work. It's hard to summarise the process, but I would describe it as a way of defusing the painful aspects of past experiences and infusing what should have been present in a powerful and moving way.'
'I’m feeling like the big hole in my soul has been filled... Dropping away from unecessaries so easily, no guilt. Withdrawing more to my sacred space to replenish. Thank you all for the amazing experience and support.'
'I don’t find it easy allowing myself to be vulnerable in front of others, but being able to release in a very safe place with a lot of support from my fellow participants and two highly skilled facilitators helped a lot.'
'The weekend opened my eyes to the realm of possibilities on a professional and personal level that Pesso Boyden can provide. The possibilities of healing, repair, and a sense of hope, even if these possibilities were not present in childhood. Facilitators, skilfully, with deep passion and compassion enabled the method to do what it needed to do for all involved. The processing of the weekend is still continuing!!! At the same time, I am left with a sense of deep gratitude and wonder in witnessing human nature at its best.'
'Creation of my compassionate self:
Even though I have tried hard to develop a compassionate mind for myself, it has always eluded me. I could create an image of a compassionate figure but I could not relate to it. Despite having wonderfully kind and compassionate people in my life, my relationship with myself was not compassionate.
My Pesso Boyden experience gave me a profound and new felt experience of an accepting, compassionate and loving other. This embodied felt experience has allowed me to create my own self-compassion. I don’t need to strive or search for it, it comes with ease. Now, it just is.
This is a new internal world for me, and it brings a sense of safety and comfort inside me that I had not known before.
I am approaching sixty, this has been a life long search for me. This is such a wonder. I am so grateful to the facilitators and the incredible group of people I experienced this transformation with.'
'I feel such a joyful and deep inner change, a new wholeness, lack of toxic shame, a (near?) disappearance of any neediness, and an excitement about/energy and joy of life and about Pesso. I am reaching out to others so much more. It is like a light has been switched on that erases old shadows.'
About your Pesso Boyden therapists
Masha Bennett
Masha Bennett is the founder of The Sand & Sound Centre and is a creative trauma psychotherapist. She works with adults and children, and has previously worked in the NHS, addiction treatment services and criminal justice system. She offers regular Pesso Boyden Experiential weekends, co-facilitated with Clara or Pete, as well as the closed evening group. You can find out more about Masha here and read her article on some of her own experiences of Pesso Boyden work here.
Clara Charlesworth
Clara is a qualified Psychosynthesis counsellor as well as a professional musician. She offers therapy 1:1 both face-to-face in Suffolk and online, as well as co-facilitating Pesso Boyden groups at The Sand & Sound Centre in Stockport and in London. Clara has a specialist interest in offering therapeutic support to musicians, and also offers flute journey meditations. You can find out more about Clara here.
Pete Joscelyne
Pete is a qualified counsellor and Pesso Boyden therapist who works in
private practice in Devon. He is also a registered Children's Social
Worker. Pete works 1:1 with clients in person and online, and also
facilitates Pesso Boyden therapy groups at The Sand & Sound Centre in Stockport, as well as in Devon. Pete is a father of three, loves the outdoors and is a keen sailor. You can find out more about Pete here.