Profile

Bevis has been working in health care for thirty years. He graduated with honours and prizes from the British School of Osteopathy in 1986, after having studied clinical chemistry for three years, and was in private practice in Kent and London before moving to Bath in 1994, where he has been working in National Health GP clinics and privately at the Bath Natural Health Clinic. Now that his children are a little older, he is delighted to be able to find time to return to London and join the New Medicine Group.

Bevis has lectured at home and abroad in a variety of under-graduate and post-graduate subjects, mostly concerned with the psychological effects of osteopathy and therapeutic touch. He holds a masters degree in health-care philosophy, a post-graduate diploma in paediatric osteopathy, and has taught medical ethics for Bristol University's adult education programme.

He has published many articles in various osteopathic journals, and his book ?Touch and Emotion in Manual Therapy? (Churchill Livingstone 1999), a textbook for manual therapists, is required reading at many bodywork schools. It sets out to show the philosophical basis of osteopathy and explores deeply the effects of touching as a therapy in general.

Bevis is an internationally qualified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) Somatic Experiencing (SE). This is a therapeutic technique for helping with the physical and emotional symptoms caused by any traumatic event, and can be used alongside, or instead of osteopathy, as the occasion demands.

Bevis?s special interests are trauma resolution, psychosomatic illnesses and the osteopathic treatment of children. Perhaps his principal talent is as a diagnostician of as yet unexplained symptoms. He has a passion for building a thoroughly honest and frank relationship with his patients, and exploring those aspects of their lives to date that have led to the body?s cry for help.

There is increasing recognition of Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms (MUPS).

If we look at a list of medically unexplained symptoms, they tend to fall into three categories. One, disorders which modern medicine does not recognise. Two, so-called psychosomatic illness. Three, post-traumatic disorders. Very often, symptoms fall into two or all of these categories!

I would say that my expertise lies in the diagnosis of problems in these three categories. If I think I have the right skills to help, I?ll use a combination of Somatic Experiencing and Osteopathy. If not, I?ll refer you to one of my colleagues at the New Medicine Group who I?m sure has the skills to help you.

Therapy

• Osteopathy
• Cranial Osteopathy
• Paediatric Osteopathy
• Somatic Experiencing

“Every now and then you meet somebody who makes a difference. Bevis is one of those gifted people. His approach to osteopathy - and life in general – is inspiring. As CHEK practitioners and Strength and Conditioning Coaches, we have the pleasure of working with Bevis on a referral basis. This relationship is paramount for optimal results for our clients. His intuitive and thorough approach along with his phenomenal understanding of the body is brilliant. He really takes the time to understand the person and their needs. I cannot recommend Bevis highly enough.”

Charlotte Voller and Matt Pickard, Equipoise Health, Bath