About Janine Mather
Experienced supervisor & body psychotherapist
The Inner Journey
Over forty years ago a psychic described her vision of my state of being at that time; She saw a beautiful ancient mosaic floor made of gold and vividly coloured glass tesserae that had been covered over with a black oily substance.
She could see that I had already managed to clean some of the black grunge off the edges of the floor but that there was much more effort to be made before the full beauty and richness of the design could be revealed.
This vision was a very accurate metaphor of what my journey through life has been.
As with so many people, my early life left me very wounded. There has had to be a long process of healing involving years of psychotherapy of different approaches. This experience means that I understand trauma and its impact on all aspects of our lives. I also understand what is needed to heal from it.
As well as psychotherapy there are other things that have greatly helped me; creative expression, bodywork and the connection with the natural world.
I have also been incredibly blessed with much spiritual guidance and grace. Although I am an elder now, the process of healing goes on. The Sufis call this “polishing the mirror”.
The Outer Journey
I was born in Canada and grew up in Toronto and Los Angeles. I went to The Ontario College of Art and spent most of my early adulthood as an artist and designer in theatre, film and television.
In 1987 I emigrated to the UK and met my spiritual teacher Mrs Irina Tweedie, beginning my journey on the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi path.
In the 1990’s I trained as a psychotherapist at the Chiron Centre For Body Psychotherapy in London, (an excellent training run by Bernd Eiden and Jochen Lude which has now closed) and began working in private practice first in London and then in Bristol and Somerset. For a few years I also worked part time for the NHS.
From 2009 to 2019 I was co-director of Fulcrum House, a psychotherapy centre in Bristol where I saw my clients, supervisees and hosted a weekly meditation group.
I now live in Somerset where I practice as a psychotherapist, tend my garden and continue my work as an artist.
The mandalas used on this website are my work.