For yourself and your family
Two short courses to take at home, in your own time. No background is needed, and for many people this is all they want.
See the introductory courses →
Training
Whether you're drawn to learn for yourself and those you love, to become a qualified practitioner, or to deepen the work you already do, there's a place to begin. Eight courses, all working with body, mind and spirit. The teaching reflects the work itself: without force, without urgency, and at a pace that lets the learning settle.
Where to begin
To qualify as a practitioner
One course, with its case studies and assessments, qualifies you to see clients. The other courses can follow when you are ready.
How qualifying works →After the Practitioner Training
Five further courses, taken in any order, each adding something for particular clients.
See the further courses →
No. 01 · For self and family
A way in for yourself, and those you care for.
Self-paced, online, with lifetime access. No prior background needed. There are also shorter guided releases to rest with, in the shop.
Introduction to Gentle Release Therapy
Ten softly guided learning days, four calming meditations (ten to fifty-three minutes, from gentle resets to deeper relaxation), and a printable Body Map you can follow along with. A simple introduction for yourself, your family, or anyone you care for. Many take this course just for themselves; others take it before training as a practitioner.
Find out more →Introduction to the Vagus Nerve
The first four points of the Gentle Release Vagus Nerve Protocol, taught self-paced. A simple, restorative way to support your own nervous system, and to share with children, partners, or loved ones at distance. Pairs naturally with the Introduction to Gentle Release Therapy.
Find out more →
No. 02 · Practitioner training
A full qualification, or a single-technique entry.
Two ways to bring Gentle Release into your practice. The Practitioner Training is the qualification course. The Spirit Points day is open to therapists from other backgrounds, once they have taken the Introduction course.
The qualification
Practitioner Training
From £595
Online via Zoom
From £695
In person · plus accommodation
Three and a quarter days, online via Zoom or in person at Ashlin Farm Barns in Lincolnshire. The qualification course that allows you to give a full Gentle Release Therapy treatment. Foundational Traditional Chinese Medicine, energy work on the chest and abdomen, cranial release, endocrine and lymphatic release, emotional trauma clearing, and an introduction to the vagus nerve work.
Find out more →The in-person retreat.
Lunches, evening meals, woodland walks, a swim spa, and your own en-suite room. The training is also a personal experience: practitioners receive what they need themselves, alongside the learning.
Accredited by the Federation of Holistic Therapists, the Association of Reflexologists, Thinktree, the Complementary Therapists Association, and the Complementary Medical Association. International students welcome.
"Helen teaches with such warmth and authenticity and with kind and gentle support throughout."
"Brilliantly put together, this course is one of the best I've done, and can be used both personally and professionally."
Accredited online and in person
Or, an entry course
Open to therapists from other backgrounds.
Spirit Points
The 12 Spirit Acupuncture Points sit at the older, quieter end of Chinese medicine, a small group of points held to work with the Shen, or spirit. The work is needle-free and uses intuitive touch. People often describe feeling lighter, clearer, and a little nearer to whatever they sense their own path to be. Prerequisite is the Introduction to Gentle Release Therapy course or the Practitioner Training. Healthcare professionals and qualified therapists can practise the work with clients; others are welcome to take it for personal development.
Accredited by the Federation of Holistic Therapists and Thinktree.
Find out more →
No. 03 · After the Practitioner Training
Further courses, when you're ready.
For anyone who has attended the Practitioner Training. You don't need to have qualified first.
Advanced Practitioner Training
The course for practitioners who have spent some time with the work and are ready to go deeper. Acu-Touch sits at the heart of it: over seventy-five acupuncture points, with point prescriptions for a range of conditions, woven into the Gentle Release framework. You'll spend time on what comes up most often in practice, including perimenopause and menopause, fertility and preparing for birth, along with the pelvic bowl and the cranial lift. For anyone who has attended the Practitioner Training.
Accredited by the Association of Reflexologists.
Find out more →Vagus Nerve
Co-created and co-taught with Sara Agnew. The vagus nerve is the main pathway of the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of us that knows how to settle. The training takes you through the full four-protocol Gentle Release Vagus Nerve treatment, grounded in Polyvagal Theory. Many clients find the experience feels equally settled either way, in person or at distance. For anyone who has attended the Practitioner Training.
Accredited by the Federation of Holistic Therapists and Thinktree.
Find out more →EnerQi Facial Rejuvenation
A 90-minute facial that brings together traditional Chinese facial techniques with the cranial release and abdominal organ release that already sit at the heart of your Gentle Release training. The work is intuitive rather than protocol-driven: you learn to read what each client's face and body is asking for on the day. For many practitioners, EnerQi becomes the way in for clients who would not have come for the deeper work alone. For anyone who has attended the Practitioner Training. Certification needs the case studies from both courses.
Accredited by the Federation of Holistic Therapists, the Complementary Therapists Association, and Thinktree.
Find out more →Ghost Points
The Thirteen Ghost Points of Sun Simiao, the seventh century physician. In our work they are held for those moments when someone has been knocked out of themselves, by a shock, by fear, by grief, and needs help to settle and feel like themselves again. The theory is pre-recorded, so the day itself is given over to giving and receiving the treatments. For anyone who has attended the Practitioner Training (you don't need to be qualified yet).
Booking is open, and the course comes with a CPD certificate.
Find out more →
Dates
When the next courses run.
Current dates for every practitioner training live on the course dates page.
See course dates →Prices for 2027.
Prices change on 1 January 2027. If you book any course with a deposit by 31 December 2026, you keep this year's price, whichever date you choose. This year's and next year's prices sit side by side on the Becoming a practitioner page, along with what is on offer if you go on to take all six practitioner courses.
See all prices →
No. 04 · Practitioner Community
A place to keep growing alongside others on the same path.
A three-tier annual membership offering directory listing, monthly Guided Gentle Release sessions, monthly Build My Business workshops, co-working mornings, and more. For qualified practitioners and current students.
From £25 per year
For qualified practitioners and current students
Connected
Directory listing and a quiet line back to the work.
Supported
Monthly Guided Gentle Release sessions, Build My Business workshops, co-working mornings and quarterly Lecture Days.
Seen
Everything in Supported, plus monthly newsletter wording, a social graphics library and an annual practitioner spotlight.
Find out more →
If cost is in the way.
If you would love to train and the cost is the only thing standing in the way, please take a look at the Scholarship Programme. Rolling applications, places assigned by need and availability, and three of the courses are now available by scholarship. Instalment arrangements and partial contributions are also welcome where helpful.
Read more about Scholarship →If this resonates, the individual course pages hold the detail of what is covered and who it is for. If you would like to talk anything through before deciding, you can reach me through the contact page.
