Testimonials

A reflection on personal experiences of Rosen Method Bodywork



It is now several months since my sessions of Rosen Method with Debbie Fildew and a good time to reflect on how I felt about the treatment at the time and any lasting effect it may have had.

At the time I attended the Hospice, I had experience of body massage as both a client and a practitioner but Rosen was new to me. I was given information about the approach and offered a series of sessions.

It was only after two or three sessions that I realised how tense I had been initially and started to feel that perhaps some of the tension was fading. I had been experiencing a lot of unexplained back pain and extreme fatigue. It's difficult not to feel tension and stress when you've been dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. After a couple of years of hospital visits and constant medication it was good to have access to something that treated the real "me" inside it all.

During the sessions, I found that along with the stress of the diagnosis and treatment, other things were rising to the surface - or had been lurking undetected, probably for years!
Debbie's treatment created an extraordinarily calming and relaxing feeling, even at times when emotions of past fear and anxiety were being released. I cried a lot, especially during the first few sessions, but this diminished and I laughed increasingly. I don't know why I was surprised to find it such a spiritual experience. There were moments that were truly uplifting and I experienced feelings comparable to those that arise in the silence of a Quaker meeting.

Debbie worked with my mind and body in a way that was subtle and didn't feel at all intrusive, to find someone inside that I had been scared to acknowledge was there. It was a huge learning curve for me and immensely rewarding. The changing focus on different areas of my body was a revelation, I was fascinated by both the method of working and the results. Thoughts and emotions seemed to come out of the ether and being able to express and explain some of these was a great release.

Sometime later, I am still feeling the benefits. I'm generally much calmer and more confident than I was. The back pain that was so excruciating has been almost extinct for months and tension is something that now relates to my knitting rather than my body!
It seems crazy at my age, but it's such a relief to finally realise that it's truly ok to just be me and not have to fulfill the expectations of anyone else. I've been doing things I enjoy especially botanical drawing. It's a bit of a visual version of Rosen where I both find and lose myself simultaneously.....

So three cheers for Marion Rosen who worked it all out and Debbie who treated me.

M.H - Cheltenham


A friend of mine spoke enthusiastically about her Rosen sessions with Debbie and that interested me. I'd been suffering from chronic back pain and related depression for three years since having a fall and had also been under immense stress for many years. The hope of finding some relief was very exciting. I was already a firm believer in the body reflecting what goes on within us emotionally and mentally so what I heard about Rosen Method seemed to offer me a way forward.

I suppose, if I'm honest, I was looking for a miraculous one-session cure of my back pain but for me, it's proving to be more of an unfolding on multiple levels. Yes my back pain is improving but what is even more wonderful is how much more energized and happy I am. I can feel myself coming alive again.

Debbie has a gentle, loving, peaceful way with her. She is full of interest, curiosity and acceptance. With her light physical touch and care I feel accompanied on a journey of exploration into who I am now, who I have been and who I have the potential to become. Painful memories have arisen during (and sometimes after) treatments which have expressed themselves and been released in different ways. That hasn't been comfortable, but each time that has happened, I've felt more spacious and lighter within myself. Joyful memories and feelings are arising now that I haven't felt for a long time. And I notice that I am responding to life situations in a much more positive and less fearful way.

In summary, my experience is that the combination of Debbie and Rosen Method is having a transformative effect on my whole life, not just easing my back pain.
I am immensely grateful for it.

​Judy - Cheltenham


Rosen sessions with Debbie have allowed me to reconnect with myself and my body in the most profound and organic way. Debbie's oh so gentle yet strong and grounded presence has created a level of safety for me which I have long craved but never knew possible.

Memories and experiences bubble up to the surface as the ebb and flow of my body seems to instruct Debbie's hands. Her natural and "listening" touch almost feels like an extension of my own body which is for me what sets Rosen above any other form of "hands on" method I have personally experienced. I am seeing how my mind, body and emotions know how to heal by design; I just need the "right" kind of holding and support.

As tensions and memories release, I find myself crying tears that have so long begged for expression. I find myself sharing memories and feelings as they effortlessly dislodge from their hiding places. As these long forgotten parts of myself show up I feel a tremendous sense of tender reconnection to myself and with that, the relief and certainty that I don't need to look anywhere but deeply within for that true connection. Even the most traumatic of memories seem to find their way out into the care and safety of both my own and Debbie's presence. The process feels miraculous and at the same time so completely natural.......

As energy moves and releases, I find that I have access to a wonderful and untapped amount of energy, insight and love which feels to be my natural birthright. A new lease of life is on my horizon at last......

C.P - Bristol



I love the Rosen approach; it's reached depths and helped me heal in ways years of searching among therapies and spiritual practices simply hasn't. My hyperactive monkey-mind is quieted and the truth I hold in my body given permission to be. I cannot convey in words how profound and powerful a blessing that is. I can say that tears stand in my eyes with heart-felt gratitude.

Debbie has a very gentle and perceptive touch with a knack for noticing exactly the right thing at the right time. I trust her and feel safe with her. That is the one thing I value above all else. It makes it so much easier to see, release and heal my pain. I am so glad I found her....easily enough to warrant the hour long drive to and from each session.

A. B - Bristol


I was introduced to Debbie and the Rosen Method Bodywork by first having a taster session. I knew I needed to work at a deeper level on my sense of being disconnected from myself and my struggle with not being able to recognize my emotions and express them. The sexual abuse I have experienced in my childhood and in my past relationship had silenced me and I felt like it had captured my mind and body preventing me from forming an emotional connection with anyone around me.

I have had counselling in the past and through this I have learnt to consciously understand that I has disassociated from certain aspects of my experience as a safety mechanism and in order to survive, however I found that I still wasn't really able to feel any emotion.

Debbie is very warm and gentle in her approach and even in my first session with her I was amazed by how intuitive and in tune she was with what my body was showing her. Debbie is incredibly supportive and holding and I have felt safe and encouraged to explore and connect with the different emotions I have bottled up inside. I have found that after a few sessions with her I am beginning to sense more of my body and to learn to stay with what I'm feeling, there is no expectation or judgment around what I can or can't feel which is so refreshing.

I was always so terrified of touch and had only experienced it as a form of abuse or violence, I would go out of my way to avoid it at all costs, but through the sessions I have discovered safe and healing touch and my fears about it have subsided.

Debbie has steadily brought into my awareness how my body and mind react to touch and she has encouraged me to verbalize how it makes me feel. When I have struggled to formulate what I'm feeling she has been able to instinctively name it and acknowledge it which has given me back a sense of myself again.

I have found the sessions to be a truly spiritual experience and I am already feeling lighter and more joyful.
I can't thank Debbie enough and I'm looking forward to continuing this work with her, for the first time I'm really excited about what the future holds and what possibilities and opportunities lie ahead!

L.T - Stroud 


Having thought about the last few years working with you Debbie, there is so much to say it's hard to get into words but most of all thank you for everything you have given me. I've learnt so much about myself and how much my body and mind have been holding onto emotion. In the early sessions I was so cautious and my body began to react to touch in ways that I didn't fully understand but gradually I was able to see how my body had held and why it had held.

In the early sessions and for quite a while I discovered that my body and mind had held so tightly and that it had numbed out many parts. I discovered that I was mostly in my head just carrying on day to day not really noticing any part of me. Gradually and with your support I began to notice my breath entering different muscles and what they felt like which was a whole new thing to me.

I felt your presence and a sense of you being with me, beside me in this and I've never experienced that before. There was this curiosity, gentleness and assurance but also real solid strength that never wavered even though I myself was at times really scared of what was there and scared to allow it to surface. I was initially ashamed to share these emotions and I was battling against keeping it in and keeping it down but slowly I've felt my emotions come to the surface and it was your steady presence that encouraged me to feel emotion and to to describe its texture, its colour and I gradually allowed it to surface and I felt real tears and I could cry. 

Each time I was amazed that I could get closer to the edge of what I was feeling and that I was able to tolerate the feeling more and more. I found an amazing sense of safety and trust as well as an acceptance of myself and my journey.

I have felt over time that I am beginning to open up to myself, my family and friends. I feel a sense of space within and I no longer have the knotted tummy and tight holding that I was so used to, I feel like I can just breathe and it feels softer and more reachable.

I really want to thank you so much for keeping the faith and encouraging me to go within, closer to the edge and see that I am ok!

I am looking forward to coming back and discovering more.....

​L.T - Stroud

”I came across Rosen Method by a chance comment in a book I was reading and it was without doubt a lucky find! 
The method is groundbreaking but beautifully simple and from my professional background it makes a lot of sense. 
Any technique is only as good as the person using it and in Debbie it has a highly skilled, sensitive and caring person who doesn’t let her obvious professionalism get in the way of her humanity.
While I am still early on in my Rosen journey, my body, mind and emotions are more relaxed and I am more connected and balanced.
I couldn’t recommend Debbie highly enough!”

K.B. - Stroud


”Having sessions with Debbie is like being touched by an angel.”

​L.S - Cheltenham