Qualifications, training and experience
I began training in 1998, obtaining an HNC in Dance Movement Therapy Studies from Bristol-based organisation DanceVoice in 2001. To support safe exercise and to meet the needs of people diagnosed with osteoporosis and other conditions affecting their balance and susceptibility to falls, I subsequently trained as an OTAGO (chair-based) Exercise Programme Leader (Registered Exercise Professional (REPS) level 3 accredited). In January 2013, I also qualified as a Specialist Postural Stability Instructor (REPS level 4), which enables me to devise and lead individually tailored, adapted exercise programmes for those with health conditions including chronic pulmonary respiratory disease, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and more.
I'm an approved exercise instructor under the nationwide GP exercise referral scheme for the over 50s and specialise in working with this age group. I'm also a recommended exercise programme provider for Active Gloucestershire.
Other training
I continually strive to update and expand my knowledge of current practice in the areas of dance, movement and exercise and their relationship to health and wellbeing as well as safe, ethical and professional practice. Other courses I've undertaken since qualifying as a movement facilitator have included:
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Most recently (September 2020) I completed a Covid-19 awareness and preparedness training programme devised jointly by Chartered institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) and Sport England to enable me to minimise Covid risk to clients and myself when returning to venues in real life. This enables me to risk assess venues and activities and ensure that the processes and procedures I follow (eg cleaning of equipment and environment) meets or exceeds legal safety requirements.
Client base and experience
Over the past 18 years, I've helped a wide range of clients in various places; in addition to the ‘generally able’ adult population in the business and leisure industries, this has included individuals with physical, learning and mental health difficulties, young children in crèches and nurseries and retired people in sheltered housing and residential homes as well as the (temporarily) less mobile (i.e. those recuperating from illness, operations or injuries, those unused to exercise, women in the latter stages of pregnancy etc).
I'm an approved exercise instructor under the nationwide GP exercise referral scheme for the over 50s and specialise in working with this age group. I'm also a recommended exercise programme provider for Active Gloucestershire.
Other training
I continually strive to update and expand my knowledge of current practice in the areas of dance, movement and exercise and their relationship to health and wellbeing as well as safe, ethical and professional practice. Other courses I've undertaken since qualifying as a movement facilitator have included:
_
- Foundation for Community Dance (FCD) certified courses in "Movement for Health and Wellbeing" and "Working with Disability"
- Psychology of fear of falling and how to overcome it
- Updated Emergency First Aid training in the workplace (currently valid up to June 2024)
- Understanding Parkinson's certified course (for exercise and movement with awareness of this condition)
- Stage 1 Sherborne Developmental Movement programme (for working with people with special needs)
- "Motivate Me" training course in understanding the psychology of engaging people in exercise programmes and maintaining commitment
- 3-yr tutelage in Authentic Movement (a psychotherapeutic technique used to develop self-awareness through movement) with Senior Registered Dance Movement Therapist, Eilla Goldhahn, PhD
- Inclusivity Activity Programe training day in order to increase my awareness of and around individuals' personal movement abilities and to make my classes even more accessible to everyone
Most recently (September 2020) I completed a Covid-19 awareness and preparedness training programme devised jointly by Chartered institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) and Sport England to enable me to minimise Covid risk to clients and myself when returning to venues in real life. This enables me to risk assess venues and activities and ensure that the processes and procedures I follow (eg cleaning of equipment and environment) meets or exceeds legal safety requirements.
Client base and experience
Over the past 18 years, I've helped a wide range of clients in various places; in addition to the ‘generally able’ adult population in the business and leisure industries, this has included individuals with physical, learning and mental health difficulties, young children in crèches and nurseries and retired people in sheltered housing and residential homes as well as the (temporarily) less mobile (i.e. those recuperating from illness, operations or injuries, those unused to exercise, women in the latter stages of pregnancy etc).
Jo-Anne is a professional member of the Foundation for Community Dance (organisation has since been retitled People Dancing), with an appropriate level of Personal Liability Insurance cover.
