SHEN therapy

Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield · Richard R. Pavek · 1978 · Sausalito, California

What it is

SHEN is a hands-on, clothed, very light-touch method developed by Richard R. Pavek, described by its organisations as an American scientist with a background in chemistry, electronics and aeronautics. The founding date is given differently: shentherapy.net says it was founded in 1978; the SHEN…

Format

• Single or regular sessions, planned one at a time, each recorded and reviewed (for interns, by a Mentor before the next session).
• Relaxation and orientation: early sessions let the client get used to the table, touch and the field sensations SHEN describes (warmth, tingling, deep relaxation, sometimes sleep). Move on when the client can rest under the hands and report sensations.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Session format. A session lasts about an hour. The client lies fully clothed on a padded table fitted with a SHEN "cradle", which lets the practitioner place hands above, beside and below the body. The extremities rest in relaxed positions. The work combines a verbal enquiry (emotional state, body sensations, pain, dreams, emotionally painful history), observation of breathing and tension, a planned series of paired…
• Course of work. SHEN calls itself a brief therapy: the number of sessions "depends on the level of distress" and is agreed with the client. It aims to avoid dependence. The certification programme recognises:
• Intensive series of about ten sessions for one client. In training these are allowed only after 100 counted sessions and with Mentor permission. Double sessions need Mentor permission and a break of at least 15 minutes.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the client feeling they are getting "less". Normalise the choice.
• startle, or rocking that feels intrusive or infantilising. Use only with clear consent.
• cumulative overwhelm, and dependency on the practitioner. Pause the series if functioning drops.
• spaciness, needing to drive soon after the session, and delayed emotional reactions over the next day or two.
• sessions drifting without a plan, and your own countertransference (attraction, rescuing, dependency), which the training names explicitly.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.