Kefah Bates has worked in therapeutic environments for 10 years, but only in the last three years has she specialised in counselling and Energy Healing. In the last year she has formes her own practice – Healing Edinburgh.
Kefah offers energy healing; a gentle, non-invasive process which she believes helps to pinpoint and treat her clients’ issues. The Reporter caught up with her at home to chat about spirituality, inspiration and role models – while experiencing energy healing first hand…
Have you always worked in Edinburgh?
No I’m actually from the West Midlands. I’ve only been up here for just over six years, to be with my husband who has lived here for a long time. I worked at the Garvald Centre in Edinburgh, but the therapy there was usually in groups. I’ve always worked for other people, but now I have my own practice.
When did you start out with energy healing?
Well I’m in my mid-thirties now, but when I was 21 I was helping out when my sister was very sick in hospital, and all I wanted to do was touch her!
I didn’t know why as I had a very conventional upbringing, I just knew I had to do something. Interestingly there was a lady at the hospital who I explained this to, and she said she would show me some techniques – as you do! I was very open minded – I suppose I still am.
So she showed me some techniques which she told me to use on my sister every day along with good thoughts – for some reason I understood this. So I continued working with her for a while learning new things – one minute my brother would be sick, and then I’d do this thing and he’d say, “Okay! I’m fine!” It was so cool. As a child I was always very questioning, and I came into this without understanding it as most people do. Now I know a lot more about the energy body and healing as I’ve pursued it over the years and can put a science behind it.
What exactly is the “energy body”?
It’s something that’s outside of your body which penetrates through the whole body. Most people can’t see it. I won’t go into great detail because there’s a great science behind it – some people call it “aura”, some people call it the “energy body.” Conventionally everybody knows that energy is in everything, I just work with it. If there is a block in your energy field, it will manifest quite clearly in your body, mind and emotions.
How do you train for something like this?
In the last few years I started getting interested in it again and in training – at the start it was actually quite a scary thing for me – you do look odd when you’re doing this kind of work! I lacked the confidence to make this a career for myself to begin with but if you have this skill or gift, you cannot suppress that, especially when you see the results of it. I always needed a teacher but I never could find one. When I finally felt confident enough to find someone and tell them I had this gift, it was great because so many people out there do this work. It all starts with feeling things and that is how I work – I sense energy.
What does an energy healing entail?
A session might last an hour or two. I would begin by scanning somebody’s energy body, which could involve holding my hand over their body – I don’t necessarily have to touch them. You can’t do this work if you have a logical mind – you do have to be open as a practitioner. Once you learn to feel energy it tells you things as you can see it – that’s a progression due to training. You are taught to use certain senses that allow you to do this work. We only use a small percentage of our brain, the rest we are not utilising. This is one of those capacities that we have to develop as we are brought up to train our logical minds, not the metaphysical parts of who we are. On a level, I’m just scanning for blocks – I manipulate energy to cleanse and release whatever isn’t helping the client anymore. I also work with Chakra points – they’re like energy centres.
Do people understand this type of therapy?
It’s something that scares people which I do understand, but I cannot see anything that they are not ready to see. I see something that needs to be healed. People come to me with a range of different issues they want to address : back ache,neck ache, alcoholism, depression, grief, divorce, mental breakdowns. It empowers people to be who they want to be, without carrying emotional or physical baggage. A lot of people find that just being still is scary. I don’t care where people have come from, I will still show them the utmost respect and dignity. I would just tell people to give it a try.
How long have you been doing this professionally?
I’ve been practising for just under two years, but only set up practice in the last six months. Before I just did it for friends and family. I’ve been in therapeutic environments for 15 years, working with adults with learning disabilities, so I have a therapeutic background. In the last three years I channelled it into counselling and psychotherapy, but something was missing in that talking therapy. As I used energy healing in my personal life, I decided to bring the two concepts together. Some people have two or three sessions, some I see every week. It can be like a relaxation therapy, but it can also treat issues that people want to move on from.
You also mention spirituality on your website – what do you mean by this?
What I mean by spirituality is that there are many profound states of being. We know this because there are sciences in India and many other cultures that work with different states of consciousness, in order to connect with a higher being or part of ourselves.
As a business is this lucrative?
I have a very open attitude to the financial side of things. I don’t turn anyone away on account of the fact that they can’t afford it. We can do an exchange. If they don’t have money they may have skills that may help me instead of paying. I also offer concessions on my website for different incomes and financial statuses – but I obviously need a roof over my head. I am open to working with anybody who needs to be helped. I display clear categories of money on the web page and I leave it to people to pay what they can afford.
Is there anyone in the field who inspires you?
My teachers inspire me. I work with two practitioners in the local area who teach a particular form of energy work. Claudia Goncalves and Mark Halliday work at the Edinburgh Shamanic Centre and they teach energy healing. They inspire because of the commitment they have to the work. They inspire me to really just share what we know and not be worried about what others might think.
So what’s the next step for you professionally?
I want to eventually teach , to run workshops because I think it would be so great to have people understand – not through a book or words, but to actually experience it themselves. Anybody can do this. You couldn’t learn it at the drop of a hat, but it’s there.
**To book an appointment with Kefah or to simply find out more about Healing Edinburgh, click here.**
