CIRCUS PSYCHOLOGY
Photographer Credit:
Nick Gregan
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Katy (Kartwheel) Coleman, BSc, GMBPSs, graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2022 with first-class psychology degree, and completed a 10 week course in Mindful Self Compassion in 2023, studying part-time alongside running Katy Kartwheel's Circus Passion, Katy's interest in psychology began whilst operating as a Carer for family members suffering with mental health disorders. With this lived experience, she was determined to become a better carer and more rounded in her circus teaching to students identifying with mental health difficulties.
Katy volunteers with Wycombe Mind, gaining formal experience in the mental health field whilst exploring techniques to bring the therapeutic benefits of circus to people who experience a myriad of serious mental health concerns. Katy is currently studying Holistic Circus Therapy (HCT) with HCT LLC, which combines the benefits of circus and occupational therapy to increase coordination, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, perseverance, fitness, strength, and interdependence for individuals and communities across various populations. Katy is a member of the British Psychological Society and therefore conforms to their ethical standards. |
MENTAL HEALTH STAFF: WELLBEING DAYS
Katy is proud to have provided circus workshops for staff wellbeing days with NHS Bucks Talking Therapies and Bucks County Council Social Services, giving time out for staff at the frontline of vital mental health services.
I wanted to just send an email with a huge thanks for coming on Friday. I have heard such positive feedback from the circus skills and how fun it was! Thank you for all your hard work and for teaching our staff something new and exciting! I really wish I could have joined in. I apologise I couldn’t catch you at the end to thank you personally, it was a bit hectic getting everyone out of the school.
Saskia, Wellbeing Lead, NHS Bucks Talking Therapies
THERAPEUTIC CIRCUS SKILLS: WITH THE ELDERLY
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Katy has worked in numerous Care Homes for the elderly, bringing a mix of circus performance, interactive circus skills and music. The circus sessions are suitable for the elderly with a variety of needs including: dementia, limited physical mobility, loss of hearing and sight and low self esteem. The aim of the sessions are to bring colour, joy and fun into their world with music and performance from their era, and achievable circus skills to boost their sense of mastery over their environment. Below is feedback after a circus session at an Elderly Care Centre in Kenya:
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Good Morning,
We have not met but my mother Lizzie is a resident at the LDC in Nanyuki Cottage Hospital. The videos of your visit last week were shared with me by the team there. I just wanted to reach out to you personally to thank you for the time you took with the residents there. I cannot begin to tell you what an incredible impact your visit had. Mum has a very aggressive form of dementia and she has no recollection of anything that has happened after about 15mins. When I spoke with her this morning about her valentines week as usual she had no recollection of the dancing and singing on valentines day, the day at the swimming pool with one of her oldest friends or the lovely valentines lunch with a special girlfriend. However as soon as I mentioned your visit she instantly began telling me how amazing it was, the dancing the scarves and the spinning plates! It is very very seldom a connection like this is still made in her mind and so special when it does still happen.
Thank you. Kerry Outram
THERAPEUTIC CIRCUS SKILLS: FOR ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS
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Katy has a private home studio where she gives 1:1 sessions to adolescents and adults who may suffer from mental health concerns. These sessions are tailored to the clients goals and needs. Katy teaches the client to use a compassionate inner voice, incorporating mindfulness into the sessions, whilst working on their physical strength, flexibility and technique. This way, the client gets the benefit of both a physical and mental boost at the same time. This embedding of learning is a breath of fresh air for those who struggle to sit in a therapists chair and love to move their bodies.
Please note: Katy is a psychologist still in training and not yet HCPC registered. Her sessions are intended to work alongside and promote engagement in registered talking therapies offered by CAMHS or Adult Mental Health Teams. |
My daughter has suffered with mental health, eating disorder, depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation since 2017. She received support from countless professionals (CAMHS, School and Children’s Services) for over 3 years however she was unable to engage with any of them as no one actually ‘understood her’, or ‘got her’. It was all very textbook driven. Sitting in a room being asked ‘and how are you today?’, ‘why do you feel like that?’, ‘what do you think would make you feel better?’ just did not work. Our daughter didn’t know why she felt the way she did or know what she wanted to achieve by her actions and sometimes the result of her actions was not even what she wanted for herself!
In January 2021 we got in touch with Katy as our daughter expressed an interest in getting back on the trapeze and had signed up to a full time Intensive Foundation Course in Circus Arts in London starting in August, and could Katy get her circus ready. Having given Katy a full run down of her background, she agreed to having some 1:1 training sessions but would also see if she could help her have a purpose in life.
Katy had a totally different approach to any of the other professionals we had used. Katy spent time getting to understand her, finding out how she operated, listening to her and over time our daughter began to trust and open up and bond with Katy. Katy helped our daughter have a sense of belonging and learn how to express herself in different ways using lots of different techniques. She worked on breathing techniques and how to cope with panic and anxiety, how to approach with confidence so others felt at ease and she felt empowered, they did meditation, had real in depth discussions about self-consciousness and lack of motivation, explored signature strengths and recognized what achievements she was actually making. Katy was able to reflect back to her the situations and emotions she could see more deeply once our daughter started to open up. She motivated her and gave her the confidence to ask for help and how it was ok, to not be ok and that it wasn’t the end of the world.
Katy has been a constant support over the last year and a half. Through the love of circus arts and the extreme talents and caring nature from Katy, our daughter has found a way to express herself, have a sense of belonging and be happy just being her. Positive choices lead to more positive choices, strength to more strength and so the same with self-esteem, self-respect, everything she wants she knows she can be. She just has to make the best choices.
KATY'S CIRCUS-RELATED PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Katy is currently researching the therapeutic benefits of circus and will publish her essay on here once this is complete.
Below is Katy's relevant research work completed during her degree which can be downloaded.
Below is Katy's relevant research work completed during her degree which can be downloaded.
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Passion and Purpose in Circus Artists: A Multifaceted System Revealed Using Mixed Methods (2022)
Final dissertation study interviewing eight professional circus artists, investigating the role of passion and purpose in becoming, and maintaining a career as, a freelance circus artist. |
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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (2022)
An essay investigating the empathizing-systemizing model of ASD and whether it successfully captures ASDs diagnostic criteria |
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Bipolar Type 1 Disorder (2021)
Case formulation and treatment for a case of bipolar type 1 disorder. |
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Fulfilling Life's Purpose: Persistence in Diverse Athletic Activities (2020)
Qualitative interviews with a professional circus artist, martial artist and dancer, investigating what drives persistence in their careers |
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What Is Personality? (2020)
An essay researching how personality is explained by different theories and ultimately how we seek to explain a person |
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Sport and Exercise Psychology (2019)
Essay about the need for expert knowledge of sports psychology to be a competent athletic coach |
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Sport Injury Recovery: Comparing Aerialists and Netball Players (2019)
Questionnaire study investigating psychological factors affecting recovery time in athletes: comparisons between aerial circus performers and netball players |
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