NB: Firstly, what experience did you have that enabled you both to offer Wellness treatment in the first place and is there such a thing as a typical client? 

Alex: When Lucy and I met, we had experienced years of addictions and mental health issues including disordered eating and relational issues. We identified that healing is not just one linear method which typically can be psychologically related - we realised it is an entire body mind and spirit approach that is so needed. This finally brought us to developing Silva Wellness [1] which combines spiritual healing, psychological healing and also healing definitely needed in the body. Our clients typically struggle with mental health issues, addictions, trauma and PTSD and they come to us for a safe space to heal and reconnect with themselves. We utilise these methods to allow individuals to achieve what they really seek, which is a reconnection with themselves and to people around them. We bring passion and vulnerability into our work which I believe other services may lack. 

NB: You have a range of treatments at da Silva but what prompts you to recommend one or the other to a troubled soul?

Alex: Every single person that seeks us out will be unique in the struggles that they bring. Our job as healers is to identify which of our mind body soul treatments may be relevant for that person. For example, someone may approach us with extreme PTSD. When we assess this person, we establish what methods they would be most receptive to at that moment in time. If someone is so psychologically blocked and rigid in their thinking, we would encourage them to explore for example the ketamine therapy which is scientifically proven to alter neural pathways which become rigid due to trauma, especially when combined with psychotherapy. If we feel that the KAP will be too intense for them, we would explore breath work to bring them back to a state of calmness in their parasympathetic nervous system. Then when we see how they respond, we would introduce very simple but effective tools of healing, potentially reiki for energy release or even group therapy to encourage them to feel a part of the loving community we have at Silva Wellness. 

NB: Do you feel since the pandemic and the increase in hybrid working, that more people are struggling with poor mental health, sometimes working through it alone at home?

Alex: Yes we have seen that since the pandemic, poor mental health has increased, so as a result we offer a safe space and community in our centre, so anyone feeling isolated or struggling knows that they can come to us for help and support. Covid split us all apart and kept us disconnected, which is THE very foundation of mental health issues that we notice in many people who come to us for healing. Thankfully with technology, we can also offer support online which is very effective. We believe that we are in a pandemic after the pandemic and we are now seeing individuals approaching us who have trauma directly related to those years. Individuals who lost loved ones during this time and were isolated are reporting serious impacts on their mental wellbeing, so our job is to really hone in on how that time affected that person and encourage the opposite to heal the wounds. 

NB: How do you see the next two to three years panning out for da Silva Wellness?

Alex: Our goal is to open more wellness centres in London and across the UK so we can help more people and grow our community. We have utter faith that our way of working is the humanistic approach and holistic healing should not have the stigma attached to it as the holistic practices we undertake are, in our experience, providing individuals with the healing they so desperately need AND deserve.

For further information please visit Silva Wellness [2]