The Team
Founder & Lead Therapist
Jean-Claude started his career, in London as an oil broker in the 80’s before setting up his own independent oil broking company by the age of 25 in London. His company was very quickly acquired by Salomon Brothers (Phibro Energy – Energy Price Risk Management). He went on to join a philanthropic foundation from 1993 with various interests in telecommunications. space and water transportation in a number of foreign countries.
In 1999 he decided to pursue his love in life, the understanding of the human mind, which took him on a six and a half year journey of learning with Athens’ leading psychiatrists, neurologists and family therapists, completing a Diploma of Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy at ICH – London (teaching from King’s College in London) in 2003.
Jean-Claude continues with his thriving practice in London (established in 2003) working with other psychotherapists together at The London practice , seeing 35-45 clients a week (individuals, couples and families) and has published around 20 features in the Saturday Times of London on issues concerning mental health, body & soul and ways forward for families, couples and individuals.
In 2015 he decided to realise his dream by setting up a retreat centre for psychotherapy and family therapy in combination with Kundalini and Tantra yoga in Bali, in order to help & assist individuals, couples and families in reaching their goals and to become the best version of themselves.
The Place offers transformational retreats ranging in duration from 1 week up to 3 months for individuals, couples, families and siblings with a host of experienced therapists, teachers, and complementary treatments, which has been running successfully since 2015. They also offer bespoke private retreats for individuals, couples, families & siblings in order to provide maximum privacy if you would prefer this.
CALL JEAN-CLAUDE FOR AN INITIAL CHAT TO DISCUSS HOW WE COULD HELP YOU ON +44(0)7834687290
The retreat is now a 3800 sqm oasis in central Seminyak , 400 meters walking from the beach , with 9 large bedrooms/ensuite bathrooms and 2 salt water pools, a large yoga shala in lush mature gardens, with a great compliment of people working at the retreat centre to look after the participants.
Manuela Herreros
Wellness Director
Manuela was born in Chile and has been living in Bali for the last 12 years with her husband and three daughters. After the birth of her first daughter with special needs and spending a lot of time in hospitals in critical conditions, since which she has dedicated her life to the study and teachings of yoga and meditation, allowing her to help people to find their own path in life and wellbeing. She has been leading yoga retreats on the island for the last six years.
Manuela has a deep passion and curiosity for the unfolding of the body-mind connection, always building bridges between western scientific views and eastern philosophical wisdom. Her unique teaching style draw from different traditions and philosophies including Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin and Kundalini yoga. Manuela’s approach is gentle, compassionate and relatable, as she leads guests on a deep journey into their own essence where they will find the power of self knowledge, to build a better life.
Dr. Anna Walton
Clinical Director
Anna is a counselling psychologist with a background in child development and a lifelong passion for horses. After university, she started her career as a singer/songwriter and toured internationally, but after training in South Africa with a horse whisperer she decided to retrain as a psychologist and utilise horses to help people.
Anna operates with JC from The Place London practice and sees clients for both traditional and equine therapy. She is known for her down to earth, collaborative way of working and has a nurturing and gentle approach, while being committed to pushing clients towards real and lasting change. Equine sessions with Anna are relaxed and unstructured, allowing her clients to experience unique insights and the opportunity for rapid transformation that horses offer. She and Jean-Claude have intuitively complementary ways of working that allow them to work seamlessly together with couples and groups.
Anna is Chartered by The British Association of Psychologists. She is a published academic researcher in the field of child development and has also co-authored a book on weaning and fussy eating.
Elisa Senese & Her Team
Spiritual Healer
A full time integrative Spiritual Healer, Craniosacral Therapist, Aquatic Bodyworker, Medical Qigong instructor and Soul Mentor since 18 years, Elisa’s talent is to communicate the language of spirit and energy, to make the unseen seen, from the unconscious into the conscious.
She can show you how to experience your deep-seated mind perceptions and ideologies, and where they are sensed in your physical body; she then offers practical hands-on tools to clear those patterns and create room for expanded body-mind awareness. Elisa teaches people to access an empowered essence within themselves so that whatever they do in life comes from a deeply authentic and profound place.
Education: Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, Reiki Master, Avatar Energy Psychology, Esalen Massage, Acupressure, Watsu, Aquatic Bodywork, Quantum Metamorphosis, Shamanism, Ordained Balinese Spirit Healer, Medical Qigong.
Angela Perez
Angela has been passionately and joyfully dedicated to the yogic path for the past 15 years.
With a blend of Spanish born fire and deep love and gratitude for this life, it is equally her joy and honour to teach, study and share yoga and Tantra. Angela’s teaching style mirrors the way she practices – with complete joy and commitment to the path. She truly embodies the understanding that practice is a gift and holds firm to her intention to be a radiant example of the true joy, power, and potential of yoga.
Angela is completely devoted to her daily practice and her role as a teacher is a natural extension of that commitment. She has lectured and taught in many parts of the world on Yogic Philosophy, Tantra, Ayurveda and Kundalini and gratefully enjoys teaching Ashtanga, Hatha, Yin and Tantra classes and workshops currently at Desa Seni (Canggu, Bali). Angela is a Yoga Alliance internationally certified yoga instructor at both the RYT-500 and E-RYT 500 level.
Valeria Sumar
Nutritionist and Dietitian (specialising in kidney health)
Diploma in Functional foods and Nutraceuticals
Wellness Coach (Lifestyle Medicine)
Nutrition, biology, wellbeing and how the mind functions, all play a fundamental role in our lives.
Valeria understood the importance of food when she began to understand its impact on feeling healthy, energetic and in harmony with oneself.
She studied Nutrition and Dietetics, where she found her passion for the link between what we eat and health and a vocation in helping others.
She has always believed that diseases and medical conditions, as well as our general wellbeing, stem from the 5 following elements: personal, social, physical, emotional and dietary.
Emotions, habits of life, our environment and the relationship with our surroundings, are what directly influence our food intake and wellbeing.
Her unique holistic approach is to promote health and integral wellbeing, through natural, energetic, clean, one’s conscious and nutritious food. This complements her vision of the human being as a whole: a physical, emotional and spiritual being.
Originally from Chile, Valeria has been living in Bali for 2 years and has been working with clients from all over the world, guiding them in wellness, nutrition and mindful eating. She currently lives between Europe, Australia and Asia and provides online nutritional consultations for our residential guests.
Marta Antero
Spanish born Marta is an inspiring and charismatic yoga teacher.
She specialises on Kundalini Yoga for addictions, stress and anxiety but she is qualified in a diversity of yoga styles and healing modalities from the meditative Yin Yoga to the dynamic Flyhigh, Hot Yoga and Hot Pilates. She is a Gong Player, Reiki Healing practitioner and she thrives on her continuous self-development.
Coming from a corporate background, she brings a modern approach to Yoga empowering students to embrace “real life” challenges, to manage their emotions and to create a shift in their life
She is fascinated about the mind and her goal as teacher is to empower students to develop their full potential without the self-imposed mind limitations
She currently resides in London but she has spread her passion for yoga all over the word teaching workshops in US, Australia, The Philippines and Indonesia.
She has taught at the prestigious OM Yoga Show and at the Great British Kundalini Yoga Festival being part of Festival Directors Committee in 2017
Her classes are dynamic and her energy and enthusiasm is highly contagious.
Stefanie Holzer
Massage Therapist
Stefanie studied in Austria and gained her Massage Therapy degree in 2003 . Focusing on Deep Tissue Massage, Acupuncture Massage, Trigger Point Massage, Sports Massage, Reflexology, Manual Lymphatic Massage, Aromatherapy and Arddam .
After finishing her training , she moved to Bali and studied ancient Balinese massage techniques and exchanged knowledge with therapists from all over the world. Stefanie ‘ s intuitive Bodywork is known globally. She worked alongside internationally renowned healers such as Elisa Senese, Mary Maun, Ibu Jero , Lexempress among others.
She is a regular visiting practitioner at the Shaktihealingcircle in Hong Kong and travels to Europe and America for private retreats.
Most of the stress we feel comes from our brain , unbalancing the functions of the body and natural energy flow. This compromises us both emotionally and physiologically .
Stefanie ‘ s intuitive massage therapy works to bring both mind and body into a harmonious balance , using various techniques to draw out tension and induce a state of calm .
Stefanie also works to target the toxins our bodies absorb from unhealthy diet , repeated strenuous movement and environmental pollutions . She works deeply over the meridiens where energy is depleted or flooded with toxins , unlocking the spine , balancing the chakras , opening blocked channels and purifying tissues.
Stefanie then orchestrates the whole body-mind-spirit system into a harmonious balance.
Her clients are left feeling limber, mentally cleansed and deeply relaxed .
Dedy Ti’en
Personal Fitness Instructor
Dedy is an award-winning natural body builder, martial artist and personal fitness instructor. He is also an author and public speaker.
Originally from Timor, Dedy has lived much of his life in Perth Australia and the tropical island of Bali where he has worked as a Personal Trainer, Body Combat, Bootcamp, Boxing, Body Pump and Body Balance instructor.
Dedy takes mental, emotional and physical wellbeing into account when designing a personalised fitness program.
Andy Taylor
Chinese Medicine Practitioner
Andy is an experienced clinician of Chinese Medicine, in practice now for over 12 years. After his formal education and training, Andy’s passion for traditional medicine and Eastern culture led him to Taiwan for further study in medicine, language, and cha dao, ‘the way of tea’.
His clinical practice combines various branches of Chinese Medicine, from the refined art and skill of meridian therapy acupuncture and bonesetting, to the diagnostic complexities of Chinese medical theory and internal medicine. Throughout his career, Andy has been blessed to study in lineage based classical medicine traditions with his teachers in Taipei, Tokyo, and Beijing. Through his practice of Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion therapy, Chinese osteopathy, and Classical Han Dynasty Imperial Chinese Herbal Medicine, Andy guides the body to navigate itself back to feel and function as the best version of itself. His work specializes in the treatment of orthopedic conditions, digestive disorders, and acute and chronic fatigue syndromes.
