About Us
The SHIP® Foundation was established as a training school for Clinical, Counselling and Educational Psychologists registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) in September 2001. SHIP® Workshops have been accredited with CPD status.
SHIP® (‘Spontaneous Healing Intra-systemic Process’) is an experiential approach based on research spanning a period of more than 30 years. It was developed in the course of over 100 000 psychotherapy sessions with clients, by identifying their internal spontaneous healing processes and creating the most accommodating psychotherapeutic space wherein these processes could unfold and release.
Spontaneous integration of disconnected material forms part of internal autonomic regulation with reciprocal disappearance of chronic dis-eases.
The SHIP® Facilitator defines presenting chronic dis-eases as activated healing and precursors to growth.
Information throughout the person’s life that is too threatening may become disconnected, with this information migrating and lodging itself in the psychobiology. In response to current everyday stressors, this information may be reactivated and represented in the form of chronic dis-eases.
Human beings have been endowed with spontaneous healing processes in their psychobiology, but have been mistakenly taught to deny the internal spontaneous rebalancing mechanism the opportunity to unfold. SHIP® focuses on the activation of, and spontaneous release of the disconnected information. In the same way as sutures keep the lips of a wound together, the SHIP® Facilitator creates an environment within which the internal spontaneous healing process of the client may follow its natural self-normalizing sequence and in this manner allow the wound to heal itself.
Ultimately it is the connection of the client with his or her disconnected material (the two sides of the wound) that brings about healing. The facilitator continually guides (facilitates) the client to remain in this Healing Space of autonomic regulation and to reclaim disconnected areas of the self.
The philosophy and methodology of SHIP® thus incorporates the following:
In the face of external stress, a person is activated into fight/flight responses within the autonomic nervous and the somatic systems. If all internal activation is allowed to release, the system reverts to flow. However, should the internal activation not be allowed to release due to a sense of helplessness and the need to cope with the activation caused by the trauma-activating event, the activated feelings become disconnected and are stored in the psychobiology.
The internal disconnected information is what we refer to as trauma, the activated fight/flight response that would not complete a natural release sequence.
The internal disconnected trauma experience is thus the spontaneous healing reactions (SHRs) that have not been allowed to complete their natural release pattern. Clients have a personal critical limit as to the amount of trauma experience that can be stored. Depending on this limit and the triggering of the disconnected experience into SHRs through current external activators or stress, the client can either be reactivated into:
The natural release of these stored SHRs, or
The suppressed energy (kept encapsulated through distracter techniques) can overflow and result in chronic dis-eases. These chronic dis-eases constitute the rupturing of the client’s boundary (e.g. stomach ulcer, spastic colon, projected ideation, etc.).
The SHIP® Facilitator creates the most favourable healing space in which the client’s suppressed and stored involuntary SHRs are facilitated and allowed to follow their natural pattern of release. This release implies that the disconnected psychobiological information moves into connectedness and results in an integration of the previously disconnected material, bringing about a release of the pent-up trauma experience/SHRs.
Reciprocal to the integration process, the chronic dis-ease loses its value as an attempted release of disconnected material and as an indicator of a life lived at the expense of the complete self. The outcome of SHIP® is the disappearance of chronic dis-ease and a new-found psychobiological flow, the way our system is supposed to function.

Currently several doctorates on SHIP® have been completed, trainers in the Foundation have been invited as speakers at international conferences (Manchester, 2003; Stellenbosch, 2005; Cape Town, 2005; Cambridge, 2005; Sun City/ Stellenbosch, 2010; Jerusalem, 2012; Cape Town, 2012; Pretoria, 2013; Algeria, 2014; Austria, 2016; Greece, 2016), an academic textbook with the title “SHIP® (2001-2013)” has been sold quite extensively, 47 presentations have been delivered at the Annual National SHIP® Conferences, and various talks and workshops on SHIP® are held annually for academics and professionals, and for other groups, such as:
- The Pain Management Society (Wilgers Hospital, Pretoria, 2003),
- The Rhumatologist Study Group (Jakaranda Hospital, Pretoria, 2004),
- The UNISA Psychologist CPD Study Group (UNISA, Pretoria, 2005),
- The Child & Adult Guidance & Development Centre (University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 2004),
- The Psychologist Study Group (Staanvas, Pretoria, 2003),
- The Psychologist Study Group (Sunnyside, Pretoria, 2003),
- The Psychologist Study Group (Vista Clinic, Pretoria, 2004),
- The Psychologist Private Practice Group (Potchefstroom, 2003),
- The Psychology Department at 1 Military Hospital (Pretoria, 2004),
- Inala Business Chambers (Midrand, 2002),
- Alef Business Consulting (Pretoria, 2004),
- Sportron Director’s Conference (Drakensberg, 2005),
- Sportron Marketing Associates (Pretoria, 2004 & 2006),
- Psychologist Supervisors and Interns (Weskoppies Hospital, Pretoria, 2005-2018),
- The Society for Student Counselling in Southern Africa (UNISA, Pretoria, 2005),
- Montessori Conference (Pretoria, 2006),
- Short Course in Spontaneous Healing Awareness (UNISA, 2006),
- Psychology Interns and Supervisors (Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 2006),
- Radio Interviews (“RSG”, 2006),
- 50 SHIP® Workshops (2001 > ),
- The 90th Child Welfare Function (August 2008, Pretoria),
- The Society for Care of Young Children (August 2008, Pretoria),
- The Oncology and Urology Cancer Interest Group (May 2008, Pretoria),
- TV African View Channel 408 (2008),
- Durbanville Healing Centre (August 2008, Cape Town),
- Teddy Bear Therapy Forum (2009, Pretoria),
- International Changing Faces of Psychotherapy Congress (February 2010, Sun City/ Stellenbosch),
- The Annual National Congress of the South African Society for Clinical Hypnosis (May 2010, Johannesburg),
- Wellington Senior Group (July 2010),
- Wellington Diabetes Support Group (August 2010),
- Hugenote College Wellington (July – December 2010),
- Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Wellington: Business & Management School (October 2010),
- Psychology Group Wellington (March 2011),
- Wellington Anxiety & Depression Support Group (May & November 2011),
- ACVV Social Workers (May 2011),
- Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Bellville (June 2011),
- Silwerkruin Tehuis vir Bejaardes (August 2011),
- Depression and Chronic Illness Forum (November 2011, Pretoria),
- Wellington Women’s Support Group (September 2011 & May 2012),
- Wellington Book Club (March 2012),
- Wellington Nursery School Parents and Teachers (March 2012),
- Jerusalem International Congress on Integrative Medicine (April 2012, Jerusalem),
- Wellington Primary School Teachers (August 2012),
- International Congress on Psychology (Cape Town, 2012),
- South African Society for Clinical Hypnosis Workshop (October 2012, Pretoria),
- Training College Diploma Ceremony (November 2012),
- The 5th World Congress on Ego State Therapy (February 2013, Pretoria),
- Psychology Trauma Training (May 2013, Algeria),
- Belltone Seminar (March 2014, Pretoria),
- Radio Interviews (“RSG” 2014),
- Atimer Conference (Athens 2016),
- Sigmund Freud University (Vienna, 2016),
- South Africa Cochlear Implant Conference (Pretoria, 2017).
Since its inauguration in September 2001 The SHIP® Foundation has developed and branched out in different specialist fields.
- SHIPiC® (SHIP®inChildren – clients under 12)
- SHIP®forAdolescents (Clients between 12 & 18)
- SHIP®forAdults (Clients 18 and above)
- SHIP®forAcuteTrauma (Clients 18 and above)