Maisie James

PhD Somatic Practices and Pain Management

Motivated by her own lived experience of pain, Maisie wished to make a difference for others through researching somatic practice and pain management for her PhD. Her practice-based work drew on her artistic and performance skills to create impactful findings in the field of movement and wellbeing. 

"Ever since completing my undergraduate degree in Education Studies, I knew that I wanted to progress into studying a postgraduate degree. As a dancer, I also knew that I wanted to further my studies within dance education and investigate the inclusive relationship between movement and the body academically.

After completing a Master’s in Dance Practice, I knew my academic journey was not yet complete, as I still had so many research questions and interests that I wanted to explore. That’s when I decided to pursue a PhD at Birmingham City University.

As my BA focused on different philosophies of the body and body perception, I was interested to delve deeper into the positioning of the body and self within dance, movement and particularly somatic practice.

I researched potential universities across the UK and what drew me to study here was the expertise of my supervisor, Dr Polly Hudson. She not only specialises in Skinner Releasing Technique, a profound approach to somatic practice and movement technique, she is also Head of Movement, Reader in Dance, and Associate Professor in Dance at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. I was inspired by Polly’s practice, grounded approach, and rigorous research.

My thesis was Living in and through the body: new principles and possibilities for the impact of somatic practice for pain relief.

Practice research was the overarching approach to my PhD investigation, which was developed from my performance skills and artistic practice that I engaged with throughout my Master’s. As my research was developed from my own lived experience of pain and discomfort, I had an intrinsic motivation to share my story and my practice with others who may be experiencing pain in a similar way. By developing a specific practice through research that impacts the experience of pain positively, I believe that this can be shared with the community to hopefully support others. 

Throughout my research journey I have been fascinated with the physiology of the body in response to pain, discomfort and how we respond to overall wellbeing. As someone who experiences pain it was interesting for me to explore alternative approaches to considering, acknowledging and understanding the body and how we can offer different ways of dealing with pain from multiple perspectives. 

BCU have been great in offering support throughout my PhD studies and have provided opportunities to share my research with the wider research community through University led conferences, journals for publishing and extra training in research governance, integrity, compliance and ethical procedures for research. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at BCU and will continue to engage with the University as alumni. 

As I completed the majority of my PhD remotely, most of the workshops, sessions, lectures and supervisions were held online via Teams. I always felt welcome even though I wasn’t engaging with students or academics face to face and the online approach to completing a PhD worked really well for me.  

I found the PGCert in Research Practice especially beneficial as I gained a thorough insight into which research approaches to use for my thesis, how to develop a range of research questions, and how to understand qualitative data collection fully. As part of my practice, I also created Movement Films with BCU Undergraduate students who operated the cameras and helped direct the films. This collaborative, creative approach that BCU offers heavily aligned with my research approach and I was grateful to work with such keen students during my PhD. 

I have lots of different ambitions and goals for the future where my research is concerned and I am determined to make sure I facilitate my goals to the best of my ability. I hope to work with the NHS to develop different approaches to supporting pain management and engaging with people who have the lived experience of pain. I also wish to carry on my current research within Schools in Hampshire to investigate the impact of movement on mental and physical wellbeing of children. As I deem my research to be specialist but also broad, I am hoping to keep my options open to a variety of research endeavours in the future. 

I feel better equipped to communicate my research to the community and feel proud to be a Doctor of Philosophy with BCU. I have also been able to use my PhD research to inform funded research within the community, which has led to research projects and other project-based work that specialises in Movement and Wellbeing. 

My proudest moment was definitely graduating my PhD and having my name read out as Doctor or Philosophy. The gown was also beautiful, so I felt super proud wearing it. Whilst graduating I was also 6 months pregnant, so it was made extra special knowing that our little girl was graduating with me.

To anyone considering a PhD, I say go for it! I would highly recommend doing a PhD with BCU within my field of studies. I would recommend doing as much reading and prep work before applying and make sure you already have a vision of what you want your PhD to look like. You can then develop your research aims and objectives to meet your vision and simplify them in the process. Remember- a PhD is a process and definitely a journey, so don’t be too hard on yourself!”