Maria Andreoulaki CD/BDT(DONA)

Maria Andreoulaki, CD/BDT(DONA), born and raised in Athens, Greece, had a background in music, dance, theater and language studies, before dedicating herself to birth and social activism thirty years ago and moving to Doula & Doula Trainer work. She has also been certified as a Butterfly Touch Massage Teacher, Reflexologist, Gentle Bio-Energetics Practitioner, and Re-evaluation Counseling Teacher. Maria has traveled extensively throughout Europe as a Country Representative working closely with various birth rights networks and organizations, and has participated in and organized numerous local and international events aiming to raise awareness and bring improvement on issues of accessibility, equity, and human rights in childbirth, parenting, sustainability, education, diversity, disability, language liberation, conflict resolution, trauma prevention & restoration, social justice, discrimination and more. She has been a leader in local doula organizations, the European Doula Network and is a DONA International volunteer.

Session

The Butterfly Touch Massage: Healing for Birth Professionals and Families

Doulas and birth professionals often face physical, emotional, social, and mental challenges while navigating the world’s birth systems. Drawing knowledge and experience from an extraordinary physician, Dr. Eva Reich, we can learn and apply this simple and profound therapeutic tool to help us deal with traumas and challenges that we, as well as the families we support, face on a professional and personal level, throughout parenthood.

Eva Reich developed her “Butterfly Touch” while working next to her father, psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich, and during her residency in Harlem Hospital, New York in the 1950s, as well as from her teachings around the world. The Butterfly Touch Massage has helped hundreds of people of all ages and walks of life with health issues or trauma. In this presentation we will learn the science and practice of this tool, to use for self-help and for others we support.