Athina Belsi BSc, MPH, PhD is a Senior Teaching Fellow in Clinical Communication at Imperial College School of Medicine and an Academic Tutor. Originally trained as a clinical social worker in Greece, before doing her Master’s in Public Health at King’s College London which led to a PhD.

Before taking up her current post, Athina had led work into understanding patient perceptions of integrated care pathways at the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College. Athina’s research focuses on patients’ experiences from interactions with healthcare professionals and provision of services, as well as patients’ views to contribute to better wellbeing. She is also interested in medical students’ and healthcare professionals’ wellbeing and ways to enhance it.

Athina has recently brought Sophrology to Imperial College School of Medicine as part of an initiative to help students with stress-management, better sleep and performance. Athina has published and presented her work in conferences and peer-reviewed journals and is a qualified Sophrologist.

Born in Switzerland,  Dominique Antiglio was referred to a Sophrologist by her GP when she was 15 years old to overcome health issues that were not responding to traditional approaches. This introduction to Sophrology led her on a path to studying directly under the Founder of Sophrology, Dr. Alfonso Caycedo. Her background in Osteopathy and her passion for the mind-body connection has deepened her understanding of Sophrology and how to best use it to support the nervous system and empower people through challenging times.

Dominique is leading the movement of bringing Sophrology beyond Continental Europe to English speaking countries. Driven by her passion to make Sophrology available to as many people as possible, her best-selling book “The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology” was the first widely published comprehensive guide on Sophrology in English worldwide and BeSophro is now the leading online Sophrology consultancy and platform in the UK.

Dominique specialises in stress and sleep management, anxiety, self-development, and preparing for major life events. Combining Sophrology with her in-depth therapeutic experience and broad understanding of health and the nervous system, she founded BeSophro in 2011 to offer a unique approach to self-development through body and mind.

Dominique is part of the ASICS team of experts for ‘Movement for Mind’, which incorporates Sophrology into their new movement-based program to support mental health.

Dominique is an international speaker whose clients include Amazon, ASICS, The World Economic Forum, The Guardian Masterclass and the UK Government. She has regular appearances on podcasts and is regularly featured in the media.

Steven Laureys, MD PhD, is an award-winning neurologist and neuroscientist, a father of five and our Head of Scientific Advisory Board at BeSophro. He is recognised worldwide as a leading clinician and researcher in the field of neurology, brain plasticity, consciousness and neuromodulation. He is head of the GIGA Consciousness Research Unit and Brain Clinic of the University and University Hospital of Liège in Belgium, and a professor at the CERVO Brain Centre at Laval University, Canada.

Professor Laureys has achieved awards from the European Academy of Neurology, the European Academy of Sciences, the German Max Planck Society and the US Society of Cognitive Neuroscience. He is the former president of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness and has published over 500 scientific articles on the workings of the human mind. Steven is also an International Bestselling Author, contributing to popularising brain science notably through his most recent title in English “The No-nonsense Meditation Book: A Scientist’s Guide To The Power of Meditation”.