About Rita

Biography 

 

The Consultant Facilitator

Rita Bozi is a multi-disciplinary Somatic Relational Trauma and Psychedelic-informed Consultant/Facilitator. She is the director of Brilliant Healing Inc working with individuals, couples, and groups leading unique, experiential and creative workshops. She is a colleague of Dr Gabor Maté and was mentored by the late genius and visionary Carol-Anne Bickerstaff. Rita is currently in a practicum with Sharon Stanley, training to teach her Somatic Transformation model. She is training individuals in her 3 module program: Somatic Relational Trauma-informed Practices for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. Rita is guest faculty at The Synthesis Institute and a co-founding member of Communitas, a Psychedelic Think and Practice Tank in The Netherlands.

Rita uses her presence, patience, and playfulness to connect with those she works with, and invites them to get honest, and experience existence on a deeper level. She continually hones her ability to listen and attend to the specific needs of clients. Rita helps clients sense into their imprints, access their own direct knowledge  and create openings for new choice. She seeks clarity in her work and in all her interactions. While she assists her clients in reconnecting the disconnect (between their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual bodies) her own personal work is ongoing under the guidance of her trusted mentors.

Forty years of personal seeking, and twenty-five years of professional private practice have taken her on many detours and excursions. Through this depth of experience, Rita has developed a body and client-centred, relational right-brained approach that is unique, expansive and intelligent. Rita practices a non-pathologizing, body-centred, right-brained, attachment-based, mindfulness, bio-psycho-social and relational approach to healing. Rita has deep respect for and experience with both non-traditional and Indigenous medicines. She is renewing her relationship with ancient wisdom and land-based direct knowledge.

She has a passion for Attachment Theory, Polyvagal Theory, Authentic Movement, Feldenkrais, Craniosacral Therapy, and self-responsible communication. She is a Consultant Facilitator of the One Brain System, a Certified BodyTalk Practitioner, has a Diploma in Shiatsu Therapy and is a former instructor at Mount Royal College in Calgary and Langara College in Vancouver.

She follows and incorporates the work of Matt Licata, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Alan Schore, Pat Ogden, Stephen Porges, Stephen Levine and The Haven. She supports the work of Somatic Sex educators. She studied Gabor Maté’s “Compassionate Inquiry” model as an advanced student while on retreat in Mexico.

Her past studies include, Family Constellations, Craniosacral Therapy, Reiki, Somato Emotional Release, Visceral Manipulation, Compassionate Communication Techniques, The Alexander Method, Accelerated Learning Techniques and a comprehensive knowledge of the body through her practice of Feldenkrais, Gyrotonics, Pilates, Yoga, Somatic Meditation and a thirteen year career as a professional dancer.

A published writer, she has completed her first novel, When I Was Better and is currently writing PUNK Therapy, drawing on her clinical work with psychedelic medicine in combination with somatic relational practices. She documents the often painful and challenging but always deeply rewarding journey of client and medicine facilitator and their parallel journeys in healing.

Born to Hungarian refugees who fled during the 1956 Revolution, Rita honours and remembers the long line of serfs and peasants who are her ancestors. She is devoted to the work it takes to become a human, decolonizing the body.

The Artist

Rita is devoted to the work it takes to become human and cares deeply about people and the world. At 15, training to be a professional dancer, she made a pact with herself: slow suicide. She attempted this with anorexia, drugs, cigarettes, abusive relationships and by making herself responsible for other people’s pain. Drawing on her own experience of relational and developmental trauma, attachment and autonomy wounds, her mandate as a somatic relational therapist is to cultivate the embodied witness; to create gentle and accepting spaces for healing, integration and transformation. She remembers to laugh when the shit gets tough.

Rita’s other life involves a long career in the arts. Her varied career spans writing for theatre, radio, weeklies and on-line publications; acting in theatre, film and television; and dancing professionally in both classical and modern companies across Canada. Internationally she has performed in Germany, Hungary and Iceland. After graduating from the National Ballet School in 1983, Rita worked for twelve years as a dancer in Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. She apprenticed with both the National Ballet and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. In Vancouver she danced with critically acclaimed dance contemporary companies Jumpstart, Lola Dance, Judith Marcuse Projects, Karen Jamieson Dance, Dancecorps and Mascall Dance. She retired from dance at the age of 30.

In 1997, Rita reinvented herself through her studies in Shiatsu Therapy and graduated from Sourcepoint Shiatsu Centre in Vancouver receiving a Shiatsu Practitioner’s Diploma. Upon graduation, she began a part-time practice in Vancouver while concurrently pursuing a career in theatre, film and TV. She spent many busy years in Vancouver appearing in TV episodics including the X-Files, The Adams’ Family, Cold Squad and the Chris Isaac Show. She wrote, produced, toured and performed in collective creations for theatre and taught part time at Langara College in the Shiatsu Practitioner Program.

In 2001, Rita moved her life to Calgary to work for one season with One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre and taught movement and physical theatre at Mount Royal College for several terms in the department of Theatre, Speech and Music Performance.

She wrote, created, produced and co-starred in The Damage is Done – A True Story with her great mentor Dr. Gabor Maté which was performed to sold out audiences at The Banff Centre, at the Van East Cultural Centre and in Whitehorse in 2014 and 2015. In 2018 she performed for the last time in her solo show My Fair Lady – the Punk Version.

Rita’s other passion is writing. Her first novel, When I Was Better won the International Firebird Book award in the holocaust category and is a Goethe 2022 Finalist for Late Historical Fiction. She is still receiving royalties for 52 Pick Up, a play she performed, co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed with TJ Dawe which has been performed internationally in Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, France and the United States. The play received the Chapters’ Best Text Award at the Montreal Fringe in 2000 and appeared at the High Performance Rodeo in Calgary. In 2012, 52 Pick Up was translated into Icelandic and French.

In 2012, she won 3rd Prize for Creative Non-Fiction with her piece State Controlled Paprika in the Great Canadian Literary Hunt by THIS Magazine. Rita has published fiction and creative non-fiction in THIS Magazine, The New Quarterly, Pages of Stories, Unlikely 2.0, WritingRaw.com and articles in FFWD Weekly on lifestyle and international travel. Her travel stories have been heard on CBC Radio.

Rita has found her private practice and creative endeavours to be mutually complementary. She brings love, commitment and curiosity to both. She is devoted to inspiring others to live embodied, rich, creative and soulful lives.

Rita’s Training in Alternative Health Care

Somatic Transformation/Basic + Advanced Training – Sharon Stanley
NARM Basics Training
Spiritual Trauma and Redeeming of Soul – Sharon Stanley
Compassionate Inquiry – Gabor Maté
Psychedelic Therapist Training – Dr. Devon Christie, Sasha Cuff
Body, Brain and Trauma – Bessel Van der Kolk
Authentic Movement – Judith Koltai

Consultant Facilitator – One Brain System
Three in One Concepts
Tools of the Trade
Under the Code
Advanced One Brain
Louder than Words
Structure Neurology
Relationships in Jeopardy
Advanced Structure/Function
Body Circuits, Pain and Understanding
Childhood, Sexuality and Aging
Adolescence, Maturity and Love
Consultant Facilitator Training
Sexuality

Craniosacral I, Craniosacral II
SomatoEmotional Release I, SomatoEmotional Release II
Visceral Manipulation I

Certified Body Talk Practitioner
PaRama College
PaRama Unit 1 – Practical
BodyTalk Modules 1,2,3,4/7,5,6,9
Orthopaedic Evaluation
Breakthrough 1
Mindscape
Certified Shiatsu Practitioner
Shiatsu Practitioner Program – Diploma, Sourcepoint Shiatsu Centre

Reiki Level I, Reiki Level II
Flower Essences: Spiritual and Emotional Evolution
Non-Violent Communication
Landmark Forum