The School of Human Connection
In a world of separation, we create spaces of UNION and connection.
The School of Human Connection is a trauma-informed, somatic, and creative movement devoted to restoring union and wholeness: in individuals, relationships, and communities.
We bring together movement, art, creative rituals, and embodied healing to help people reconnect with themselves, with one another, and with the world around them.
Together, we are co-creating a new culture of empathy, belonging, and collective empowerment: remembering what it means to be fully human.
About our School
At The School of Human Connection, we believe that healing is both personal and collective: and that true transformation begins in the body.
We create trauma-informed, somatic, and wellbeing spaces where people can reconnect with themselves, each other, and their communities. Our work targets those most often silenced or excluded from traditional systems: survivors of trauma, gender-based violence, and systemic oppression, migrants, LGBTQ+ individuals; and people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).
Through workshops, retreats, festivals or 1.1 sessions focused on conscious movement, creative rituals, art, and ancestral practices, we help people restore a sense of safety, reclaim their voice, and rediscover belonging.
We also work with families and relationships: guiding couples, fathers and mothers with their kids, and young people to rebuild trust, communication, and emotional intimacy.
By nurturing human connection and intergenerational healing, we strengthen the foundations for more compassionate, resilient and empowered communities.
Our Mission
Our mission is to make trauma-informed, body-based, and creative wellbeing accessible to all, especially survivors, migrants, and LGBTQ+ people, supporting them to heal through the body, express through art, and reconnect through empathy. At the heart of our work is a longing to reunite what has been divided: mind and body, self and other, individual and community.
Grounded in the belief that healing is somatic, communal, and ancestral, we bring union to a world of separation: weaving together body, art, and community to transform trauma into strength, silence into expression, and isolation into belonging.
Our Vision
We envision a world where every human, regardless of background, identity, or circumstance, feels seen in their expression, safe in their body, and connected: to themselves, to others, and to life.
We believe creativity and embodiment are not luxuries, but essential human rights: tools for healing, resilience, and reconnection. Through somatic practice, creative expression, and community care, we transform isolation into belonging and pain into power.
We see a future where young people grow with emotional literacy, families rediscover empathy, and those once silenced reclaim their voice and place in society.
At The School of Human Connection, we believe that when one person heals, a community transforms: and when communities transform, the world changes.
Meet the team
Florence Yilmaz
Head of Community
Florence is a proud Indigenous Filipino woman of the Igorot people and an advocate for migrant and women’s rights. Trained in business accounting, she has devoted her skills to supporting churches and community organisations. As a migrant in the UK, Florence co-founded the Filipino Domestic Workers Association, now a registered charity helping workers affected by exploitation and trafficking.
She is Bookkeeper & Head of Finance for the charity SEEAWA (Southeast and East Asian Women’s Association) and Direvctor of SEEAC, she combines financial expertise and activism to uplift Southeast and East Asian communities.
Alab Sikat
Founder Head of Community
Alab is the founder of The School of Human Connection and Director of…. She is also the founder of Panubli Therapies, a London-based healing space rooted in Philippine traditional medicine and ancestral practices. She also serves as the London Ambassador for The Human Expansion School, promoting somatic wellbeing and collective healing.
She is also Operations & Systems Manager at the UK charity SEEAWA (Southeast and East Asian Women’s Association), she integrates cultural leadership, bodywork, and organisational care to strengthen community resilience and empower Southeast and East Asian women.
Gasat
Head of Community
Gasat is of Sicilian & Filipino heritage and incredibly purpose-driven men’s group facilitator devoted to the evolution of men and masculinity. His work is rooted in deep curiosity about identity, emotional liberation and the complex intersectionalities that shape how men show up in the world.
For over a decade, Gasat has trained with respected teachers and elders across the globe, developing a grounded and trauma-aware approach to facilitation. He offers safe, courageous spaces where the unsaid can be expressed and where men are guided to reclaim their truth, autonomy and integrity.
Through his work, Gasat advocates for a new vision of masculinity, one anchored in emotional honesty, fairness and collective healing.
Nicholas Policarpio
Head of Community
Gasat is of Sicilian & Filipino heritage and incredibly purpose-driven men’s group facilitator devoted to the evolution of men and masculinity. His work is rooted in deep curiosity about identity, emotional liberation and the complex intersectionalities that shape how men show up in the world.
For over a decade, Gasat has trained with respected teachers and elders across the globe, developing a grounded and trauma-aware approach to facilitation. He offers safe, courageous spaces where the unsaid can be expressed and where men are guided to reclaim their truth, autonomy and integrity.
Through his work, Gasat advocates for a new vision of masculinity, one anchored in emotional honesty, fairness and collective healing.
Nicholas Policarpio
Program Director & Facilitator Lead
Nicholas Policarpio is a somatic practitioner and trauma-informed facilitator who leads the design and delivery of the School of Human Connection’s wellbeing and community programmes. His work integrates somatic movement, breathwork, ritual, and creative expression to help individuals reconnect with their bodies, reclaim their voice, and rebuild belonging.
He is the founder of The Human Expansion School, whose facilitators combine professional training with lived experience as migrants, queer individuals, or survivors, creating culturally aware and deeply empathetic spaces.
Nicholas has extensive experience supporting survivors, migrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, young people, and those excluded from traditional mental-health systems, including people with NRPF. He currently partners with several UK charities to deliver accessible, trauma-informed wellbeing programmes for marginalised communities.
Emmet Marsh
Our Values
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We create spaces where everyone, especially those historically marginalised or silenced, feels seen, safe, and celebrated. We honour every identity, body, and story, building environments where difference becomes connection and diversity becomes strength.
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Healing begins in the body. Our work reconnects individuals with their physical, emotional, and intuitive selves through somatic, movement-based, and creative practices.
We nurture presence as a path to self-awareness, regulation, and transformation. -
We believe in the power of community to heal and rise together. Our programmes nurture mutual support, co-creation, and shared leadership: transforming isolation into belonging and pain into purpose. We rise by lifting one another.
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We uphold care, ethics, and transparency in all we do. Our practitioners are trained in trauma-informed facilitation and work with sensitivity, consent, and respect. Integrity for us means holding safe containers where authenticity, boundaries, and compassion coexist.
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At the heart of our mission is a longing to reconnect what has been divided: mind and body, self and other, individual and community. We strive to bring people back into relationship with themselves and each other, cultivating a sense of shared humanity in everything we do.
Our Programmes
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Somatic in-person immersions
This in-person series offers a safe, trauma-informed space for those with limited access to mental health support to reconnect with their bodies, express their truths, and build emotional resilience. Blending somatic movement, breathwork, Biodance, sound healing, and creative expression, these sessions nurture self-esteem, emotional regulation, and belonging within a framework of consent, boundaries, and cultural sensitivity.
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Online community circles
These virtual gatherings create a supportive and nurturing environment for participants to continue their healing journey between in-person sessions, and to include those unable to attend in person, ensuring access and connection for all.
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1:1 embodied therapy sessions
These trauma-informed sessions provide personalized support for individuals needing deeper emotional or somatic care beyond the group setting, helping participants build self-awareness, safety and emotional resilience.
Our Unique Approach
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We Prioritise Healing Through the Body
Traditional mental health systems often overlook trauma’s impact on the body. Our approach recognises that trauma is not only cognitive but deeply somatic. We offer regulating movement practices, breathwork, sound healing, embodiment, and creative expression, helping participants rediscover safety, presence, and vitality in their own bodies.
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We Complement & Deepen Existing Support Models
We don’t aim to replace; we aim to enrich.
Our programmes integrate seamlessly into existing frameworks, offering flexible formats: from one-day workshops, six-month immersions to one-to-one sessions. We co-create with partner organisations to meet the specific needs of their communities -
We Prioritise the Most Marginalised (NRPF & Beyond)
Our work intentionally centres those most excluded from traditional wellbeing services, people with No Recourse to Public Funds, survivors, asylum seekers, racialised individuals, and queer communities. We operate with deep cultural awareness, trauma sensitivity, and intersectional understanding.
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We Bring an Intercultural Team with Lived Experience
Our team is not only professionally trained: many carry lived or community-rooted experience of migration, marginalisation, and healing. This makes our work authentic, attuned, and compassionate.
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Inclusive of All Genders and Identities
Our spaces are open to everyone, men, women, trans, and non-binary people, recognising that healing transcends gender. We offer both mixed and identity-specific spaces when needed, ensuring that everyone can access care safely and authentically.
Partner with Us
We are currently partnering with charities and community organisations across the UK to bring somatic, creative, and trauma-informed wellbeing programmes to underserved communities.
If your organisation supports survivors, migrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, or marginalised groups, we’d love to collaborate.