Sharyn West

In the early 1980s Sharyn completed an MA at the Institute of Education/London University (Education and Human Rights) and began lessons with Dick and Elisabeth Walker. She trained with them because of their experience of teaching in South Africa. After qualifying (MSTAT 1994) she taught AT in the voluntary sector, in adult education colleges part-time, and also built a private practice. In 1998 she returned to university teaching and research, at Oxford Brookes School of Education. In 2000 she moved to a post at the School of Health and Social Care (H&SC) with responsibility for developing, writing and delivering undergraduate, post-graduate and professional development courses in H&SC that incorporated AT as self-management and self-care. This enabled her to do, teach and publish intra-personal (AT as Reflective Practice) in inter-professional, collaborative research.

In 2014 Sharyn returned to South Africa to train AT teachers. By 2021 several factors, including the pandemic, led her to return to live in the UK where she has continued AT teaching and teacher training.

As a co-directors, Lucia Walker and Sharyn West run Alexander Technique Learning and Teaching Programmes (ATLTP) in South Africa and the UK, offering on-line and in-person blended learning courses. Sharyn has written and published articles.