Lloyd Lalande — Psychotherapist, Researcher and Developer of GRMT

I am a psychotherapist, researcher and developer of Guided Respiration Mindfulness Therapy (GRMT). My professional work has brought together more than four decades of experience with breathwork, psychology, psychotherapy, teaching and clinical research. My interest in breathwork began during my teens through breathing-focused meditation and tantric yoga practices. At 22, I was introduced to Rebirthing through Loving Relationships Training (LRT), associated with Sondra Ray and closely aligned with the work of Leonard Orr. Over time, I became a workshop assistant, practitioner and supervisor, and in 1998 completed a four-month Rebirthing training in Australia before developing a practice combining breathwork with counselling.

As my clinical experience developed, I became increasingly interested in what would be required for breathwork to be an accepted, therapist friendly intervention within conventional mental-health practice. Having my own private practice with breathwork and counselling spanning decades gave me the opportunity to answer questions like how breathwork could be structured for clinicians and clients, how its purpose could be clearly explained, and how its therapeutic rationale could be articulated. My initial clinical understanding was that breathing could provide access to unconscious material underlying psychological symptoms while also providing a means through which that material could be experienced and integrated.

These questions led me into formal postgraduate training and research. I undertook a Master’s degree in psychotherapy through the University of Queensland School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, under Professor Robert King. During this period, Robert King encouraged me to consider formally developing a clinical model of breathwork and suggested that I move into doctoral research. I subsequently commenced a PhD with Dr Matthew Bambling as my primary supervisor, following him to Queensland University of Technology when he moved there. GRMT emerged from this continuing interaction between practical experience, psychotherapy, psychology, academic teaching and research.

Professional and Academic Path

My professional development has continued across clinical practice, university teaching and research. Alongside developing GRMT, I have worked in psychology and psychotherapy education, including coordinating undergraduate and Master’s-level clinical counselling programs at Australian Catholic University and teaching within its Master’s program in Clinical Psychology.

I have also taught psychology as an Assistant Professor at Tzu Chi Buddhist University in Hualien, Taiwan, where GRMT was explored as an intervention for clinical nurses through research and clinical collaboration at Tzu Chi Buddhist General Hospital. I remain an editor for the hospital's research journal.

My academic training includes a Bachelor of Psychology from Queensland University of Technology, postgraduate training in mental-health psychotherapy through the University of Queensland’s School of Medicine and Department of Psychiatry, and a PhD through Queensland University of Technology. This combination of clinical, educational and research experience has shaped the way I approach breathwork—not simply as a personal or experiential practice, but as an area requiring clear concepts, professional education, clinical responsibility and systematic investigation.

Research is an important part of the continuing development of GRMT. Research and training projects have examined practitioner development and the application of GRMT in different clinical contexts, including work involving nurses, mental health, chronic pain, with individual and group-based applications. These international academic and clinical collaborations have provided opportunities to examine how the approach can be taught and applied across different professional and cultural settings.

Continuing Development and Stewardship of GRMT

Although GRMT has developed over many years through my work in breathwork, psychotherapy, teaching and research, it is a new clinical offering that is only now beginning to find its place within mainstream mental health practice. This creates an opportunity for practitioners who are interested in engaging with an emerging clinical model as its applications, professional community and evidence base continue to develop. My role as founder-developer is to support this development while maintaining the clinical integrity and distinctive principles of the model.

For this reason, professional stewardship is an important part of the early development of GRMT. Training, supervision, research and professional standards are intended to support clinical fidelity while allowing the approach to develop through responsible practice and further evidence. GRMT is therefore not simply a technique to be adopted, but a developing clinical system whose future will depend on practitioners engaging with its principles, rationale and professional standards while contributing to its responsible development.

If a clinical model of breathwork interests you, I welcome you to get in touch. Contact Lloyd →