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BSMS > About BSMS > Contact us > Staff > Dr Guy Fincham

Dr Guy Fincham

A head and shoulders photo of Guy Fincham

Dr Guy Fincham (PhD)

Researcher in Psychology
E: g.fincham@bsms.ac.uk

Areas of expertise: Breathwork, Psychology, Mental Health, Medical and Health Sciences, Neurosciences, Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Biography

Dr Guy William Fincham's journey with breathwork began as a personal healing tool for chronic fatigue syndrome, which inspired him to share his knowledge with the world. He trained as a Breath Teacher with the Breath Body Mind Foundation in New York and has since established collaborations with leading institutions including Oxford, UCSF, Imperial, Maastricht, UCLA, and the company Othership.

He founded the Brighton & Sussex Breathwork Lab and aims to expand it into a Breathwork Centre, inviting potential donors to support this vision. His research on breathwork has been featured in major media outlets such as the BBC, The Financial Times, the Guardian, The Washington Post, The Economist, TIME, Forbes, HubermanLab and National Geographic. He is also the UK's first doctoral fellow of the Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund, Tokyo.

Dr Fincham has a growing interest in exploring the diverse applications of breathwork across human recovery and performance, spanning from health and wellness to sports. His primary goal is to investigate how breathwork can support mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

He is open to opportunities for advisory and consulting work, coaching and training, and delivering keynote talks and public speaking engagements.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Research

Dr Fincham has been awarded a five-year research fellowship, funded by a $500,000 donation from the psychedelic nonprofit organisation DMT Quest and ResearchHub. The fellowship, known as the Decentralised Science Fellowship, marks a significant milestone in the field of breathwork research, offering long-term support to explore the role of breath in human health, wellbeing and performance.

Learn more here >

Selected publications

Are you breathing properly? The ins and outs of the ultimate health hack. Financial Times.(27 January 2026).

Caddye, E., Aceves, R., Brzeszczyński, F. & Fincham, G.W. (2025). Successful non-surgical management of chronic hip pain in the context of Otto’s disease by targeted retraining of the internal torque chain and psoas major. ResearchHub, 1.

Caddye, E., Aceves, R. & Fincham, G.W. (2025). The Neuromuscular Nexus: Introducing torque chains as a paradigm-shifting framework for physical, mental, and emotional health. ResearchHub, 1.

Cavarra, M., Kuypers, K. & Fincham, G.W. (2024). Breathe hard to breathe easy: High-intensity online breathwork-assisted psychotherapy for social anxiety. OSF.  

Fincham, G.W., Epel, E., Colasanti, A., Strauss, C. & Cavanagh, K. (2024). Effects of brief remote high ventilation breathwork with retention on mental health and wellbeing: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Scientific Reports, 14(1), p.16893. 

Fincham, G.W., Strauss, C. & Cavanagh, K. (2023). Effect of coherent breathing on mental health and wellbeing: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Scientific Reports, 13(1), p.22141. 

Fincham, G.W., Kartar, A., Uthaug, M.V., Anderson, B., Hall, L., Nagai, Y., Critchley, H. & Colasanti, A. (2023). High ventilation breathwork practices: An overview of their effects, mechanisms, and considerations for clinical applications. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, p.105453. 

Fincham, G.W., Strauss, C., Montero-Marin, J. & Cavanagh, K. (2023). Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials. Scientific Reports, 13(1), p.432.

Caddye, E., Lukianstseva, Y., Aceves, R., Fincham, G.W. (2026). Movement-informed Breathwork (MiB): Integrating Muscular Contractions with Slow Conscious Connected Breathing for Therapeutic Application. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 11(1).

Fincham, G.W., Mavor, K. & Dritschel, B. (2023). Effects of mindfulness meditation duration and type on well-being: an online dose-ranging randomized controlled trial. Mindfulness, 14(5), pp.1171-1182. 

Media

www.ft.com/content/9ea74388-d888-4255-bece-a844ae690801

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0024f5j

www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/small-changes-way-you-breathe-transform-health

www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/jan/24/is-breathwork-effective-health-happiness

www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/01/01/breathwork-slow-breathing-calm-mind

www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/01/17/can-you-breathe-stress-away

www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2023/10/03/3-ways-breathwork-can-enhance-your-life-according-to-a-psychologist/

www.nationalgeographic.com/health/article/health-benefits-of-breathing-exercises

www.nationalgeographic.com/health/article/breathwork-tactical-breathing-box-breathing-stress-anxiety

www.hubermanlab.com/episode/how-to-breathe-correctly-for-optimal-health-mood-learning-and-performance

View more here >