Techniques used

I’m an experienced and fully qualified, registered and insured Stress Management Consultant, Motivational Coach, Advanced Hypnotherapist and Master Practitioner of NLP.

My approach is to demystify things as far as possible and put you in the driving seat. We will work together on the issues that you want to resolve or improvements you'd like to make. I will ensure you have a good understanding of what we'll be doing to help you achieve your goals. Put simply, I don’t ‘fix’ your issue, but instead I give you the knowledge and right conditions so that you can powerfully do this yourself. Wherever possible, I will give you self-help techniques that you can take away and use in other situations that might arise in the future.

It’s important to say too, that I am not a psychologist nor a counsellor. My approach is to help you understand where you are now and where you want to be, and then help you either get there or at least get onto the path to success. Although it can sometimes be helpful to understand how we ended up where we are, and counselling can be a good option for that, the approaches I use mean it’s often not necessary to delve into the past. Unless there are things you need to talk about, we’ll mostly be looking forward, working from the ‘here and now’ towards what you would like to achieve or change for the future.

During our sessions we are likely to use one or a combination of the following techniques:

Motivational coaching – Sometimes we just need a little space with someone independent and non judgemental to discuss our thoughts, concerns and ideas with. By asking you the right questions and reflecting back to you what I am hearing, I can help you clarify what it is you really want to achieve. I will encourage you to be creative in your thinking and then help you find ways to become highly self motivated to succeed.

Deep relaxation - Many of us seldom give ourselves a chance to really relax. When we do, however, it allows us to become more creative in our thinking, to gain new insights into issues and to have those ‘lightbulb’ moments, when something suddenly becomes clear in our minds. How often have you gained a new and more helpful perspective on something at a time when you’ve felt really relaxed, say on holiday? We don’t need to, and shouldn’t, wait for our holidays to truly relax. I will show you relaxation techniques that you can use whenever you need to feel positive, calm and able to get the most out of your life.

Hypnotherapy – There are still a lot of misconceptions about what this is and people tend to think about stage hypnotists making people do silly things, sometimes apparently against their will! Some folk may also worry about being put into a zombie like trance, they’re then powerless to get out of. Fear not as this can never happen! Trance is really just an altered state of awareness where we’re focusing our attention on one thing and become less aware of everything else going on around us. We’re often in a ‘trance,’ e.g. when we become engrossed in a film, but if someone came to the door we’d still be able to respond. A hypnotic trance, during a session with me, is no different and you will always remain in control. Hypnotherapy is a safe, effective and very deeply relaxing means of tapping into your subconscious mind to bring about rapid and lasting changes you want to make. You will be able to stop a session at anytime, though it is very unlikely you would ever want to, as it is such a relaxing and enjoyable process! Where willpower isn’t working for us (e.g. stopping smoking, losing weight, etc.), hypnotherapy very often will. This is because the positive changes are made at a much deeper level in your mind, with your desired new behaviours becoming automatic, instead of a continuing conscious battle!

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) – NLP gives us greater insight into how we currently understand and respond to the world around us, based on the beliefs and values we’ve developed over time. When we’ve ended up with some underlying beliefs that are flawed, e.g. ‘I’m not good enough’, this can stop us from achieving what we consciously would like to happen. The NLP techniques I use are safe and enjoyable, allowing you to stop your brain from running old unwanted patterns of behaviour and giving it new, more helpful, programmes to run instead. NLP techniques are also great for improving individual or team performance; whether in sports, entertainment or the work environment. They’ve been used by Olympic teams and successful businesses for many years.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) - Sometimes also known as meridian tapping, this is a highly soothing and effective means of changing unwanted behaviours or reducing physical symptoms of chronic illnesses. It uses similar principles to acupressure and acupuncture, working with our body’s energy system, but there are no needles involved! It’s easy to learn and you can use it anytime you need to. Because we can’t physically see the energy system some folk can be sceptical that it exists. However, scientists have now developed the technology to be able to show that our body is indeed made of energy fields as well as flesh and bones! Just as acupuncture successfully treats many ailments and issues when we learn to clear energy blockages for ourselves, using EFT, the results can be remarkable!