What I do

I work with a range of therapies and techniques; primarily Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and Mindfulness.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Is an approach created by Dr. Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s. They state there is a connection between the neurological processes (“neuro”), language (“linguistic”) and behavioral patterns learned through experience (“programming”). NLP studies how we think and experience the world. It examines how we communication with our selfs and others and how this effects our behaviours and emotions. It examines our cognitive strategies and helps develop skills for change and choice. It also models human excellence by duplicating the behaviour and competences of highly effective people. A definition has recently appeared in the Oxford English dictionary and is as follows:

A model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behaviour and the subjective experiences (esp. patterns of thought) underlying them” and “a system of alternative therapy based on this which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication, and to change their patterns of mental and emotional behaviour.

Dr Richard Bandler

Everyone has all the resources they need to make positive changes in their life, NLP techniques are used as a tool to facilitate these changes, allowing you to use your strengths and focus on your goals rather than be stuck in the past or fearful of the future. NLP allows us to free our self from old and unhelpful limiting beliefs, rapidly changing them to assist personal development and reach potential.

NLP can be content free so it is not necessary to share all the details if you feel too embarrassed or traumatised by talking about a problem or old memory. It is also fast at shifting limiting beliefs and installing new effective programming.

More and more people are using this powerful approach, including some of the worlds top performers: Tiger woods, Lennox Lewis, Andre Agassi, Tony Robbins, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, David Cameron and Richard Branson. These are just some of the people who have been trained in NLP or have an NLP coach.

Remember it’s your own body, your own brain. You’re not a victim of the universe you are the universe.

Dr Richard Bandler

What is it used for?

• NLP has been proven in many fields – anywhere communicating and excelling are important: business, sports, relationships, health and well-being.
• Businesses use it to improve sales, to engage staff, to motivate, to support effective operations and to ensure effective communication.
• Sports men and women use modelling techniques it to hone their performance and win, including Olympic champions.
• Relationships can benefit by learning to understand yourself and others better, which will lead to more rewarding and fulfilling patterns of behaviour.
• Health both physical and mental can be improved, allowing you to break free of old patterns that no longer serve you well and keep you stuck in pain and distress.
• Well-being, happiness and the opportunity to flourish is what we all deserve. NLP can help you to reach for the stars.

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Emotional Freedom Technique

EFT is a type of energy psychology that bridges the gap between talking therapies and body therapies. EFT is a simple and effective approach that draws its power from Eastern discoveries that have been around for over 5,000 years. It was in fact Albert Einstein who told us back in the 1920’s that everything (including our bodies) is composed of energy. These ideas have been largely ignored by Western Healing Practices and as they are unveiled in our current times, human process is reopening itself to the forgotten truth that everything is Energy and the potential that this offers us. These therapies claimed that our bodies contain invisible energy pathways – meridians – and identified hundreds of acupoints at junctions along these interconnecting highways. Our negative emotions are caused by a disruption in the body’s energy system.

EFT works by the person tapping on just nine of these acupoints, while speaking aloud. This technique works by releasing blockages within the energy system which are the source of emotional intensity and discomfort. It can also lead to limiting beliefs and behaviours which stop us from achieving our potential and in extreme cases, resulting in not only mental but also physical problems.

Because the techniques are so simple, they can be used effectively as a self-help tool, which empowers people to actively contribute to their own healing and development process. This facilitates a much faster relief process, previously believed impossible by healthcare professionals who advocated lengthy (& often painful) hours in psycho-therapeutic or medical care, often with limited results. These techniques do not discredit the medical and psycho-therapeutic professions, but rather serve to contribute to a holistic healing process.

What is it used for?

EFT restores awareness and trust in the natural healing abilities of our mind and body, providing ground-breaking opportunities to achieving physical and emotional well-being in a faster time frame. Singer Michael Ball was seen doing it on a daytime TV chat show. He learnt it from the late singer, Stephen Gately, who used it to calm his own performance nerves. Lily Allen’s weight loss was attributed to its efficacy. American PGA players have been spotted doing it around the golf course. And Norwegian pole-vaulter Rens Blom credited his unexpected 2005 World Championship Gold to its powers. The internet reveals millions of anecdotal accounts of its success on phobias, addictions and anxiety.

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Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a mind-body based approach that helps people change the way they think and feel about themselves, their surrounding and others.

Mindfulness is a ways of bringing our attention back to the present moment, using techniques like meditation, breathing and yoga. It is about being and living in the now, rather than being pulled into the past or the future. The here and now is the only thing that truly exists, the past is gone and the future has not happened yet.

Of course we can learn from the past and plan for the future but we can do this with full awareness of the present moment. However so many people spend much of their life engaged in almost constant and involuntary thoughts about the past and future. This leads to a feeling of abstraction and dissociation- of life being only half lived, which is profoundly unsatisfying.

Mindfulness helps us become more aware of our thoughts and feelings so that instead of being overwhelmed by them, we’re better able to manage them.

Mindfulness is a potentially life-changing way to alter our feelings in positive ways, and an ever-expanding body of evidence shows that it really works.

Evidence has shown that Mindfulness meditation affects how the brain works and its structure. People undertaking mindfulness training have shown increased activity in the brain in the areas associated with positive emotion – the pre-frontal cortex – which is generally less active in people who are depressed.

What is it used for?

Mindfulness is beneficial for anyone who wishes to feel less stress and more in the moment.

Almost three-quarters of GPs think mindfulness meditation would be helpful for people with mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress and addictive behaviours. It has also been researched to be effective in chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome and insomnia.

There is growing evidence that Mindfulness in the workplace can improve productivity and decrease sickness absenteeism. Increasingly employers are looking to benefit from its effect on workplace wellbeing.

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Mentoring

Mentoring is a relationship between two people – the “mentor” and the “mentee”. As a mentor, I aim to pass on valuable skills, knowledge and insights to you to help you to develop and grow. This is also sometimes called coaching in sports and personal development.

The idea is to use the relationship to help you to become the best, you can be. To develop a clearer sense of what you want in your life and greater self awareness.

Having had my own share of trails and tribulations and working within the NHS for many years. I hope to be able to establish a therapeutic relationship that will facilitate the exploration of needs, motivations, desires, skills and thought processes to assist you in making real, lasting change. I will maintain unconditional positive regard, which means being supportive and non-judgemental at all times. I will observe, listen and ask questions to understand your situation so to support you in setting appropriate goals. Encouragement will be given to help achieve these goals using creatively applied tools and techniques.

What is it used for?

Mentoring/ coaching is used in many areas:

It can be used for anyone who wishes to have support and encouragement to achieve their goals what ever they maybe. It offers a vehicle for analysis, reflection and action that ultimately enable the client to achieve success in one or more areas of their life.

Businesses and organisations use mentoring as a good way of efficiently transferring valuable competencies from one person to another. This expands the organisation’s skills base, helps to build strong teams, and can form part of well planned strategies. The NHS, Schools and universities use this approach. It is also true that many apprenticeship schemes are based on the principles of mentoring.

Additional Therapies