About me

With a successful 25 year career in the corporate world behind me I am no stranger to the stresses and strains that our modern day lives can heap upon us.

From graduation with an Honours Degree in Business Studies in 1993 I went on to work in the marketing departments of many large and well known companies, gaining a professional diploma or two along the way, and finally heading up the marketing team of a global software business for the last few years of my corporate career.  The interaction with my team was always the best part of my job, and the joy of coaching, mentoring and then watching my young charges grow, develop and reach their full potential was my greatest reward.

In 2015 I left big business behind and went freelance as a marketing consultant, until deciding in 2017 to follow my instinct into a more rewarding, people-focused profession, and retraining in Solution Focused Hypnotherapy.

Having relied on Solution Focused techniques myself in the past I have firsthand experience of the power of this type of therapy where other treatments may have failed.  No therapist can ever walk in  the shoes of their client (and neither should they try), but equally my own experience means that I do have personal insight and understanding of the challenges that our amazing, complex and sometimes tricky brains can present us with.  I also know how wonderful it is to start to feel better.

I now live on the edge of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales with my husband, young son, 3 large dogs and 19 (and counting) miniature sheep!  In my spare time I enjoy baking, walking, sewing and working as a volunteer Community First Responder with Yorkshire Ambulance.  I love everything about this wonderful part of the world we are lucky enough to live in and feel privileged to be able to use my Solution Focused Hypnotherapy skills to help others to find the best in life.

Managing Anger
Managing Anger The last year has been a challenging experience.  I often hear from new clients that they are surprised to find themselves struggling with new and destructive feelings of anger or short-temperedness where previously they had regarded themselves as calm and in control.  Most are relieved to hear that ... Read more
Changing Relationships
I've been reflecting lately on just how often "relationships" are at the heart of the reason that many of my clients seek help.  This was true even before the national lockdown, and if the media is to be believed we can expect an upwards trend as the pressure of enforced ... Read more

Managing Anger

Managing Anger

The last year has been a challenging experience.  I often hear from new clients that they are surprised to find themselves struggling with new and destructive feelings of anger or short-temperedness where previously they had regarded themselves as calm and in control.  Most are relieved to hear that there is a simple explanation and, more importantly, that we can do something about it.

Anger was one of the primitive responses the caveman had available to him to help him to survive.  Its purpose was quite simply to give him extra strength and energy to deal with an immediate threat – such as fighting off a saber-toothed tiger.

Nowadays we rarely face a threat so immediate and life threatening, but that anger response is still there.  We still feel it in response to a perceived threat, but the threats that we face in our modern day lives are somewhat different…..uncertainty over jobs or finances, worry about health or our children’s education….these things (and many others) are difficult and unpleasant but not instantly life-threatening in the same way as an encounter with a large and toothy wild animal.

Which means that our anger response is not being “burnt off” in a focused and physical effort as it would have been all those thousand years ago.  It hangs around and re-surfaces in ways we don’t expect, and often focused on the wrong target – our loved ones, other people around us, sometimes even ourselves.

So what can we do about it?  Anger can be an overwhelming emotion and difficult to control in the moment.

Solution focused therapy offers a positive and gentle way to gain control of our negative thought patterns and build our resilience to restrictions and uncertainty, helping to ensure that anger doesn’t get a chance to take hold in the first place.

Changing Relationships

I’ve been reflecting lately on just how often “relationships” are at the heart of the reason that many of my clients seek help.  This was true even before the national lockdown, and if the media is to be believed we can expect an upwards trend as the pressure of enforced isolation takes its toll.

Typically in a dysfunctional relationship we think of a victim and a perpetrator.

Certainly the effect on the recipient of abusive behaviour (whether physical or psychological) should not be underestimated or trivialised in any way.  It is very often the victim I am approached by to seek help with overcoming feelings of fear, anger, guilt, loss of confidence and self esteem, or even in extreme cases a form of PTSD.  All of this, I am happy to say, can often be effectively addressed using solution focused techniques to move forwards positively – correctly “filing away” memories of the past so that they no longer intrude on the present.

It would, however,  be wrong to label everyone on the other side of this relationship equation as “evil”.  I am often contacted by people (both male and female) who recognise the damage they are doing to their relationships through anger or other negative behaviours.  The question is always whether the type of therapy I offer can help them to change.  The answer is usually yes, almost certainly, if the intention to change is a genuine one.    The same solution focused techniques can be used to help with learning different behaviours and responses as well as reducing and managing anger in a more positive way.

Whether clients are seeking to mend a current relationship, find the courage to break with something unacceptable or are trying to manage the fallout of past relationship breakdown, hypnotherapy can give both parties the best chance to move forwards for a positive future.