When you’re in the midst of a difficulty, life can feel very complicated. And like a mouse dashing around a maze, the more you run, the more lost you can get.

Feeling bad distorts your thinking and means you can’t do the things that would help you.

In my coaching and therapy, I keep things simple. Because simple is practical and means we can do something. We’re not trying to write an encyclopedia. We’re helping you ‘work’ in the way you would like.

A map is useful precisely because it draws out the important features and helps you know which way to go.

That’s part of my job – to highlight the important features so you can find your way.

Emotional Nutrition

Like a plant that needs sunshine, water and nutrients, you thrive when you get what you naturally need as a human being – attention, community, relaxation, purpose, intimacy, good nutrition and security. When some of those primal needs are not met then other parts of your system can misfire.

Part of therapy is checking your needs are being met healthily. And if they aren’t, to identify ways in which you can do that.

Many seemingly insoluble problems begin to unravel when you have the right emotional nutrition.

Untangling Knots

The way you handle a life situation flows (for better or for worse) from a self-reinforcing loop

How you FEEL
How you THINK about it
WHAT YOU DO

Often this loop works just fine. But sometimes it can get dragged off track. You feel bad. Your thinking tightens up. And you the things you do seem to make everything worse. It’s like being bound up in a knot.

Therapy (with me, anyway) helps you untangle that knot by helping you

calming distressing emotions
become more supportive of yourself in how you think about things
act more effectively by developing your skills

When you do that, life gets better.

Solution-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy

So that mouthful of jargon is what I do. Let me explain what it means and why.

Solution-Focussed

We will definitely talk about what’s bothering you and the history of it. Understanding what’s going on will build your self awareness for now and the future. But we will just as much be talking about how you would like things to be.

This means we

know where we are going
have a direction and know what ‘success’ is
will know when we’ve got there

When you have a problem, it’s natural to have that problem going round and round in your head. Therapy styles that encourage even more rumination on the past and on things you can’t control can make things worse. We want to start introducing new horizons and helping you get there.

Cognitive, Behavioural

You’ll have heard these terms from CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Cognitive means loosening up ‘stuck’ thinking.

Behavioural means seeing what you can do to help yourself get your needs met, build your confidence and start creating changes in how you show up in the world.

Hypnotherapy

You’ll have noticed that CBT misses a part out of the Feel – Think – Do cycle. The feeling part. That’s crucial. And that’s one way hypnosis helps.

Emotions make us stupid. Have you tried arguing with an angry person? Or trying to ‘cheer up’ someone who is depressed? It doesn’t work. How they feel is locking up their thinking. When you can calm your emotions, your thinking can become more flexible and better and finding creative solutions.

Hypnosis helps you re-learn instinctive unconscious responses, calm distressing emotions and memories and access new ways of thinking and acting.

If you’d like to talk, you can contact me here.

“Andy is a smart and very insightful coach. He is caring when he needs to be and tough when he needs to be. In the sessions we have had together, he has helped me to see not only practical solutions to issues of staffing, responsibility and information flow in my business, but also their relationship to my own psychology and emotional responses. Working with him has made the Nursery and me more effective and resilient.”

Jules Munns Artistic Director of The Nursery

“Working with Andrew allowed me to see where I was getting in my own way and unravelled some of the thought patterns that were leading to certain results. He set challenges that were pitched at the right level to put me out of my comfort zone without being overwhelming. My career has shifted gear since we worked together and I’m now doing things that I wanted to do before, but felt I couldn’t. Andrew’s coaching has really helped me and I would definitely recommend him to others.”

Liz

“Andrew is a very positive individual and an extremely talented lecturer and speaker. Andrew motivated me to undertake further training and is inspiring I would highly recommend Andrew to anyone thinking of doing some further training.”

Nadim Majid Director of Lifestyle Dental

“Andrew’s coaching/supervision is excellent. I sought input with a range of complex management and presentational issues. His approach was person-centred, intellectually rigorous and thought-provoking. I was struck by the range of approaches he used and his broad knowledge and I really appreciated his friendly, helpful and focussed work.”

Jim Simpson Business Development Consultant, Evaluator, Writer

“I would fully endorse and recommend Andy to anyone looking to understand themselves or their business better; he will help make those meaningful changes that can make such a difference to your business and your life.”

Debbie Janson Director of Operations, Junior Premier League

“Thanks very much, Andrew, I would never have thought a committed smoker like me could give up just like that.”

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