As this will be my final blog post prior to retirement, I wanted to pay tribute to all the amazing clients I’ve had the privilege of working with over the years.

They say that when the pupil is ready, the teacher will come. And it’s the same with therapy. People often think that...

According to evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, we each have 5 people in our lives within our inner circle, people we are closest to. If you have a life partner, they’re almost guaranteed to be part of that inner circle, as is your best friend. Close family members often form part of...

Around 20 years ago, before I became a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, I had some life coaching to help me build my confidence at work. I think I had around 6 sessions and they were incredibly valuable, I still use some of the techniques today.

The process was challenging and made me think about...

When I worked in IT back in the 80s, I remember vividly being taught the KISS principle. KISS means ‘Keep it simple, stupid!’ In the context of computer systems, it means avoiding over-complicating the design.

I’ve just Googled the saying and it was used as a design principle by...

2,500 years ago, an ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, wisely said ‘There is nothing permanent except change.’

And he wasn’t wrong!

If you think about all the changes you’ve witnessed in your lifetime, you’ll quickly realise that nothing stays the same. I’m...

Life is rarely plain sailing. Challenging life events happen to us all, even hypnotherapists, and can be caused by a huge range of issues, from relationship problems, redundancy, financial stresses, ill health, bereavement, poor environment, time poverty… the list is limitless.

On a good...

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of choice there is? You’re not alone. We live in an age where there is seemingly infinite choice. And whilst, in theory, that means we can select an option that’s just right for us, it can easily lead to anxiety caused by indecision.

...

It’s time for my annual round-up of good news, and this time I’m focusing on food-related projects from around the globe that support self-sufficiency and food security within local communities.

Projects like the charity Ripple Effect’s (formerly known as Send A Cow) work with...

In 2007, when I was searching for a course to answer questions I had about how the mind works, I came across the Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training (CPHT) website, and one particular phrase leapt out at me.

It said something like: ‘If you could be responsible for changing one...

I’ve had a couple of instances recently where I’d made assumptions about situations that turned out not to be the case.

The first was during a trip to Kents Cavern near Torquay in Devon. Mr P and I joined my brother and his partner for a few days while they were on holiday in the...

I’m a great fan of detective fiction, especially from classic writers like P D James. So, as a treat, Mr P bought me a DVD box set of the Inspector Dalgleish mysteries, dramatized by ITV in the 1980s.

We sat down to start watching the first episode and the first shock was the format –...

Well now, the last 12 months have certainly been interesting on all fronts! Our brains don’t like change, and they don’t like uncertainty, and there’s been plenty of both to keep us all on our toes. The good news is that, if we take steps to keep ourselves in a good headspace,...