My approach

Welcome, and I'm really looking forward to talking with you.

I'm a qualified hypnotherapist and accredited mediator, and also have a degree in International Communication and a Postgrad in Educational Psychology.

Qualifications aside, I'm simply a very curious person who loves to learn. And most of all I love to genuinely connect with people, to learn from others and see what I can offer in return. After all, we are all just human beings trying to figure out this thing called life.

My approach to hypnotherapy is grounded in the science of neuroplasticity, which is our nervous system's immense capability to modify existing synapses and build new connections between neurons. Our nervous system (brain and spinal cord) governs everything about who we are, how we feel and what we do.

It's the link between modern neuroscience and centuries-old hypnotherapy that I've found most interesting during my journey into hypnotherapy.

My story

When I look back over my life so far, it is coloured by plenty of bumpy events (death of a partner, significant relationship break-up, extreme financial stress, career changes, etc). And as a child I was painfully shy - even at 12 years old I couldn't ask to buy an ice-block at the local shop!

But through it all I've always had an optimism (sometimes shaky) that things will change and improve. And of course they did.

I now see "bumps" as learning opportunities, and realise that my life is not the events, but my interpretations of the events. And that how I choose to interpret events is completely under my control.

Our thoughts and beliefs are funny things - they're ways of seeing the world and ourselves that we take on often at a young age (or can't remember when). But they sure have a huge and enduring impact on us! The problem beliefs are the limiting ones, the beliefs that hold us back from realising our potential, or keep us locked into unhelpful habits.

My interest in hypnotherapy comes from a frustration from my own (often expensive!) experiences with prolonged talk therapies that endlessly stir and reflect on the trauma or problem. I had a curiosity that there must be a better, more efficient way to eradicate useless limiting beliefs.

When I first saw a hypnotherapist I was in my 20's and it was to address an issue that was really holding me back in life - it was the belief I had that I was a boring person. Yes I can laugh looking back, but I also feel a lot of compassion for my younger self. Because I believed I was boring to other people, it not only inhibited me from joining conversations or telling a funny story, but It also impacted the way I talked; always being brief and hesitant.

When core beliefs shift, behaviours and outcomes also shift. And that's the power and efficiency of hypnotherapy.

Why Green Dog Hypnotherapy?

The name Green Dog Hypnotherapy is essentially a tribute to our wonderful imaginations.

I love to read and growing up one of my family’s favourite children’s picture books was Go Dog Go by P.D Eastman. It’s an easy read following colourful dogs flying helicopters, riding ferris wheels and driving cars. Delighting and engaging in the wonders of imagination is a unique human quality.

Imagination is one of the paradoxical traits of human beings, an endless reservoir of creativity that can bring us so much pleasure and yet so much anxiety. For example, the more imagination you have, the more capacity you have to produce anxiety. Simply experiencing anxiety is evidence that you’re an imaginative person.

If you have enough imagination to get anxious about a future that hasn’t happened yet, then you definitely have enough imagination to learn how to find calm and relaxation. Essentially, with hypnotherapy, the worse the anxiety is, the easier it is to change it.

Every time you find yourself deeply absorbed in a book, completely distracted from conscious thought about the world around you, for a time so focused on your book that your unconscious imagination has completely taken over and you’re almost feeling what the character feels, then you’re experiencing hypnosis.

More About Me.

If you want to find out more about my interests and motivations for hypnotherapy, read on...

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6 Wheels Co-Parenting

6 Wheels Co-parenting is the culmination of my years of research and learning from running co-parenting group workshops. And a lot of experimentation in my own, once high-conflict, co-parenting relationship!

During the 6 Wheels Programme I coach parents to become an experimental social scientist in their own lives, applying evidence-based interventions to set in motion automatic positive behaviours.

This is a fresh approach to co-parenting conflict that is strategic, tactical and backed by psychology research and philosophy. 6 Wheels is a framework to nudge your co-parenting relationship into perpetual positive motion using a series of evidence-based tactical interventions.

While the 6 Wheels Programme is not hypnotherapy, it does include many of the same principles of empowerment, such as the concept that your life is your interpretations of events, rather than events themselves, and these interpretations are under your control.

Kettlebell Sport

I have competed in kettlebell sport since 2015, and the older I get, the more I enjoy it! It combines power, strength and endurance using different lifts to bring a kettlebell overhead for max reps over a certain time, eg 10 mins, 30 mins etc.

When I first started competing, I was so so nervous to be on a platform with a judge and audience about to watch and assess my every move. I would feel physically sick! Now I still feel nervous but in a good way - I lean into the excitement and anticipation of waiting for the countdown to start, knowing that I've trained well, I'm going to give it my best, and that I'm very fortunate to be in this competition.

Kettlebell Sport has a huge mental component - the mind will give up far quicker than the body. And this is what got me intrigued about sports psychology and performance, and how we can train our brains to optimise physical performance.

Hypnotherapy supported my 2023 competitions where endurance was a huge factor - I had to last 1hr with continuous overhead lifting. Mental training and visualisation also plays a big role in sports training and competing.

Stoic Philosophy and Positive Psychology

Stoicism and positive psychology both examine how we can thrive, rather than simply survive.

Both schools of thought have been hugely influential in my life, and taught me the value and impact of reframing, accepting, and being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Stoic Philosophy

Stoicism is a framework for living well. It's a school of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy that says it's possible to live well in every situation as long as you cultivate a frame of mind that develops capacity to overcome adversity.

Positive Psychology

In its broadest sense the positive in positive psychology

is about helping us understand how we can lead our lives well.

Stroke Rehabilitation

In the years I have worked to support people to return to work after a stroke, I have become increasingly curious about neuroplasticity and the brain's natural capacity to 'rewire' itself.

A stroke takes place when the blood supply to the brain experiences a sudden interruption, whether from a blockage (ischemic stroke) or a ruptured blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). This interruption causes a lack of oxygen and nutrients, resulting in damage to brain cells and potentially leading to various debilitating consequences.

I have seen the impact on stroke recovery of:

The metaphors people use to describe themselves after a stroke ("I'm a shell of my former self")
Fears and how they adversely frame the 'journey' of recovery ("I just can't see how things will get better")
Self-belief ("I'm a tough old bird; I'll get through this")
Motor imagery training (spending time visualising the affected limb functioning normally again)

Stroke recovery is my particular area of interest in hypnotherapy, including pain reduction, motor relearning, stress reduction, targeted goal-setting, cognitive rehab, improving self-efficacy.