I've experienced a few changes of 'career' in my life. My love of weather took me into my first job with the Meteorological Office in that beautiful coastal town of Plymouth. My next move was into the Department of Health and Social Security in London where I first encountered the ludicrous systems the Government has to support those who are suffering. Systems where a 25 year old (me) with no medical qualifications gets to make a decision about whether or not someone is fit for work by asking a stack of insensitive questions. I can't help but think that this brief encounter (it lasted 4 months before becoming intolerable) influenced my current occupation.

I then spent 15 years of my life working as a computer programmer/systems analyst, designing systems for a chemical company in Manchester (UK). During this time I experienced many severe episodes of what I now recognise as unhappiness caused by being unaware of my high physiological sensitivity, and that the problem was largely one of over-arousal for extended periods, but the doctors diagnosed it as severe or chronic anxiety and maybe even depression. I guess they thought I was depressed (I never did, I just thought I was scared of life) because I swallowed an awful lot of anti-depressants. Still, that lengthy period of unhappiness, culminating in a request, from my employers, to leave my employment, was a long time ago now. It was followed by a period of healing, during which I encountered new ways of viewing life and the world - ways that seemed to make so much more sense than the beliefs I had held for so long. During that period of healing, of getting to know the real me, I realised that though anxiolytics and anti-depressants help to make life tolerable they never change anything. And because they never change anything you have to spend your life worried about leaving the house without sufficient supply of drugs in your pocket to cover 'emergencies'; or worry every time you go to get your prescription whether or not your GP will change your drugs and put you through that Hell of having to re-adjust without ending up feeling any better; or go through the Hell of coming off them and be back in exactly the same place as you were all those years ago when you started taking them.. It's a real Catch-22 situation.

So I started looking for 'a better way'.

Part of that seeking led me to explore Hypnotherapy. So I did. I trained, received my certificate, then my diploma, and I continued working towards Full Membership of the British Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

I discovered that hypnosis is a wonderful therapeutic tool and using it I am able to make a positive impact upon the lives of those who come to visit me. I get a great deal of pleasure when someone comes with a phobia, say, and in the space of one session this long-term problem just disappears and they are free of its restrictions. Unfortunately, not everything is fixed so easily and problems like the one I had - long-term anxiety, panic attacks, nervousness, agoraphobia and so on, take longer to alleviate. But I find these equally rewarding as it gives me the opportunity to get know those who come to me and I receive welcome feedback so the treatment can be individually tailored.

In my Journey I also discovered other ideas to assist you in making whatever changes you wish to make. My joy is to share what I know with a willing listener. To share with someone who is willing to do what it takes in order to be free of their prison bars. I love to use my skills and knowledge to ensure that whoever comes to me doesn't have to endure the Hell that I endured for a significant part of my life. I don't treat you from a book. I use books to support my own knowledge, experience, and intuition.

...and talking of books, I recently came across a book called The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N Aron. This book speaks of the one in five of us who are born with an extremely sensitive physiology. I realised two things while reading this book, Elaine was describing me with an insight that no one else has ever shown, and she was also describing a significant proportion of the people who come to me for help. So if you happen to be an HSP and you'd like some help from a practitioner who understands what that means from the inside, then please get in touch.

I have experienced ineffective treatment from psychiatrists and psychologists. I have also experienced very effective treatment from one psychologist, Dr Robin Hensman, whose wonderfully gentle approach and sensitivity gave me the model I use to be with those who come to me for help. I treat people gently and with sensitivity. No one has to sit, with the panic rising inside them for twenty minutes or half an hour, waiting to see me. I operate from a comfortable relaxed environment. I enjoy my work, and smile, and don't wear a suit or a tie, but I'm deadly serious about what I do.

I hope you decide to come and visit. You can even come and have a chat about your problem for free, so that you can decide whether you'd like me to help you live the life you were born to live.

I hope to see you soon.