What’s the Story?
Well, the story is technically 46 years old and it’s difficult to know at which point in those years the Hypnotherapist story starts in earnest!
In the literal sense, it began fourteen months ago when I embarked upon a life changing Advanced Hypnotherapy Course with Jo Robinson-Howarth, owner of The Happiness Club. In the truest sense though, the story of how I ended up qualifying as a therapist began much earlier than that.
If you are reading this page you probably want to know that I have the relevant qualifications to practise hypnotherapy, that I have experience and that I believe in what I do. The answer is yes to all of them.
In total transparency, it was never on my life’s plan to become a therapist (though I will admit there was never really a life plan) but as these things tend to, an opportunity to train as a Hypnotherapist presented itself to me at the right time in my life to embrace it. Actually, it was offered to me twice – the first time I said I didn’t have the time or the money to spend on the training. The second time, I questioned why it had come back to me and decided to find the money and the time. When things come around twice, it is my belief that you need to pay attention! It was one of the best decisions I have made. So in 2024, at 45 after 24 years working in education, I very proudly graduated from The Happiness Club School of Hypnotherapy after 450 hours of rigorous assessment and learning over nine months.
I think this decade has changed every one of us. The world seemed to rip up the rule book in 2020 and many of us are facing incredibly intense, unprecedented and seemingly relentless personal challenges. We’ve experienced illness and passing of family and friends; financial pressure, loss of jobs and freedoms as well as witnessing global tragedy and instability. For many of us, watching those we love cope with loss and mental health challenges has been excruciatingly painful, undoubtedly impacting our own mental well-being.
For the early part of this decade, I turned to writing to navigate my way through an unrecognisable world and – quite out of character for me – I started to share my poetry and writing. The response was quite staggering and it made me realise how much talking and sharing our experiences could help each of us as we move through life. In allowing myself to be vulnerable and open, so many people reached out and said the pieces resonated – they felt seen.
Looking back from the distance of 2024, I can see now how much of a lifeline the writing was for me. It held my hand through those immensely challenging years, and so when the hypnotherapy training fell onto my path, I knew it was the right time for me to ‘pay it forward’, to learn as much as I could about the therapy, to share my knowledge and help facilitate others’ journeys back to themselves whether that be through alleviating anxiety, building confidence, smoking cessation, hypno healing, or any other barrier life has constructed between a person and living the life they dream of for themselves.
It is my core belief that every one of us deserves to walk through life seeing beauty, feeling valued and knowing laughter and joy. I truly believe hypnotherapy can break down obstacles, barriers and beliefs which hinder this. I have experienced it myself – I know it works.
If I am the right therapist for you, these words will resonate. Rapport with your therapist is paramount and there are many many wonderful therapists out there all unique and with their own specialties. I trust that individuals find their way to the ones that can best support and guide them. If you feel that I could support your journey into hypnosis and facilitating changes in your life, it would be a privilege to do so.☕✨