Services
Outlined below are some of the services available, designed to support mental health, emotional wellbeing and performance across a range of personal and professional challenges.
SERVICES
Clinical Hypnotherapy
Clinical hypnotherapy is a therapeutic approach where a properly and thoroughly trained clinical hypnotherapy professional uses hypnosis to help a person work on psychological or physical concerns. There are numerous courses available claiming to teach hypnotherapy, many of them as short as ten to 14 days, and some offering a variety of press and media releases featuring the business owner as endorsement of competence rather than well-recognised and accredited professional qualifications. Frankly, while these courses can prepare students for providing simple stress management relaxation and help with smoking cessation, they simply cannot replace thorough hypnotherapy and psychotherapy programs covering three to four years. All the above amounts to one word of warning – be sure to check the credentials of any hypnotherapist you might consider consulting. Look for membership of well-recognised and preferably government-endorsed registration authorities. The Australian Hypnotherapists Association is probably the most respected accreditation body in Australia. Personally, I now choose registration with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy for three reasons. Firstly, it requires a total of some 1,850 hours of training over a minimum of four years to achieve the government-recognised Advanced Diploma that opens the gate to UKCP registration – that, to me, meant very thorough education, and indeed it was. Secondly, the course covered not only clinical hypnotherapy but also psychotherapy. Thirdly, the psychotherapy component of the program was not restricted to only Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as are many of the courses available in Australia, and some of the psychodynamic psychotherapy work taught has been most helpful in my clinic practice over the years. Let’s now take a closer look at hypnotherapy. Put simply, hypnosis is a state of focused attention and deep relaxation (not unconsciousness) during which people may be more open to positive suggestions, imagery, and reflection. Clinical hypnotherapy is useful to reinforce other treatments mentioned on this site to help with stress, anxiety, sleep problems, habit management, phobias, pain management, self confidence related problems and a broad range of other issues. When undergoing hypnotherapy, you do not become unconscious or out of control, and you cannot be made to do anything you really don’t want to do. The process, when used by a well-qualified professional, is very safe. Multiple clinical studies support the use of hypnotherapy for reducing chronic pain and pain related to medical procedures. As I type this, I’m just a few days out of hospital following hip replacement surgery. I prepared using self-hypnosis and also used it during my time in hospital. I used no opiate or other heavyweight pain medication apart from one tablet the medical staff insisted I take soon after I awoke from anaesthesia. Some findings show hypnotherapy can reduce pain intensity and improve quality of life compared with standard care alone. Meta-analyses indicate hypnotherapy can be effective for psychosomatic symptoms (conditions with both mind and body elements), with medium effect sizes seen in some research. Hypnosis that targets the gut has evidence for helping with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and improving related symptoms. Some clinical research suggests hypnotherapy can reduce state anxiety, such as fear around medical or dental procedures, and research integrating hypnosis with cognitive therapy (e.g., cognitive hypnotherapy) suggests hypnosis can play a role in treating depressive symptoms. There is widespread agreement in the scientific community that hypnotherapy is not a miracle cure — it tends to be most effective as part of a broader treatment plan – one also involving traditional psychotherapeutic interventions and this is the manner in which I have used it in my practice, with success, over many years.
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)
REBT is a therapy intervention devised by American psychologist, Albert Ellis, and it is one of my favourite practices, simply because it works so effectively, and is easy to comprehend and use. It is an action-oriented therapy that involves recognising and disputing negative thought patterns that give rise to anxiety and depression using a five phase process (originally four) simply called ABCDE. A=activating event, B=beliefs triggered by the event, C=consequences of those beliefs, both emotional and behavioural, D=disputation of irrational beliefs identified, and E=effects of overriding irrational beliefs with more rational ones. REBT is very effective in dealing with stress and anxiety and the emotional conditions that result from them. Soon after this site is launched, I will post a descriptive blog post regarding REBT, which will be intended to help many readers.
Rogerian Counselling
Rogerian counselling, a client-centred therapy, is a non-directive approach to psychotherapy developed by American psychologist Carl Rogers. It is humanistic - it posits that every individual possesses an innate actualising tendency—a drive toward growth and fulfillment. The Rogerian counsellor regards the client as an expert on their own life, and so acts as a facilitator rather than an authority figure in the counselling process; more a mentor assisting the client to identify their own solutions to problems than a coach telling the client how to resolve issues. Rogers identified six requirements for therapeutic change. The first is there must be congruence in the sense the therapist is authentic and transparent, and shares their feelings and thoughts genuinely. Implied is there can be no incongruence, generally defined as the therapist experiencing some unresolved concerns similar to those the client is experiencing. The next principle also has two components -  Therapist’s empathetic understanding - the therapist strives to deeply understand the client's emotional experience and communicates this understanding back to the client so well that the client feels the therapist’s empathy. The final component is Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR) which also has two components. The therapist offers complete acceptance and support for the client to explore their feelings without judgement or fear of rejection, regardless of what the client shares, and secondly, the client clearly senses the therapist’s UPR. Rogerian therapy is non-directive - the therapist does not provide advice or direct the conversation. Instead, they actively listen, paying close attention to both the verbal and emotional content of the client's message. The therapist also uses the technique of reflection - paraphrasing or restating the client’s words to help them hear their own thoughts more clearly and gain new awareness. The Rogerian counsellor also asks open questions to ensure accurate understanding of their client's perspective. Properly applied, Rogerian counselling can assist clients enhance self-esteem and experience personal growth and personal empowerment. I am a great believer in the power of Rogerian counselling and really relish the way in which it so seamlessly can be integrated with other forms of therapy, including CBT, ACT, REBT and DBT.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, involves the therapist assisting you to understand how thinking gives rise to feelings and behaviours. It extends to the therapist working with you to show how sometimes quite simple cognitive exercises, and even relatively small changes in behaviour, can be most effective in interrupting the repetitive/recurring and less-than-useful patterns of thinking, and enhancing functioning and enjoyment of life. CBT has been proven effective in dealing with a wide range of psychological issues, and is central to several other related interventions, including Exposure and Response Therapy (ERP) for treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Progressive Desensitisation for addressing phobias.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, can assist you to develop a higher level of psychological flexibility. This is achieved by learning to recognise stress/pain/discomfort, but rather than reacting to them, which can actually increase the level of discomfort, accepting them as a part of life without judgement, and using mindfulness to remain in the moment while moving attention from them. ACT also involves committing to useful/valued external action/activity rather than be consistently restricted by painful internal thought processes. ACT is often useful for dealing with clients facing difficult psychological challenges that do not fit specifically into a clear diagnostic category. It involves initially assessing and frequent review of client progress as measured across six core aspects of ACT process, including acceptance of current feelings and commitment to action.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), often referred to as  "tapping," was founded by Stanford-educated engineer Gary Craig, who refined the core of a previous tapping system devised by Dr. Roger Callahan. EFT combines acupressure and cognitive therapy to relieve stress, anxiety, pain, and trauma by tapping on meridian points while focusing on negative emotions and reciting relevant therapist-suggested statements. EFT is probably best described as a mind-body technique designed to help calm the fight-or-flight response and reframe negative thought patterns, often used alongside other treatment interventions.  Along with several other senior practitioners, I consider that the method, used correctly, merges into the area of hypnotherapy in that the process of simultaneously focussing on a negative emotion, and a sequence of tapping points and the repeated statement tends to lead to an element of confusion, which is often used as part of hypnotic induction. The efficacy of the process has been formally established by the research of my university colleague Prof. Peta Stapleton, and is articulated in her book, The Science of Tapping. I completed all available levels of training in the technique with the founder, Gary Craig, and have used it extensively as an adjunct therapeutic tool, with considerable success.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a ‘talk’ therapy, based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). DBT teaches clients skills to manage their intense emotions, improve their relationships, and cope with distress. It can be particularly useful for especially for people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) but also useful for depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and problems arising from substance use. DBT might in some ways be seen to be similar to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as it involves a balance of accepting yourself (acceptance) with commitment to making positive changes (commitment). DBT involves the therapist teaching the client core skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness, and it can be delivered through individual therapy sessions, group skills training sessions, and phone coaching.  Mindfulness is a key component of DBT, and sessions teach clients to be present and aware in times of distress, without judging the distress experience. Another key component of DBT is Distress Tolerance, aimed at control of thinking to prevent things getting worse when crisis strikes, and this skill is usually taught in concert with emotional regulation techniques to assist clients to understand, accept and change intense emotional responses. DBT can be of particular benefit to individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), those who might experience suicidal or self-harm thoughts, and people suffering from PTSD, depression, substance use disorders, and eating disorders. Ther objective of DBT is to reduce ineffective and/or self-destructive behaviours by providing practical, effective coping strategies that optimise potential for a better quality of life,