About Me
After graduating from Bristol University Medical School in 2005, I worked as a junior doctor across the South West and have been a practising GP since 2010. Over the course of my medical career I have developed a particular clinical interest in mental health and wellbeing and continue to enjoy supporting and treating patients through my NHS work in several practices in the Bristol area.
Whilst traditional medical approaches have a vital role to play for many patients, the inevitable limitations of NHS provisions led me to explore other avenues of support I could offer to people looking to improve their wellbeing.
Through years of clinical experience treating patients and personal academic research, I became increasingly aware of the unquestionable link between the brain’s response to stress, and the impact this has on our mental and physical health.
Our brains in the modern world
Modern life is busy. Meeting our work and family responsibilities, making sure we keep in touch with friends, keeping up with hobbies and having new adventures, fitting in exercise, and all in a digital age which means we can never truly switch off. From the moment we wake, it can feel like our only option is to just keep going, ticking off the to-do list until bedtime.
Our brains and bodies keep pace with this demand through an adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormone) driven response which can get us through, but at what cost? As a GP, I see the effects of this stress response in my patients struggling with anxiety, depression, Irritable bowel syndrome, headaches and chronic pain.
Why Hypnotherapy?
Through my training as a medical doctor and subsequent qualification as a hypnotherapist, I have great confidence in the neuroscientific basis of hypnosis as a powerful adjunct to talking therapy. The mainstream medical community is becoming more aware of the potential benefits of hypnotherapy with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence now recommending hypnotherapy as a psychological intervention for IBS.
Hypnotherapy and Me
In both my professional and personal lives, I have seen how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy has helped friends, family, patients and clients deal with some of life’s very greatest challenges with strength, acceptance, rationality, good humour and resilience.
I first discovered hypnotherapy having offered to be a ‘guinea pig’ for an inspirational and talented friend who was training to become a solution focused hypnotherapist. Experiencing first hand the power of this enjoyable and transformative therapy to focus the mind, rewrite unhelpful thought patterns and achieve lasting change convinced me this was the path I wanted to take in my professional life.
And being free of a lifelong spider phobia following hypnotherapy is the icing on the cake!
Disclaimer
My clinical practice as a hypnotherapist is completely separate from my GP work and I do not offer private GP or medical services. For insurance and indemnity reasons I am unable to offer medical advice or opinion during clinical hypnotherapy sessions.