Willow Therapies & Training

I worked for many years in the voluntary sector managing mental health services. I left this role in 2012 to set up Willow Therapies and now work out of my busy practice in South Belfast; I also offer Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and Stress Awareness sessions online via Zoom. I currently provide complementary therapies for the Wave Trauma Centre and am a sessional trainer for Aware NI and Macmillan Cancer Support NI.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy uses practical, modern and well researched strategies to help people make significant and positive changes in their lives within a relatively short period of time. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy focuses on the present and future and not the past; together we look at what you want to achieve and ask you to consider your preferred future, for instance, what would be better if your problem had improved?

Hypnosis or 'trance' describes times when we experience a shift in our conscious awareness; it is a natural, relaxed and safe state, created using guided relaxation and visualisation techniques, where the mind can relax and focus on thoughts and suggestions that may be useful.

We all experience trance many times a day - remember times when you have driven to work or home with no memory of the detail of your journey or been so engrossed in a book or a TV programme that you lost all track of time?Hypnosis is not something that is 'done' to you, you do not lose control and the trance you experience during hypnotherapy is very different from what happens during 'stage hypnosis'.

An initial consultation takes about an hour, no hypnosis takes place during this session, however you will learn how the brain works and how this may influence how you deal with the issues you are experiencing. You will receive a free CD/Mp3 to listen to between sessions which will support the effectiveness of the hypnotherapy.

I work with individuals to help them identify the source of their stress and develop an individualised action plan to manage and reduce the impact of stress in their life. I offer simple mindfulness and relaxation exercises and clients will receive a relaxation audio to listen to between sessions. I also provide half and full day Stress Management workshops which can be tailored to meet the needs of the group or organisation.