HOW I HELP:
Sometimes understanding the problem doesn't change the reaction.
You can know there is nothing to be frightened of and still feel anxious. You can know you are capable and still lose confidence. You can understand exactly why something affects you and still find yourself reacting in the same way.
That is because many of the responses that cause problems in everyday life are automatic. They can happen before rational thought has much opportunity to intervene.
My work focuses on changing those automatic response patterns, rather than simply helping you become better at managing them.
AREAS I WORK WITH:
Anxiety & Panic
When your brain and body continue to signal threat even when you know, rationally, that you are safe. This can include general anxiety, panic, overwhelm, anticipatory anxiety and reactions that seem to appear for no obvious reason.
Confidence & Self-Belief
Confidence can disappear remarkably quickly. Sometimes after a particular event; sometimes after criticism, judgement or a period of pressure; and sometimes without an obvious explanation. The ability may still be there even when the feeling of confidence isn't.
Performance
You can be extremely capable and still find that pressure changes what happens when it matters. I work with the automatic reactions that interfere with concentration, decision-making, confidence and performance.
Grief, Loss & Major Change
Sometimes the brain struggles to update after life changes dramatically. Grief, relationship breakdown, changes in identity and major life events can leave people feeling stuck in responses that no longer allow them to move forward.
Trauma & PTSD
Traumatic experiences can leave the brain predicting danger long after the original event has passed. My work focuses on changing the automatic responses that continue to be triggered in the present.
Phobias & Specific Fears
Flying, driving, medical procedures, animals, enclosed spaces, heights or something highly individual. Knowing that a fear is irrational rarely prevents the automatic reaction from occurring.
Rider Confidence
A specialist area of my practice. I work with riders whose fear or loss of confidence no longer reflects their actual riding ability — whether that followed a fall, a frightening experience, judgement, increased responsibility or apparently nothing at all.
Chronic Pain & Physical Responses
Pain and other physical responses are influenced by complex interactions between the brain, nervous system and body. Where learned protective responses are contributing to the problem, BWRT can be used as part of work aimed at changing those patterns.
You don't need a neat label for what is happening.
Many people come to me knowing only that something isn't right.
Perhaps you are avoiding something you used to enjoy. Perhaps you're constantly braced for something to go wrong. Perhaps you keep repeating a behaviour you genuinely want to stop. Or perhaps you simply don't feel like yourself anymore.
The precise problem varies.
What often matters is the same question:
What has your brain learned to do automatically - and does it still need to do it?
Why understanding isn't always enough
Insight can be useful. But knowing why you react in a particular way doesn't necessarily prevent the reaction.
BWRT® works with the automatic response itself.
Rather than waiting for the unwanted feeling or behaviour to occur and then trying to control it, the work focuses on updating the response pattern behind it.
The aim is not to become better at tolerating the old reaction.
It is for the old reaction to stop being generated in the first place.
Working with me
My approach is direct, focused and individual.
You will not be expected to spend months repeatedly analysing the same problem, and you do not have to disclose more detail than you are comfortable sharing. BWRT can often be used without repeatedly revisiting or describing distressing experiences.
I am a Registered Advanced BWRT® Practitioner and work with clients across a wide range of psychological, emotional and performance-related issues.
Alongside my broader practice, I have specialist expertise in rider confidence and performance, informed both by my clinical work and my own background as an elite equestrian competitor. I also come from an Army background and worked with HM Armed Forces for a large part of my life.
Ready for something to change?
Begin with a conversation.
The initial consultation allows us to look at what is happening, what you would like to change and whether BWRT is an appropriate approach for you.
The consultation fee is redeemable against your first therapy session if you decide to proceed.