Psychotherapist & Author
'What sets Breaking Bad Patterns apart is its emphasis on actionable strategies for change'
'An empowering journey that teaches readers to rewrite the stories that have been etched in their emotional brains'
'A very accessible, well written self-help book'
'It is the practical advice that makes the book really standout'
'The fact that examples of behaviour are drawn from the author's personal experiences make it particularly powerful'
'The highlight of the book for me was the 12-week programme'
'With its insightful wisdom, practical strategies, and compassionate guidance, this book has the power to inspire profound personal transformation'
Pattern Decoding Course
The course is FAB! This means that firstly we are going to Find your bad patterns and then focus on the one that is most troublesome. Secondly we are going to Analyse the pattern. To do this you will be taught the Pattern Decoding Model. Lastly you will learn how to Break the pattern and create a new, positive pattern.
How are we going to do this? Is this an on-line course of ready made videos? Do I get to work with you directly? My course consists of 6 sessions via Zoom and you will be working with me directly.
How do I know if this course is for me? Before we start there will be a free 15 minute Q and A session. Your chance to decide if this is something you want to engage in. I also can assess if you are suitable for the course as there are certain instances where other modes of treatment might be more suitable, for example if trauma ( PTSD ) is uppermost, EMDR is probably going to be the path to take. Likewise there are many conditions that require longer term therapy and support.
What kind of patterns can you help in these 6 sessions? There are many different types of bad patterns we can work with. Often they show up in relationships with others, and different types of anxiety feature heavily. Depression is a common specific pattern.
Can we really break a pattern in 6 weeks? Some patterns can indeed be broken in this time frame but others do take longer. For example OCD is fairly complex, and we wouldn't expect this type of pattern to fall away. Instead you would learn what and why your brain is doing what it does, and be given tools that start to slowly break this difficult pattern.
What are the techniques that we will be using? This course is for people who want to deepen their understanding of how and why they end up in a negative loop. We will specifically be following the chapters/material in 'Breaking Bad Patterns'. If you are looking for anything else, this course is not for you.
Will I be required to do anything between sessions? Yes! Like most things in life the more you put into this course, the better the outcome. If you don't want to do any work between sessions, then this course is not for you. Otherwise it's like being shown how to use gym equipment and never actually using it!
The big question, how much does it cost? I could now play the marketing game and say that my course is worth £10000, and if you sign up instantly, you will receive bonus material worth £100's of pounds. How about 50% off if you sign up today? Or 80%? I am not playing any of these games and instead offering my course for what I think is fair value. £750 for 6 hourly zoom sessions.
No bonuses at all?! During the course you can email me with questions about the course ( an upper limit of 10 ). Additionally I will send you a free hardback copy of my book so that you can read this as you move through the course.
How do I pay? Once you decide to do the course, the full fee of £750 is payable by bank transfer.
Is the course weekly? The first three weeks are weekly, and the second three weeks are fortnightly. This gives you more time to practice the techniques.
Could I just buy your book and do the 12 week programme instead? Yes, sure. You will hopefully help yourself greatly by doing this. What you won't get is one-to-one coaching with myself and help with pattern decoding. Additionally I will be choosing techniques that I believe are best suited to the pattern you have chosen to break.
Will there be any slides/notes to go with the course? Yes, there will be slides and these will be available in full after you complete the course.
Is this course value for money? Clearly I am going to say yes! I do believe that when you look at the price of coaching courses in particular, my course is unusual in that you work with me directly the whole time. Additionally the course is unique, and I have spent over 40 years deepening my understanding of psychological patterns.
Lastly, are you then going to upsell after I complete the course!? I have no plans to do this as I am not a fan of this type of marketing as you may have guessed. Once you have completed the course, that is it. I am aware that some of you may want an occasional top up session and this will be available at £125.
My Story
I am a BABCP accredited cognitive behavioural psychotherapist, and a published author now into my third decade of practice. I have worked with a wide range of psychological disorders: depression, generalised anxiety, phobias, addictions, eating disorders, panic disorder, social anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and have specialised in trauma and PTSD.
After completing a psychology degree, I became a professional hypnotherapist, by completing a diploma in ericksonian hypnosis, psychotherapy and neuro-linguistic programming. I continued training with a counselling course at Oxford University, a mindfulness based cognitive therapy course, also at Oxford University, and a university advanced diploma in cognitive skills and studies at Derby University. This culminated in completing an MSc in cognitive behavioural psychotherapy at Derby University, where I achieved first class honours. I also had a paper published in The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist; ‘ An examination of structural dissociation of the personality and the implications for cognitive behavioural therapy’.
I have had a lifelong experience of what it like to struggle with mental health problems, and have spent decades exploring countless different ways to fix myself. This is what eventually led me to train as a psychotherapist so I could help others with techniques that work in the real world.
Growing up with a domineering, critical father, the seeds were sown for self-doubt, and self-loathing. Being bullied at school began at 6 years old, and got a lot worse when I was sent away to another school. At this point the bullying reached unbearable levels. It never stopped for the next 10 years. Being an outsider was an emotional truth set in stone.
I coped with and endured physical, emotional and sexual abuse by learning to survive one day at a time. Looking back there were many mental health diagnoses that were applicable: complex PTSD, depression, OCD, and social anxiety.
It took decades to recover from the psychological damage, and even now, there are numerous triggers that drop me through a trap door to my past. However, because of my experiences, I have a unique perspective of living with a traumatised brain.
For many years I could not understand why I was constantly bullied and stuck in a pattern of being unable to form intimate relationships. I became fascinated with pattern repetition, and discovered there did not seem to many books that simply explained why this happens. Four decades later, I believe that Breaking Bad Patterns will help others to understand why our brains are programmed to keep us prisoners of the past.
I know from personal experience that psychological transformation is an enduring journey of small steps and with this in mind, I have given the reader 60 techniques that they can choose from. I was always looking for the ‘magic bullet’, but the reality is that you have to work hard to break bad patterns. Are you ready to begin the journey?
Newsletter
The idea of sending my newsletter is to keep you updated with news and tips. The art of breaking bad patterns is an ever evolving process and so I have created Mind Squawk on Instagram. Here we can discuss any thoughts and feelings of your choosing.
Subscribe now and get a FREE PDF of my PATTERN DECODING MODEL template. In Part 2 of my book, I show you how to decode your bad patterns. With this template, answer the questions and soon you will be decoding your own patterns.
If you are interested in learning more about breaking bad patterns, and are wondering why you are stuck in a negative loop, please sign up to my Breaking Bad Patterns newsletter.
Contact
Going forwards I will only be doing my Pattern Decoding Course. More info above. It consists of 6 sessions via Zoom.