“My task was to remove the obstacles blocking my patients path…the rest would follow automatically”.
Yalom (2001)

❖ Nature encourages survival…I strongly believe that you have the resources you need…
perhaps we simply need to remove the obstacles that stand in
your way and help you to flourish….
❖ My vision is inspired by:
Psychoanalyst Karen Horney (1885-1952) who believed
individuals can develop…
“…just as an acorn develops into an oak”.

…we are all predisposed to grow, to flourish, to feel good, to realise our potential and here at oak tree therapies, my aim is to work with you as we seek to discover what you need…and use the tools we have from a range of modalities to help you live life the way you choose…to be the very best version of you.

It is my role as your therapist to promote an environment of change…as such I offer a range of modalities within my therapy so to adapt to meet your needs…I work as an accredited counsellor with BACP, am an EMDR therapist, BECK certified CBT therapist, NLP, clinical psychotherapist/hypnotherapist and provide many more holistic therapies such as Reiki (master) and
Egyptian Sekhem (master)…

❖ Sports/performance focused clinical hypnotherapy;
Sports anxiety occurs when individuals view competitive situations as threatening and respond to these situations with apprehension and tension (Martens et al 1990). Pressure causes our motor skills that are usually automatic to become impaired due to the additional tension.

❖ 6 Steps to Overcome Sports Performance Anxiety…
1. Practice, practice, practice… Nothing will build your confidence and skills needed to achieve your goals like action…consistent training.
2. Keep routines in place…same equipment, sportswear, training grounds etc familiarity reduces anxiety.
3. Reframe anxiety… realize that you are anxious because you have invested a significant amount of time and energy into preparation.
4. Reduce outside interactions…this helps to remain focused and relaxed.
5. Channel energy and focus…to be mentally prepared.
6. Get in the zone: mimic that mental energy, that mental place where you are confident, energetic, and ready to give it your best.

❖ The impact of anxiety on sports/performance…
Stress and pressure comes hand in hand with competitive sports and can lead to a decrease in athletic performance. This stress can arise for many reasons, from the pressure of having an audience watch to feelings of self-doubt when faced with a tough opponent. The immense pressure to achieve – and the worries about failing not only yourself but everyone who has supported you – can severely impact performance…sound familiar?

For many people, it can feel impossible to overcome a fixed mindset, however…since these limitations manifest in our subconscious…this is where hypnotherapy can provide a helping hand…accessing your subconscious mind and helping you to move towards a more positive mindset.

The subconscious mind is magnificent. It’s millions of times more powerful than the conscious mind.
Consider that you have over seventy-trillion cells in your body. Consider that all of these cells are doing something right now and that your conscious mind has nothing to do with this process.

Your conscious mind isn’t even aware of this process! These cells get their direction from your subconscious mind.
Your conscious mind couldn’t cope with this process as it can only focus on one thing at a time.

The subconscious mind is able to do many things at the same time, and as your subconscious mind doesn’t sleep, it works twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for as long as it needs to. This is why you’re able to breathe, even while you’re fast asleep.

The subconscious mind is a goal directed mind which is very unlike the process directed conscious mind. When the subconscious mind locks onto a goal, it’s like a heat seeking missile. It will stay locked onto its goal, and work at achieving its goal until it’s achieved it. It can do this day and night for as long as it takes.

If it’s true that the subconscious mind is so powerful, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could direct this tremendous force towards improving results in the field of sport. To consistently win at sport, to have a tremendous desire to win and to believe we are worthy of winning. These are mental qualities, and it’s important to realise that winning starts in the mind. All the exercise in the world won’t give you the motivation you need to win…mastery of the mind will!

❖ How can hypnotherapy help with sports performance?
Hypnotherapy can help in this transition as we begin to shift our focus away from the problems, towards solutions, making healthy changes that will benefit our lives in a safe, therapeutic, supported way.

Focus on success and strategy…you might be highly confident in your ability to perform but feel that something is still missing. Some athletes describe this as a ‘winning edge’ or being ‘in the zone’ basically, being highly focused and driven in that all-important moment.

Successful athletes are often able to control their state of mind so they have a psychological advantage, which prevents them from underperforming or giving in to their nerves. This means they can become totally absorbed in what they are doing, barely noticing outside distractions…focused! Hypnotherapy can often help individuals access the ‘zone’ and engage an athlete’s mind in a positive
way to help them focus on their goals and achieve them…

❖ Glenn Catley accessed the ‘zone’ through hypnotherapy.
The former WBC Super Middleweight Champion of the World…
Glenn Catley began his professional boxing career in 1993 when he beat Rick North on a unanimous
decision in his home-town of Bristol.

In the same year, Glenn was unexpectedly given the opportunity to contest for the WBC Super Middleweight World Championship with only 11 days’ notice against fellow Brit Richie Woodhall.
Glenn lost to a 12 round controversial decision, a complete travesty of justice for British Boxing…however the first time Glen implemented hypnotherapy was for his first British championship against Nevill Brown and as he was quoted in saying “on the night I boxed brown, I felt like I could have beaten three Mike Tysons in the same night”. This confidence, self belief, Glen firmly attributes to the benefits of solution focused hypnotherapy

Catley’s second opportunity for World title success came on May 5th 2000. Again, he left nothing to chance…Glenn knocked out Bayer in the 12th and final round to become the WBC Super Middleweight Champion of the World….

You see, Glen knew what to do to get physically fit and set the wheels in motion, but he didn’t quite ‘believe’ he could do it…he had to be mentally fit, get prepared…get ‘in the zone’….and so, to achieve this Glen received more sessions of clinical hypnotherapy with Mr David Newtown, the founding father of our present-day solution-focused hypnotherapy….

Having also trained with the same AFSFH association, I had the privilege of meeting Glen who talked with passion about the positive, life-changing impact of hypnotherapy…the importance of leaving “nothing to chance”…

David Newtown Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist, Chairman and Trustee of AfSFH and Director.

❖ We are a sum of what we focus on…
It’s for these reasons that many sports people make use of hypnotherapy to improve their sporting performance. Hypnotherapy is the key to tapping and directing the tremendous power of the
subconscious mind.

Using hypnotherapy it’s possible to lock the subconscious mind onto a goal to win and to create a tremendous desire to achieve this goal. It’s further possible to improve your self-esteem to the point that you believe you’re worthy of being a winner.

With simple hypnotherapy techniques it’s possible to create an expectation of success and what we expect is what we tend to get.

Putting it simply, hypnosis is the natural harnessing of focused thought…
RISE FROM THE ASHES…

Tyson fury said and I quote;
“…we need to spread the word on mental health….there are a lot of people living in darkness and are
too afraid to come out and speak about it…but if I can do it, anybody can do it, a big heavyweight
champion.”
Watch Tyson fury – ‘the rise’ on youtube