Claire’s Story

I get asked a lot from clients what got me into doing Hypnotherapy. The reason I do this is because I was on a journey to find what works and this one of the briefest most effective tools in therapy. I was motivated when I was young to find a therapy that worked for people, after I was involved in a traumatic event myself.

My journey began when I was on a cruise ship, called the Jupiter, which sank in Greece in 1988. It was a cruise ship full of school children on an educational trip which was hit almost as soon as we had departed and only a mile off shore by a car carrier. In only 40 minutes it had sunk and fortunately many children were rescued without even touching the water, as Greek fishermen came to their aid. The ship was so huge I never knew this had occurred until later.

However, some of us ended up going in to the water and got pulled underneath as the ship sank. I had a drowning experience, going down so far that after what seems like ages of trying to reach the surface of the water, I felt as if I had lost consciousness. I had a near death experience, saw white light and heard voices and saw images in my mind. The next thing I knew my head was above the water and I was so confused and in shock. I thought I had just drowned and now I was swimming in the water, there was only one other person around and I swam over to her. We clung onto some debris and were picked up by fisherman and got taken back to shore. All the time in a state of shock.

As a result of this experience I suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which in the 80’s was still referred to as ‘’shell shock’’ from the war. Having to be assessed by so called ‘’skilled helpers’’ was an eye opener for me, as they were terrible and sometimes doing more harm than good in the case of my friends experience too, with one exception, Professor William Yule. He had been involved in the capsize of the Herald of Free Enterprise, which had sunk a year earlier and I really felt he understood what it was like to deal with PTSD.

I went on to study Psychology as a degree and went into Counselling but felt that approach was too passive. Clients come to us because they want to see and feel the changes and I was determined to find something that helped create the changes that clients dealing with anxiety and depression really need.

Determined to overcome my own fears, I went travelling for 20 months back packing around the world after these studies. It was during that time that I decided I had to know more about Hypnotherapy. Fortunately on my return to the UK in 1998, there was an organisation called the School of Analytical and Cognitive Hypnotherapy (SACH) who were teaching a Diploma that took a year and involved much practise, as well as having to write 100 case studies. After this tuition I knew I had found what I was looking for.

Since then I have been working full time as a self employed Clinical Hypnotherapist, helping others changes their lives with Hypnosis. This has been and continues to be the most rewarding work I could have ever of imagined as I get to help motivated individuals create a positive change in the way they think, feel and behave. If you would like to know more, or to simply find out how this can help you please contact Claire and book a Consultation.

All the best,
Claire Bramham.