I write this after 30 years clinical full time practice in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. I have conducted over 17,000 therapy sessions.
I have enjoyed just about every day of the 30 years of 6 days a week I have worked.
I have helped thousands of people worldwide.
I trained with the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, beginning my training at Brook Hospital, Blackheath, Kent then Cheadle Hulme, Manchester and finally Glasgow.
I qualified with a distinction and subsequently became a fellow of National Society of Hypnosis & Psychotherapy.
I became a full member of the National Register of Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists and the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapy & a supervisor.
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My proudest moment was receiving a foreword from Dr Albert Ellis for a book that I wrote on the treatment of anxiety.
I visited him in New York to thank him and became great friends with his wife and entrustee of his REBT legacy Dr Debbie Joffe Ellis.
We have a website www.ellisREBT.com
I also wrote another book about overcoming severe balance difficulties in rapid time.
My first ever client had issues with confidence. I think it fair to say that I was more nervous than her!
One of my many memorable moments was helping to get a person’s voice back. They presented with psychosomatic voice loss and could barely speak.
I treated a lady for confidence problems 15 years ago. She came back for a follow up a year ago and as she was leaving after the session, she said, “Oh I meant to tell you that these sessions that i had 14 years ago helped me in other ways”! I said what do you mean? She replied ” I did not tell you at the time but i was suffering from unexplained infertility (tension usually), well i went away and had twins”!
You could have knocked me down with a feather!
The main presenting symptoms that people have is anxiety and lack of confidence.
The most common word they use to describe the problem is ‘I overthink things’.
The vast majority of people I have treated are highly intelligent, overly conscientious, care too much what others think, a labile nervous system and a ‘PhD’ in self-criticism!
I have treated every psychological problem there is.
Having experienced anxiety an depression 35 years ago I was more easily able to identify with people and their difficulties. Then combining the work of Dr Claire Weekes, Dr Albert Ellis and Dr Milton Erickson I have been quickly able to help people towards recovery.
The gloomiest aspect of my job is reading or meeting other therapists who naively and obsessionally guide their client towards looking into their past.
This, in my view makes the person’s symptoms and over all profile worse.
I have no plans to retire and look forward to a number of years helping even more people with my experience.
I thank you all and i hope you too have enjoyed the experience.
I would never have been able to do it without the support of my terrific parents, the late Nancy and Stanley.
Robin W. Thorburn ADHP (NC) MNRHP FNSHP UKCP (H)
