Resources for Hypnotherapists

Annoucing a new resource for Supervisees

An online forum is now available for all Supervisees. Exchange your news and views, contribute your ideas, share your experiences and create a mutually beneficial resource. Email me for registration details. Sue

Working with Fear of Flying - by Sue McIntyre

Anxiety about air travel is a very common problem. It has been estimated that in excess of 30 million people in Britain and the USA want or need to fly but remain either earthbound or terrified in the air. Stewart Agras, an American psychiatrist and his colleagues at the University of Vermont, as far back as 1969 reported on the basis of 325 randomly selected persons that flying is, along with going to the dentist, the fourth most widespread common fear and affects 198 out of 1000 in the population following snakes (390), heights (307) and storms (211).

In working with clients who struggle with travelling by air, I've found it useful to consider

Is there a generalised anxiety disorder?
Is there a problem with panic disorders and agoraphobia?
Are there specific phobias such as being strapped in, sight of deep water, falling, fire, darkness etc.?
Are there social phobias such as entering a room full of strangers, being told what to do, being judged etc?

These considerations may warrant further exploration, perhaps in the form of hypno-analysis, in order to modify or remove the underlying belief that predisposes the client to anxiety.

These beliefs centre usually upon issues concerning acceptance, competence or control and represent a particular and persistent way of construing the world. The first relates to fear that you or your behaviour will not be acceptable to others, the second to concerns that you are not equal to others in coping with situations and the third to feelings of being dominated by events out of your control (or being domineered by others). Anxious flyers can often be helped to identify the source of their major concern; it might be a critical parent, teacher or friend (if acceptance is the primary issue); failed tasks in the past (when competence is the concern); or an authoritative parent or relative (when control is the major preoccupation).

Some medical conditions may also require particular precautions and clients presenting with any of the following might be well advised to consult their GP.

Blood disorders
Cardiovascular problems
Central nervous system disorders
Ear, nose and throat problems
Gastro-intestinal problems
Metabolic problems
Respiratory problems

In addition, air travel is contra-indicated for those with infectious diseases, those who are seriously ill and in advanced pregnancy beyond the 35^th week for long international journeys and beyond the 36^th week for short journeys.

Anxiety about air travel can be explained as being due to the faulty appraisal of flying as a threat, which in turn produces changes in thoughts, feelings, bodily reactions and behaviour. Symptoms are the body's way of dealing with threats and danger and behavioural responses involves either fight, flight (escape), freeze or faint as adaptive defences.

Eliciting from the client specific problem areas can be useful in matching symptoms and techniques. Common difficulties involve no or little knowledge about how planes fly, uncomfortable body symptoms and irrational ideas and negative thoughts about flying. Ignorance of the principles of flight is probably the easiest to remedy with such information readily available via the Internet or public library. An excellent book entitled 'Taking the Fear out of Flying' by Maurice Yaffe devotes an entire chapter to this subject. A client recently recommended 'Flying without Fear' by Captain Kieth Godfrey - although I haven't read it myself. Bodily symptoms and worrying thoughts both lend themselves to hypnotherapeutic interventions.

Defusing worrying thoughts

Since people can drift in and out of an hypnotic state quite spontaneously throughout the day and because we know that the presence of an emotion is likely to enhance an hypnotic suggestion, it makes sense to take particular note of what people are saying to themselves, their internal dialogue and the images they create to complement this. Combined with anxious thoughts associated with flying for example, internal dialogue along the lines of 'I will ruin my family's holiday because I am terrified of the flight' is dangerously counter-productive. It is necessary for the client to become aware of their thought processes so that they can challenge and re-frame them.

Automatic thoughts have several distinguishing features from other kinds of cognitions, which make them easier to identify:

They occur spontaneously
They are idiosyncratic to each person
They are difficult to switch off
They often lead to similar thoughts
They are believed regardless of how irrational (i.e. bypass conscious critical facilities)
And they are hardly ever noticed ' so are rarely challenged or questioned.
They are generally formulated in terms of absolute statements and ideas and lead one to expect the worst.
They tend to appear in abbreviated form ' words, phrases and images ' and confirm the labelling of flying as a threat dangerous to self or aircraft or both ' for example 'flight tomorrow panicky last time.turbulencecrashingwho would take care of the children?'

Uncritical acceptance of automatic thoughts is an excellent formula for feeding anxiety, for such narrowing of perception excludes any possibility of alternative considerations. This cognitive 'tunnel vision' involves selectively attending to only one set of clues (negative ones!) from a much larger range often manifesting in distorted thinking ' such as

Catastrophising - assuming the worst situation will happen given any possibility for an undesirable outcome (e.g. one change in engine tone means your numbers up!).
Selective abstraction - that is selecting information that fits in with your preconceived ideas (i.e. picking out reports of aircraft accidents from the newspaper and dismissing the hundreds of successful take-offs and landings that happen every day) to prove the point that flying is dangerous.
Polarised thinking - interpreting events in dichotomous terms (e.g. unless a flight can be absolutely guaranteed safe, it must be dangerous.

The shared belief amongst anxious flyers is that something terrible is going to happen over which they have no control. Beck and Emery suggest that three questions need to be posed to facilitate a restructuring of distorted thinking errors. These are

What is the evidence upon which your beliefs are based?
Is there an alternative way of construing the situation?
What are the consequences, EVEN IF they happen?

Peter A Bakal M.D. (A Reframing Approach for Flight Phobia) points out how airlines unintentionally feed distorted thinking and condition people to fear flying by using expressions such as 'terminal' for the airport building, 'departure lounge' and the 'last and final call' for the boarding call. One of the first messages given on the plane is how to cope with a crash and how to use oxygen in case of an emergency. Anxious flyers need little help to create a picture ' they arrive at the 'terminal', are asked if the place they are going is their 'final destination' and are told this is the 'last and final call' for flight 'terminating at Christchurch airport'.

Bakal's technique involves reframing the negative suggestions prevalent in flight terminology, Ericksonian metaphor-type suggestion therapy followed by future pacing (visualising a successful flight). He reported excellent results with a series of 21 patients followed up for three years.

There are many stress-reduction and relaxation-type audio CDs available on the market which may help to support a comfortable flight. I produce a range* of these myself which you can view at www.helpmyselfhypnosis.com Affirmations may have a useful role to play here too - read 'Creative Visualization' by Shakti Gawain and 'You can Heal Your Life' by Louise Hay.

Uncomfortable body symptoms such as muscle tension, palpitations, sweating, high blood pressure, light-headedness, tingling sensations and nausea may respond to a range of techniques available to the hypnotherapist. To a greater or lesser extent, progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, autogenic training and biofeedback will help although diaphragmatic breathing will only have a limited influence on high blood pressure and biofeedback is unlikely to help directly with light-headedness, tingling sensations and nausea. These are all techniques that clients can learn to apply for themselves, which has the added advantage of implying a sense of control.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation - may lessen the experience of distressing symptoms. There are possible contra-indications for sufferers of arthritis, fibrositis and atherosclerosis.
Diaphragmatic Breathing - important during air travel because the air becomes thinner outside the aircraft as you climb away from the earth's surface. At altitude the cabin is pressurised to the equivalent of 5-6,000 feet above sea level, which means that there is less oxygen that you are probably used to but importantly, there is always plenty for everyone's needs. You would not ordinarily feel the difference unless you breathed rapidly and shallowly, which is what happens when you get anxious. Diaphragmatic breathing will enable you to move more air with less effort and thereby compensate for the reduced pressure.
Autogenic Training - defined as a systematic set of exercises developed in Berlin earlier this century by two physicians, Johannes Schultz and Wolfgang Luthe. Basically self-hypnosis initiated by verbal cues to relax but in contrast to progressive and deep muscle relaxation, it involves no direct instructions to tense and relax muscles.
Biofeedback Methods - involve the use of instrumentation to learn voluntary control over the automatic nervous system. There are three basic stages

(i) AWARENESS that the response is maladaptive (i.e. not productive) and the realisation that particular thoughts as well as bodily events can influence this.

(ii) CONTROL of the response using the external signal as indication of progress and

(iii) Learning to TRANSFER the control developed into general life situations as well as travelling by plane.

Biofeedback can be used to validate and monitor progress and to discover whether progressive muscle relaxation exercises, diaphragmatic breathing exercises, autogenic training or cognitive techniques best facilitate the relaxation process.

Of course, regular exercise is an effective way of producing both bodily and mental relaxation. It provides a means of reducing muscle tension, general physiological arousal and helps to empty the mind of stressful preoccupations.

Practical Hints for Air Travellers

Drink non-carbonated drinks - gases expand at altitude and carbon dioxide may reduce the availability of oxygen. However, if you do hyperventilate, then breathing over a carbonated drink is sensible.
Avoid drinking alcohol - alcohol lowers the oxygen in your bloodstream and makes it more difficult for you to replace it. It also has double the effect that id does on the ground i.e. makes you tipsy at altitude much more quickly than the same amount would at sea level.
In addition to carbonated drinks and alcohol, it makes sense to avoid beans and curries that may cause gas to expand in your abdomen. This cannot readily escape and may cause discomfort, not to mention flatulence when gas is trapped in the stomach or large intestine!
All airports and planes are now non-smoking of course but it would help to avoid smoking both before and after a flight. This is because carbon monoxide produced from smoking reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. If you must smoke, try to cut down at least, for peripheral blood vessels are constricted due to this, which lowers oxygen rate even further.
Use the Valsalva manoeuvre (close off the air supply to your nose with one hand and blow strongly against the pressure until you feel air passing through your Eustachian tubes (the pathway that connects ears and throat), swallow, yawn, move your lower jaw from side to side or suck a sweet to reduce 'popping' sensations in the ears and equalise the pressure between the middle ear and the atmosphere.

* I have the following CDs and MP3 downloads available at the moment. There are plans for lots more! A new title is just about to be released - watch this space...

Help Myself Hypnosis (teaches self hypnosis)

http://www.helpmyselfhypnosis.com/Self-Help-Hypnosis.htm

Hypnosis for Horseriders -

http://www.helpmyselfhypnosis.com/Hypnosis-for-Horseriders-Riding-Confidence.htm

Stop Smoking -

http://www.helpmyselfhypnosis.com/Hypnosis-Hypnotherapy-CD-to-Quit-Smoking.htm

Lose Weight -

http://www.helpmyselfhypnosis.com/Lose-Weight-Weight-Control-Self-Hypnosis.htm

Sleep Problems and Insomnia -

http://www.helpmyselfhypnosis.com/help-myself-sleep-for-sleep-disorders-and-insomnia.htm

Dynamic Marketing - by Lisa Wallace

Attracting clients is something we all have to work at, whether you are just starting out or have been running a practice for years. Unlike other complementary therapies, where doing a good job means you can keep clients for years, we operate within the paradox that the better we do our job, the quicker our clients move on. Although we do go on to get referrals from our happy and satisfied clients, this will still only account for a proportion of the number we need to earn an income.

As any successful hypnotherapist will tell you, in order to generate the number of clients needed to sustain a practice, you will need to have multi-channel marketing. In the nutshell, this means that you need to look for as many ways as possible to introduce you and your services to potential clients. You also need to expand your client base to encompass as wide a demographic as possible. The fewer marketing channels you have or the narrower your client demographic, the fewer clients you will have. It is not a difficult concept to grasp, but it can be difficult to implement, especially for therapists who find the concept of 'selling' their business difficult.

Many hypnotherpists that I have spoken to feel that their skills and abilities should be able to speak for themselves and as their reputation grows, so will their client base. Again, there is some truth in this, but how can you build a reputation if you don't generate clients to begin with?

The easiest marketing channels are those that can be considered passive. This is where we put the information out there and wait for people to come to us. This can include print advertising in newspapers, magazines and the Yellow Pages, as well as advertising on the Internet. However, this is exactly where many hypnotherapists become stuck in terms of practice development. For many this is as much 'selling' of their services as they feel comfortable engaging in.

But the reality is, this passive approach is not enough. The way then to expand on the potential audience is to also engage in a more dynamic form of marketing. Marketing takes you out to potential clients, possibly even before they know that they want or need your services. With this kind of marketing, you need to sell yourself and your services because ultimately that is what the customers are paying for. This is what differentiates you from other hypnotherapists in the mind of the client when they decide the time has come to make an appointment.

Clients are consumers and consumers, whether they are buying services or a product, want to engage in a relationship with the provider of that service or product. Starting that relationship with the client before they even know that they want one, allows you to achieve two things. Firstly, it creates the idea in their mind that they might want the thing you are offering and secondly that you, as opposed to your competitors, should be the person they choose to provide it.

As with passive marketing, there are some types of dynamic marketing that are taught as standard on therapy courses. The two most widely used are giving talks to local groups and writing columns for local papers or magazines. This however, is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of possibilities.

When looking at opportunities for engaging in dynamic marketing, there are three key elements that you want to try and encompass whatever your plan is:

A large audience, as you don't have the time to sell person by person
Establish a need for your services
The ability to link yourself to pre-existing goodwill, so that it applies to you as well.

The first of these points is pretty self-explanatory. Look for events or publications which are well attended or have large readerships and which open themselves up to a range of people in terms of age, education and income level. The wider the audience the more successful it will be at generating clients.

The idea behind the second point is to introduce people to the idea that they need your services in ways that they had previously not understood. You do this by generating or illuminating a need that the client might have for your services but they were previously unaware of. Although most people will have heard of hypnotherapy, it is still incredible how limited that knowledge is as far as the diversity of areas that it can provide positive benefit. Some examples of creating this need are:

Use 'national awareness' days to link into your practice. For instance on National Stress Awareness day in November, look for events in your area that you can take part in, and contact your local paper to write a column providing tips on how to deal with stress. People may not be aware that hypnotherapy can help with stress in a variety of ways so it is up to you to create this awareness as well as the service you can provide. For more information on 'national awareness' days contact your local PCT or search on the Internet.

Look for other businesses that could be complemented by the services you offer and look for opportunities to tap into their client base. This might include

Independent travel agent to help with flying phobias
Wedding consultants or dressmakers to help with weight loss before the big day, issues of public speaking for the father of the bride or the best man.
Driving Schools to help with students who have confidence issues about taking their final driving exam.

Contact local support groups or organisations that focus on issues that you can help with such as pain management or chronic fatigue syndrome. Offer to set up a stand at their next meeting to talk to people about how your services might benefit them. This can often be linked with a talk, but the key is to connect with people on an individual basis so that they can see how you can help their specific issue.

The last point is about looking for opportunities to align you with causes or events that people already feel quite positive about. This association helps soften the barrier that people put up when confronted with something new and allows you to get your message across with less resistance. These types of events can include:

Health and well-being fairs ' contact your local gym, leisure centre, PCTs as well as large local employers. Ask about any events they have coming up that focus on health and well-being that you could take part in. People who attend these events do so because they want to learn more about taking care of themselves. They will generally feel quite positive about the organisation that has set up the event, as it shows that they care and by association, so do you.

Charity events ' events that are run by, or on behalf of, charities are a great way of introducing your services and helping with a good cause. One way to start is to contact a range of charities and ask for information on events being organised in your area so you can get involved. Think laterally and include charitable organisations like the PTA or animal rescue centres, which hold fairs at different times of the year and are always looking for stands that are different. Be open to the types of events that are being held and be creative as to the opportunities that exist for you to showcase you and your services.

If you can't find an event linked to a charity that offers the opportunity to promote your business, then think about organising your own. Charities are well aware that you are using their name to connect with potential customers and accept this, as they are the ones who ultimately benefit from the money that you raise. The key here though is to live up to that association rather than to take advantage of it. If you are doing an event for a charity then you need to make sure that the benefit is not just in your direction and put in as much effort to raise money for them as you do in generating potential clients.

These are just a small sample of the possibilities that exist as far as dynamic marketing is concerned. Look around your catchment area to see what else might exist for you. Accept that in order to be a successful therapist you also need to be a businessperson and that this does not in any way diminish the work that you do with clients. The two aspects can and should go hand in hand, because without clients there is no opportunity to provide therapy. Therefore, it makes sense to see marketing, especially dynamic marketing, as an essential tool in helping people rather than something to be avoided or feared.

Lisa Wallace is an Ashbourne based hypnotherapist and is a tutor on Practice Set-up and Development at CECCH in Birmingham. Lisa has also written a book on this topic that is coming out this year. If you would be interested in purchasing an advanced copy or are interested in attending one of her courses, please contact Lisa atlisa@hypnocentric.com or visit www.hypnocentric.com

Dealing with 'Drivers' in Supervision - by Sue McIntyre

Transactional Analysis

The concept of 'drivers' derives from Transactional Analysis and refers to ways in which we take common 'parental' messages from our culture and use them to push, drive and/or berate ourselves.
Essentially a driver is a translation of a message intended to be positive and helpful but which manifests in such way that it has an unpleasant sting in the tail.
The 'driven' quality of driver behaviour precludes spontaneity, creativity and reflection by creating a compulsive need to do things rather than pause to 'be' fully in the present - Human 'doings' rather than human 'beings'!
Most of us do not just possess one driver but may demonstrate a combination of these in a hierarchy of importance.

Drivers in Supervision

Here are some ideas as to how 'drivers' may affect supervisees and reflect in the supervision process.

Be Perfect

People with this 'driver' will be purposeful, moral and have very high standards.
They are likely to be task-orientated and extremely logical
They constantly push themselves to do things 'perfectly' without any mistakes.
They may get so caught up in perfecting the detail of a task that they fail to complete it. (Its not finished unless it's 'perfect'!)
They are likely to feel stressed by anything that indicates danger of loss of control, for instance other people's perceived low standards or illogicality, over-emotion of other people, failure to achieve goals.

Supervision

Some possible problem areas	Help by?
This supervisee will be so focused on 'getting it right' that s/he may not get any of his/her own actual learning needs met in supervision because of being focused on 'doing supervision right'.	Substitute the idea of 'effective outcomes' for 'getting it right' so that supervisees start evaluating what they do in terms of the goals that they set for themselves rather than feeling caught in a right/wrong dynamic.
May be so task oriented that the 'people element' could get overlooked.	Encourage supervisee to be flexible in order to monitor/adapt to client needs.

Be Strong

The central belief is that it is important to be strong at all times in all situations rather than admitting to any vulnerability or need for dependence on others.
Extremely stoical in the face of difficulties and will carry on regardless.
Words like 'one' or 'we' may be used in place of 'I' to disassociate from feelings that might be interpreted as weakness.
Will be concerned about being seen as unable to cope, considered weak or vulnerable and this can lead to withdrawn, withholding behaviour. The individual becomes quieter and reluctant to communicate.

Supervision

Some possible problem areas	Help by?
Although our work requires some degree of independence and self-reliance, it is persistence in being compulsively strong when in need of help which is the damaging aspect of this driver. Negative implications for therapy could be a lack of flexibility in approach to client (due to unwillingness to seek advice) and a determination to continue with a course of action rather than 'lose face'.	Normalise any requests for assistance and deal with them in matter-of-fact way. Be aware that the supervisee may feel particularly uncomfortable about expressing vulnerability. Do not be effusive.
Supervisees may have particular difficulty in bringing any vulnerabilities, mistakes or needs to supervision believing that the supervisor will see this as a source of weakness and incompetence.	Permission to get it wrong and bring mistakes to supervision is crucial to the person with the 'be strong' driver.

Hurry Up

The person with this driver behaviour is always in a hurry and will never pause or take things slowly.
Often lively and quick with a capacity for doing lots of things at once.
Time for reflection, play and for creative thinking is often regarded as a waste of time.
Stressed by having 'nothing to do' (i.e. no displacement activity?)
Probably not allowed to move at his/her own pace as a child and so learnt to rush at everything in order to avoid chastisement.

Supervision

Some possible problem areas	Help by?
The driven compulsive pattern can become really counterproductive in situations where a more measured and careful approach will get better results.	Impulsiveness and impatience may have to be restrained in both supervision and therapy! It may help to encourage the supervisee to consider longer-term strategies. Avoid 'stroking' for speed or for the ability to do several things at once. Stroke instead for efficiency and for taking time - i.e. 'I appreciate the time you've spent reflecting on our last session'.
The person with this driver often comes to supervision with a list that s/he hurries through, not leaving much time for discussion, reflection or imaginative play. This makes learning a chore to be completed rather than an enjoyable and creative process.	Pace and lead. This supervisee will struggle if slowed down to reflect and generate different options and ideas although this is really the permission s/he most needs from the supervisor ' for example permission to enjoy the process and/or carry some less urgent matters over to the next session.

Need To Please

This driver involves the person in over-adapting to needs and demands of others whilst sacrificing their own needs.
Compulsively pleasing and struggles when anyone is displeased with him/her or any aspect of his/her behaviour.
Likely to be distressed by feeling ignored or criticised. Their fear is that to be found at fault will lead to rejection.
Skilled in dealing with others and likes to look after people.
Pleasant, law-abiding, helpful. Concerned with doing the right thing.

Supervision

Some possible problem areas	Help by?
This supervisee is a real 'people person' whose strong 'people skills' generally provide a good foundation for therapeutic work. Possible problems could arise both in a therapy and supervision situation when there may be a need for confrontation ' people driven by a Need to Please prefer to avoid conflict of any sort.	Nature of supervisory relationship needs to be such that the supervisee does not fear rejection if found to be at 'fault'. Remind supervisee of assertiveness techniques and the value of creating a win/win situation.
May find it difficult to say 'no' and therefore to maintain appropriate boundaries.	Encourage autonomy. Supervisor may need to model by demonstrating own strong boundaries.
Strong urge to 'Rescue' may need to be restrained in a therapeutic situation and examined in supervision.	Check understanding of the 'drama triangle' and avoid getting caught up in 'games'.
In supervision, this supervisee will try to second-guess what the supervisor 'wants' and will work out how to please the supervisor rather than focusing on his/her own learning needs.	Thank for help/understanding etc. but avoid trap of getting caught up in supervisors 'stuff' rather than supervisees! Acknowledge for who they are, not only for what they can do ' i.e. 'being' as well as 'doing'.

Try Hard

As children these people have often received the message that they will struggle but not achieve success so that they are left believing that there is virtue in trying hard even if they never succeed at anything.
Set high, often unrealistic goals, frequently not achieved and prone to self-sabotage. Very hard workers.
Believe they are only acceptable if they try hard so tend to talk about their struggles, seldom focusing on achievements or completed tasks.
Will not allow themselves space to play and be creative and imaginative as though those processes are forbidden.
Feel challenged by any implication that they don't care enough, are irresponsible or not trying hard enough.

Supervision

Some possible problem areas	Help by?
Supervisee may tend to focus unhelpfully on mistakes and regard them as a fundamental and predictable flaw in their character. They will bring this struggle to supervision where they will find it hard to learn anything new without regarding their lack of knowledge as personal failure.	Reframe 'mistakes' as possible learning opportunities. Encourage to experience learning as fun and to realise and enjoy successes.
In therapy situation, may tend to drive the process with their own energy (trying hard!) rather than encouraging client to use own resources.	Beware of burnout. Be mindful of client centred approach
Tendency to self-sabotage in order to avoid completing ' so being deprived of opportunity to keep on trying hard!	Never let supervisees off what they commit themselves to do. The implication is that you don't expect them to complete or succeed. Do not 'stroke' for trying: stroke for finishing.
May feel need to be competitive (in order to demonstrate 'trying hard')' e.g. in terms of number of clients seen etc	Ignore tendencies to competitiveness and avoid engaging in discussions focused on these types of comparisons.

Conclusion

The following is universally helpful '

A flexible approach.
A safe environment where there is permission to (occasionally!) get it wrong and to bring 'mistakes'' to supervision.
Creating a positive and pleasurable experience where 'success' is celebrated.
There is a focus on output rather than input - a reminder that supervision is a means to an end and not an end in itself.

A Mind to Ride - by Sue McIntyre

I started riding horses about twenty years ago at about the same time that I started training to be a hypnotherapist. I thought that it would be a good thing to have a hobby that got me exercising outside since I rather planned to spend my working life sitting still inside. I expected that the learning processes would run parallel. I didn't expect that I would end up specialising in using my training in hypnotherapy, counselling and personal development to help riders deal with the challenges of riding ' but that's exactly what has happened! A Mind to Ride is the result.

Horses are not motorbikes

It would be a big mistake to think that riding a horse is just about climbing on, sitting and steering. Horses are not motorbikes ' they have a mind of their own! Mostly they are generous and indulge their riders by responding predictably to tension on a rein or the squeeze of a leg or a shift of weight in the saddle. Sometimes they ignore all of that and do pretty much as they please or their natural survival instincts take over and they respond just as their untamed ancestors would have done hundreds of years ago. Horses are physically and mentally adapted for life as a browser/grazer on an open plain or mountain. They do not eat meat and are not hunters, on the contrary, they are almost totally defenceless and are designed for flight rather than fight. This is probably the single most important influence in their psychological make-up. A horse must be constantly alert to danger and will run away first and think about it later.

Relationships

Riding a horse then is also about relationships. The importance of the quality of the partnership between horse and rider probably makes equitation unique amongst sports. Footballers and hockey players may have all sorts of relationships with their colleagues but I presume they don't have quite the same sort of relationship with a ball or a stick. (At least I hope not!) Like any relationship, the one between horse and rider involves things like mutual trust, commitment, compromise, communication, tact, respect and a hefty dose of goodwill. Any client who has difficulties with these issues, will inevitably find it in their equestrian as well as in their human relationships, so that work in one area will have a knock-on effect in another. The rider who blames all her problems on her horse for example, is quite likely to abdicate similar responsibilities in her other relationships. I sometimes hear things like 'O my horse doesn't do rainy days' or 'my horse stops at a fence if he sees another horse stop at it first' and have found that getting the rider to own at least some of the responsibility for the difficulty can have quite profound results.

When winning is a problem

Surprisingly perhaps, this abdication of responsibility doesn't just happen with difficulties. It can happen with successes too. The idea that winning is somehow vulgar and 'not nice' and can only be achieved at the expense of popularity, can cause all sorts of conflicts in a competitive environment and sometimes the solution is to blame the horse, or luck or virtually anything else other than the skill and competency of the rider. Subconsciously or consciously, some riders even go as far as to sabotage their chances of success rather than struggle with the conflicts of winning. No doubt there are many therapeutic approaches that can help resolve these types of conflict. My own experience is that transactional analysis is often helpful and working through a client's 'script', exploring 'permissions', 'injunctions' and 'drivers' will facilitate sufficient insight to allow a change to take place. It is not unusual for there to be some sort of 'game' or 'racket' being played out as well, with the horse being projected into a role in the drama triangle so that he may unwittingly at times become 'victim', 'rescuer' or 'persecutor' depending on the neurotic needs of his rider/owner.

The Horse as a Therapist

I don't suppose it is at all unusual for an animal or pet to fulfil a role similar to that of a therapist on occasions. In many ways they are ideally suited to it in as much as they generally welcome their owner with unconditional regard, listen non-judgementally to their problems, are open and honest in their feedback, provide a vehicle for transference and possibly a safe place in which to explore emotions and experiment with changes. I'm one of those people who find it difficult to say 'no' ' even to my horse! (Sad I know?) As you can imagine, this caused me all sorts of problems in all areas of my life. I am the rider who couldn't quite bring herself to stop her horse eating whenever he felt like it (internal dialogue along the lines of 'its his natural behaviour, who am I to stop him from doing that?') and hence the rider catapulted down her horse's neck whilst cantering along a track because he has suddenly seen something tasty and stopped abruptly for an unscheduled lunch break. Practicing saying 'No' to him and working through all the emotions that generated (fear of loss of affection, difficulties with self belief etc.), whilst experiencing the improvements in the relationship created by a greater respect, has given me the confidence to be more assertive.

Horses are herd animals and their love of company has led to a sensitive and complicated use of body language. This means that they also have the ability to provide immediate feedback in response to our own, often unconscious, messages. Tensions and anxiety in a rider/owner for example, will soon manifest as tension and anxiety in their horse. This 'mirroring' can be used to good therapeutic effect. Any resolution of conflicts, improvements in congruity, confidence, sense of purpose and direction and most especially improvements in the ability to access and ride in that state of heightened awareness accompanied by calm relaxation that many may consider to be part of 'trance', will be reflected and magnified in the equestrian mirror.

Ancestral Memories

'A Mind to Ride' has been greatly influenced by the work of Terence Watts, which I came across via his 'LifeMapper' training. This incorporates a user-friendly re-working of the rather more conventional 'pre-genital anal', 'pre-genital oral' and 'genital' personality types by using the concept of ancestral memory to redefine them as 'Warriors, Settlers & Nomads' (explained in some detail in his book of the same name). The majority of equestrians seem to find it easy to embrace the concept of ancestral memory, due in part perhaps by their experience of how horses, despite hundreds of years of domestication, have retained their ancestral memories. One of the reasons that riding is an exceptionally demanding skill, I think, is that our own ancestral memories dictate that practically everything we want to do reflexly on a horse is unhelpful. In her book 'Ride with your Mind', Mary Wanless describes how

'The rider who doubts her ability (quite justifiably, as she has no right brain information to tell her how to respond effectively to horses) is left at the mercy of survival mechanisms as old as man himself, and which are housed in the lower brain centres. As an involuntary reflex, she adopts at least some aspects of the 'foetal crouch': she curls up her body to protect her chest and belly, which, as her ape-ancestors knew, are her most vulnerable parts'

LifeMapping and 'A Mind to Ride'

Terence's LifeMapper concept is based in part around a computer programme, which means that it is possible to work with clients via email, fax and telephone. 'A Mind to Ride' combines an adaptation of 'LifeMapper' to make it especially relevant for riders, with an audio CD (called 'Equinimity') so that it is still possible to work effectively (if necessary) with the minimum of face-to-face contact. Bearing in mind that even the least dedicated of riders spends an hour a day (every day!) looking after her horse and probably five hours a week riding it and that very many also work full time to finance their 'hobby', it is easy to see how the flexibility this approach offers is particularly attractive. From a therapist's point of view, the archetypes provide a wonderful opportunity for interventions incorporating parts work, metaphors and anchoring techniques. In addition, the Life Map generated by the programme is in fact a very accessible treatment plan co-operatively created and mutually agreed with the client.

Horses for Courses

Although I appreciate that many might argue that it is inappropriate to use personality profiling because it can be seen as an attempt to stereotype a client, in my experience it is actually an extremely practical method of targeting interventions accurately. It is useful to understand for example, when working with a predominantly 'Nomad type' equestrian that it is more important for him/her to look good than to get results. Any attempt at an intervention motivated by results where it may be at the expense of image, will probably fall on deaf ears. On the other hand, results are likely to be highly prized by the predominantly 'Warrior type' rider who can be driven by the challenge of pursuing perfection and measuring her/himself competitively against others. Riding is also a very social occupation, often used to make and keep friends. The predominantly 'Nomad type' rider will like to be seen in the 'right places' and gain prestige through their riding, whilst the predominantly 'Settler type' rider will predictably prefer to be 'one of the gang' and would rather not stand out in any way. It is the 'Settler type' equestrian therefore who is most likely to suffer from the 'problem' of winning described earlier and also the 'Settler type' rider who struggles with a surfeit of negative projections. Try the NLP 'Swish' technique if this is a difficulty ' I find it works well for clients who tend to use their imaginations in this unhelpful way.

Ultimately most clients welcome the opportunity to learn more about themselves and soon appreciate the wisdom of using their personality to its best advantage rather than struggling to be something they are not. This is congruity at its best.

The archetypal 'Warrior' equestrian

These riders tend to have a preference for large, powerful horses ' perhaps a bit like the old 'destrier' warhorses. Often competitive, with a good appreciation of 'rules' and 'territory' (boundaries), they ride with determination and courage and are particularly at home on the hunting field. Problems could arise when any lack of control of the horse may become evident ' i.e. the horse bolts or sometimes an unexpected loss of control in their personal life (such as ill health) can also impact on and undermine their confidence when riding. Equitation is not called a 'discipline' for nothing and this is where this personality type really comes into its own ' problems are met with true 'fighting spirit' so they tend not to give up easily and can cope with the hard, demanding and often routine work involved in this sport.

The archetypal 'Settler' equestrian

These are the 'natural' horsepersons of the world who prefer to work with the horse than to 'break' it. Gentle and intuitive, they are good with animals in general and like to care for them. Here you will also find the 'rescuers' who may well own or look after a horse not necessarily because it suits them but because for some reason or another, nobody else wanted it! This could well incur some conflict because these are generally sensible and practical people but the heart will ultimately rule the head and their adaptability will enable them to make the best of what might otherwise have been a bad job. Appearance is not of primary importance except of course that the horse should look (and be) well cared for; much more important to the 'Settler type' equestrian, is the ability to form a real partnership with his/her horsey friend. Rarely confident riders (full of self-doubt), problems arise for this group when the imagination begins to run riot and they are beset with 'what if' projections (like 'what if he bucks', 'what if I fall off' etc.). They are also likely to 'freeze' when they get into difficulties which can be both debilitating and dangerous.

The archetypal 'Nomad' equestrian

Here we are most likely to find the owners of the 'showy' Arabs and Thoroughbreds. Not for the 'Nomad type' equestrian is the discipline of riding and they are far more likely to pay someone else to do all the hard and 'boring' stuff. This is the rider perched on the prancing stallion enjoying all the attention s/he is attracting whilst paying scant thought to the havoc created by his/her exhibitionism. At the other extreme is the archetypal gypsy horse dealer ' scruffy, probably unreliable but equally dramatic in his claims for his or his animal's prowess. The most infuriating thing about these equestrians (at least for the other personality types) is that they are often gifted riders who just seem to be able to get on and ride with ease. In fact, if they couldn't do it with ease, they probably wouldn't do it at all! Whereas the 'Warrior type' will fight against his difficulties and the 'Settler type' will tend to freeze in the face of a perceived threat, these 'Nomadic types' are inclined to flee ' in equestrian terms basically just give up, get bored with it and move on to something more exciting. However, the 'Nomad type' thrives on danger and the adrenaline rush and whilst they are rarely considerate or safe riders, they can be extravagant and skilled ones.

Riders are not like other clients

Of course they are! This means that all the standard hypnotherapeutic interventions and the traditional sports psychology approaches will work just as well with equestrians as they do with anyone else. I have not referred to them in any depth here for the simple reason that this information is readily available elsewhere. What I have sought to do here is outline some of the things that I think are unique about 'Mind to Ride'. My hope is that this may give you some ideas for developing your own practice.

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