Safe Haven Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy

18/10/2025

World Menopause Day is about more than hot flushes - it's about mental health, identity, and empowerment.

For many women, perimenopause can feel like losing themselves. Yet with understanding, support, and the right treatment, it becomes a time of deep reconnection.

🌸🌸 Let's break the silence - and normalise support for both body and mind 🌸🌸

16/10/2025

People with OCD often feel deep shame about the content of their intrusive thoughts - fearing what they might "mean."
But intrusive thoughts are automatic and meaningless. They don't reflect who you are, and they don't predict what you'll do.
Recovery begins when you meet your thoughts with compassion instead of fear. You cannot control what enters your mind - but you can choose how you respond.
Every time you allow uncertainty, resist a compulsion, or offer yourself understanding instead of judgment, you are actively healing.

"Compassion quiets the noise of fear." 🥰

15/10/2025

When OCD flares up, small, consistent practices can make a big difference.
These tools don't make the thoughts disappear - they change your relationship with them.

Over time, these practices train your brain to ride out uncertainty without reacting. It's not about control - it's about compassion and consistency.

14/10/2025

In OCD, the anxiety response fires automatically - the body reacts as if the intrusive thought is a real threat. Hypnotherapy works by helping you:

🧘 Relax the nervous system and reduce physiological anxiety
🧠 Strengthen focus and cognitive control
💭 Rehearse new, calmer responses to intrusive thoughts
🧩 Reconnect with a sense of agency and safety

When used alongside talking therapy, hypnotherapy can reinforce the work of cognitive and behavioural interventions - helping to create space between urge and action.
You can't stop intrusive thoughts from appearing - but you can change how your mind and body respond to them.

13/10/2025

OCD is not about liking things neat, tidy or perfect - it's about certainty.
It's the intrusive "what if?" thought that won't let go.
It's the endless mental checking, the rumination, the doubt that feeds anxiety.

The behaviours we see (checking, cleaning, counting, confessing) are attempts to neutralise those intrusive thoughts - temporary relief that reinforces the loop.

The behaviours we see (checking, cleaning, counting, confessing)are attempts to neutralise those intrusive thoughts - temporary relief that reinforces the loop.

Effective therapy helps by targeting those cognitive distortions:

💭 Challenging the meaning attached to intrusive thoughts
💪 Increasing tolerance for uncertainty
🧘 Building self-trust and mindful awareness

Understanding OCD through a cognitive lens helps shift blame and deepen compassion. The thoughts aren't the problem - it's the belief that they must be controlled.

💚

29/07/2025

This is both frustrating and hopeful in equal measure. As a parent of neurodivergent children, I share the experience of many parents that schools aren't supported to be able to apply accommodations for our children without a diagnosis, and a diagnosis is challenging to obtain. Both schools and parents need support in a manageable and implementable way moving forward.

14/04/2025

http://mag.nationalhypnotherapysociety.org/books/iwos/

If you are perimenopausal or menopausal take a look at this month's Hypnotherapy Today magazine (Part of the Happiful family), with some great advice, research and of course links to how hypnotherapy can also help. It is a really good edition ... I might be somewhat biased as I am featured in it!!! 🤣🤣🤣 Enjoy 🩷

Hypnotherapy Today MenopauseSpring 2025 Edition 28

29/03/2025

👋 Just a friendly reminder for anyone else who is likely to forget! ⏰

28/03/2025

😫 Sensory sensitivity is a common experience for many people, especially those with autism or other neurodivergent conditions. It can be difficult to deal with, but there are a few things you can do to manage it.

1. Identify your triggers ⚡️

The first step to managing sensory sensitivity is to identify your triggers. What sounds, sights, smells, tastes, or textures bother you? Once you know what your triggers are, you can start to avoid them or take steps to reduce their impact.

2. Create a sensory diet 🎧

A sensory diet is a personalised plan that helps you get the sensory input you need. This could include things like listening to calming music, wearing comfortable clothes, or spending time in nature.

3. Use coping strategies 🧘

If you are experiencing sensory overload, there are a few things you can do to cope. You can try to remove yourself from the situation, take deep breaths, or use a fidget toy.

Additional tips 🖊

Talk to your doctor or therapist about sensory sensitivity. They can help you develop a personalised management plan.

Join a support group for people with sensory sensitivity. This can be a great way to connect with others who understand what you're going through.

Advocate for yourself. Let people know about your sensory sensitivity and how they can help you.

💕 Remember, you are not alone in this. Millions of people experience sensory sensitivity. By taking steps to manage it, you can improve your quality of life.

Here are some additional resources:

25/03/2025

🌸 Spring is the perfect time to reconnect with nature and boost your mood. Swipe up for 5 simple ways to do it! 🌸

25/03/2025

The ignorance displayed by Minister Kinnock regarding the training, supervision and continued professional development that counsellors and psychotherapists undertake in order to practice safely and ethically (inline with their profession body) is shocking! It is true that counselling in the UK isn’t regulated, but most of us undergo years of training and continuous development in order to support people who have been let down by the lack of funding and resources within the NHS and we do this because we care. Furthermore, therapists are not medically qualified and therefore do not ‘over diagnose’ - we scaffold, empower and support those who already feel distanced from a society that, even in this day and age, still stigmatises mental health. The NCPS has provided a factual, thoughtful and constructive response which you can read below 👇

Join the Accredited Register A Society Registrant is listed publicly on our website and is recorded as a Registrant in our Accredited Register. The Society allows Registrants to progress through different levels of membership depending upon qualifications and experience, but all Registrants have…