ABOUT ME

Hi, I’m Andy and I’m a qualified hypnotherapist living in the Southside of Glasgow.

Over the course of the last few years, I have used hypnosis to transform my life, and I would like to help you to do the same thing.

Before I became a hypnotherapist, I worked in primary education for 19 years. For the first ten years, I worked as a class teacher, working with children of all ages, before becoming a Deputy Head Teacher.

During my 19 year career in education, I worked hard to support a great number of children and parents to make positive changes in their lives.

Using the skills learned during this career, fused with the knowledge I have gained through studying hypnotherapy, I am now lucky enough to be working with children and adults from all over the world to make positive changes in their lives too.

MY STORY

Where I Started

From an early age I developed a keen interest in music and performing. Every member of my family plays or has played a musical instrument at some point in their lives, so it was natural that I learned as a child.

I’m not sure at what age I started to play, but probably around 7. I play a brass instrument called the euphonium which no one has ever heard of (see picture). From this age, I became accustomed to playing on stage in concerts, both as part of a band and as a soloist.

At the age of 18, I moved away from home to study a degree in music in Manchester, and began to play competitively in brass band competitions.

My Time In Teaching

After I completed my degree in music, I studied a Post Graduate Certificate of Education and qualified as a primary school teacher.

I began my career as a teacher, and found that working with and communicating with children was something that came naturally to me.

I loved making a difference in the lives of the young people I worked with, along with their families.

I eventually moved on to becoming a Deputy Head Teacher, where I worked more closely with children with additional support needs, supporting them in school and their families at home.

I gained my headship qualification in 2018.

The Start of Worry and Anxiety

I continued to play competitively, winning the Scottish Championships, and representing Scotland at the European Brass Band Championships.

Although I experienced nerves before going on stage, I would always have described this as being an appropriate amount of nerves, and not the kind that in any way hindered my performance as a brass musician.

However, this all changed around 12 years ago. During a particularly difficult time in my life, I had to play on stage in a competition with the band I was playing in at the time. I hadn’t been able to practise in the weeks leading up to this, and was not in the right place mentally to go on stage and perform.

I’m sure you can guess where this is going. I went on stage to perform not feeling my best, and had can what can only be described as a nightmare on stage. Nothing worked, and I played terribly.

After this I developed some complications in my playing, which made it very difficult for me to perform on stage. I developed what I could only describe as a stutter in my playing. When I tried to play, nothing would come out, or would be delayed and would come out as an explosion of sound, rather than as a musical sound!

This would happen sometimes, and other times I would be fine. Having to go on stage in front of large audiences in competitive situations not knowing if I would be able to play or not was having a detrimental effect on my playing and my mental health, and it got to the point where I was shaking so much on stage that I couldn’t hold my instrument still enough to play it.

I’ve since learned that this condition can be common among brass players, and also affects sports people too. In snooker and golf they call it the ‘yips’, where an involuntary spasm occurs when trying to pot or put a ball. Many sports people such as the great snooker player Stephen Hendry have battled with this during their careers.

So eventually I decided to stop playing, as the stress was just too much to deal with. Over the last 12 years there have been a number of things that have happened that have caused me to feel a great deal of anxiety, to the point where I would say I spent most of every day feeling anxious.

Turning Things Around

Around two years ago I came back to playing after a five year break. This coincided with the most anxious period in my life, and at some point I decided it was time to address both my general anxieties in life, and my more specific performance anxiety.

I was fortunate enough to have a friend on Facebook who I studied with at university who is a hypnotherapist. Being a brass musician also, I felt she could understand both the psychological and physiological issues I had faced both in life and with my playing.

I booked a block of sessions with her, and I can honestly say that these sessions changed my life beyond recognition.

After working with Kathryn for three sessions, I was able to say goodbye to the stutter I had developed in my playing, and remove the anxiety and fear that this was going to happen on stage.

Where I Am Now

Since working with Kathryn I have won several competitions, and recently became a Scottish Champion again. I also returned to the stage where my ‘nightmare’ performance happened, and I was able to play well on this stage and even win this competition.

I am not where I used to be with my playing quite yet, and am still on a journey to re-learn some of the things I used to be able to do quite easily, but where I am now does not compare to where I was before working with Kathryn.

More importantly, I have been able to say goodbye to the anxiety and worry that has consumed me for so many years. Now I don’t wake up feeling anxious, or go to bed feeling anxious. Sometimes I find myself looking for that anxious feeling, only to find it has disappeared.

Overcoming More Fears

During my adult life I have had a crippling fear of spiders, and using self-hypnosis I was able to discover where this fear came from, and to easily overcome it.

I have also used self-hypnosis to overcome a fear of heights that left me unable to even climb a small set of ladders. Since using self-hypnosis to overcome this, I have even completed a 132ft drop swing off a bridge, something I never thought I would be able to do!

Fair enough in the second picture I do look terror stricken, but I had literally just been dropped from a 132ft bridge.

Take note of my confident face in the first picture. Bearing in mind climbing a small step ladder was once a challenge, I think I look fairly calm under pressure!

Changing My Life

As a result of the sessions with Kathryn, I have fulfilled a dream I have had for as long as I can remember, to become a hypnotherapist.

I now run my own business, seeing clients in person and on Zoom all over the world. I get to meet and help amazing people while doing a job that I truly love, all thanks to the wonderful world of hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Qualifications and Courses

  • BA (Hons) Music – University of Salford

  • PGCE (Primary) Manchester Metropolitan University

  • Standard for Headship – Scottish College for Educational Leadership

  • Exploring Psychology – The Open University

  • Child Development – The Open University

  • Biological Psychology – The Open University

  • Social Psychology – The Open University

  • Introducing the Social Sciences – The Open University

  • Drawing and Talking Therapy – Drawing and Talking

  • Seasons for Growth – Notre Dame Centre, Glasgow

  • Introduction to Counselling Skills – COSCA

  • Professional Hypnotherapy Diploma – Jacquin Hypnosis Academy

I CAN HELP YOU TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE TOO!

I know what it’s like to feel stuck in life, not being able to see a way forward. I have used hypnosis to make the changes I need to make, and I can help you to do the same.

If you are ready to start your own journey, or would like to find out more, please get in touch to book a free consultation today!

Skirving Street, Shawlands, Glasgow, G41 3AJ | Phone: +44 7487 706877 | Email: [email protected]

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