In the varied field of counselling and psychotherapy, continuous professional development is essential for us as therapists to provide the best possible support to our clients. 

One valuable tool that plays an important part in my journey is ongoing learning via supervision sessions with a senior Hypnotherapist, qualified in supervision. This form of guided reflection and mentorship not only fosters personal and professional growth, but also ensures ethical and effective practices during sessions. It is something that Topaz Health Training is committed to long term to ensure we can best support you, however that may be. 

The Basics of Supervision:

Supervision involves a collaborative relationship between my supervisor and myself as a therapist. The goal is to enhance the quality of services I provide through a combination of education, support, and reflection. The structured process provides a safe space for me to discuss my cases anonymously and confidentially, explore challenging issues, and receive constructive feedback in order to improve.

Key Elements of Supervision:
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Reflective Practice: Supervision encourages me to engage in reflective practice. Through thoughtful exploration of my own reactions, thoughts, and feelings during client sessions, I can gain deeper insights into my work and identify areas for improvement and development.

Case Discussion: Discussing specific cases inconfidence with my supervisor allows me to benefit from their experience and expertise. This collaboration of examining my real life clients not only enhances problem-solving skills but also encourages me to gather a broader understanding of various therapeutic approaches.

Professional Development: Supervision is an ongoing process that supports me in staying up to date with the latest research, interventions, and ethical considerations. This commitment to professional development ensures that I continue to evolve and provide high quality, current and successful services to my clients.

Ethical Guidance: Supervision serves as a crucial forum for discussing ethical dilemmas and challenges that I may encounter in my day to day life. By providing a confidential space for open dialogue, my supervisor helps me to navigate any ethical issues while upholding the highest standards of professional conduct.

Benefits of Supervision Therapy:

Enhanced Competence: Regular supervision contributes to the development of my own knowledge, increasing my confidence in handling diverse situations.

Reduced Burnout: The emotional demands of my job can lead to burnout if not managed effectively. Supervision provides emotional support and helps me to develop self-care strategies, reducing the risk of burnout.

Cultivation of a Learning Culture: Supervision encourages a culture of continuous learning within the profession. By engaging in regular supervision I am more likely to embrace a growth mindset and a commitment to lifelong learning.

To summarise, supervision is a powerful tool for therapists such as myself who are committed to providing the best possible care to my clients. 
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In this collaborative journey of self-discovery and professional growth, supervision stands as a beacon, guiding Topaz Health Training towards fulfilling our mission “Making a difference; empowering, educating and changing lives” and we very much look forward to welcoming you to join us on your journey.

The Mental Health Foundation carried out a study that showed 74% of people have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope. Stress is a necessary part of life (yes really) - appropriate amounts of stress help to motivate us to act.
 
What is Stress?
According to The Mental Health Foundation “Stress is our body’s response to pressure. Many different situations or life events can cause stress. It is often triggered when we experience something new or unexpected that threatens our sense of self or when we feel we have little control over a situation.”

Moderate amounts of stress actually help improve your memory and productivity by strengthening the connection between the neurons in your brain. The problems start when the amount of stress outweighs your ability to cope. Often referred to as your resilience and ability to cope with adversity. You know how some people seem to manage a lot of challenges at once and others find even minor stressors just too much? Well, every day we meet challenges that may or may not cause us stress and we will all respond differently based on our experience and levels of resilience.

The important thing is to find healthy ways to manage stress before it fills the metaphorical stress bucket in our minds. High levels of stress are linked to an increase in stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol which lead to poor sleep patterns and a lowered immune system. This is often why you might experience upset stomachs, increased anxiety symptoms, indigestion, fatigue and catch every cold bug around!

How to Manage Stress
Some proven ways of managing stress and improving your overall well being include:

• Taking time out in nature
• Deep breathing 
• Relaxation exercises
• Meditation
• Hypnotherapy

All these methods help to reduce the stress hormones - they can regulate brainwave activity, increasing the parasympathetic nervous system (sometimes referred to as your ‘rest and digest’ system) so you feel calmer, positive and able to cope better with whatever life has to offer.

Contact us to find out more about how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help you manage your stress (and reduce your stress bucket!).

​Would you like a more positive way to manage your health and be a healthy weight?
Do you find yourself having a hidden battle with your weight, trying many different diets, or using negative language about yourself and the food you eat? Do you label your food good and bad?

As someone whose weight fluctuates easily, I know the hidden battle of dieting,
exercising and not always liking how your body looks in the mirror. What I have learnt
through my coaching and hypnotherapy training is that weight loss is only part of the
problem, for when we are focusing on what we do not want; worrying and increasing
stress levels, we attract more weight.

Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy (SFH) has allowed me to change my thoughts towards
my own weight management and to realise the benefits that it can bring to improving my
overall health and wellbeing.

There is more to ‘weight management’ than the end goal and SFH helps us to identify
the underlying issues which are contributing toward this negative self-perception. It can
help promote a healthier mindset and a more positive relationship with food. It can also
help you to change your mindset and adjust your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes towards
food, exercise and your body. Neuroscience tells us that all meaningful change happens
at the subconscious level.

We know weight related issues are not just about diet and exercise. Stress levels and
emotional wellbeing all play a part. SFH incorporates relaxation techniques and stress
reduction strategies to help you manage and overcome stress effectively. Reducing
stress levels helps to lower stress hormones such as cortisol which can increase fat
storage. When our stress levels are lower, we are less likely to do things that negatively
affect our weight goals such as overeating or eating overly processed foods.

SFH also helps us to change our outlook by helping to improve self-esteem and
confidence by reinforcing positive thoughts. Visualising these during our sessions we
actively develop a more positive self-perception which contributes to long-term reported
happiness and weight management success.

While there is no quick fix for weight management, SFH provides the positive mindset
which will help motivate you towards your goal and to also feel more positive in all areas
of life. Here at Topaz Health, we offer a unique combination of SFH and neuroscience-
based coaching to help you achieve and maintain healthy changes throughout lifes
everyday challenges.

If this is something you would be interested learning more about then contact me on
07974 095011 or email me at [email protected] to book a complimentary
discovery session.

With the ease of lockdown measures and longer, brighter days, hopefully all of us can start to feel more like our “usual self”; more energised, motivated and positive.  The increased sunshine during this time of year (although not always guaranteed in the UK 😊) also helps to boost our Vitamin D levels which plays a part in energy production, positive mood and feeling more motivated too.

Moving more, eating healthy foods, sleeping well, doing things that relax you and drinking plenty of fresh water daily are all ways in which we can help keep our bodies healthy and energetic. 

What is motivation? Where does it come from?  How do we stay motivated when pursuing a new challenge?

You start to learn a new subject, look for a new job opportunity, change your diet, attempt to quit smoking, or change an unhelpful habit and you feel really motivated to start with, you manage a week, two weeks or more and yet at some point the motivation (or will power) to continue fails.  Trust me, I’ve been there too, failed attempts in dieting, exercising and in my 20’s several failed attempts to quit smoking before I learnt about how our thoughts affect our feelings and behaviours. 

So how do you keep motivated?  The key to any successful behaviour change is to have a vision, who you want to be, what you want to achieve, how you want to feel.  The vision needs to be set-in the future, maybe close your eyes and envision yourself being, doing and having what you desire.  Take time to see, feel, hear the new situation, the new you.  Make the vision so powerful that even on days when you lack motivation you can return to the vision to help find the motivation to make the change you want. Also, know it is ok to have days when you are unmotivated, rather than criticising yourself and your failed efforts remember you are on a journey and you can stop and start again each new day.

If you are interested in knowing more about motivation, we are offering a Motivate Me! coaching discovery taster of 3 one-hour sessions for £125.00 usually £225.00 during May. You will be guided through goal setting and NLP techniques to change unhelpful thought patterns and increase your motivation to achieve and make permanent changes.

For more information contact me on 07974095011 or email [email protected]
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all my clients, family and friends who have supported my business during lockdown, who knew coaching on Zoom would be a thing a year ago!  The great news is the new Wellbeing Coaching Office is now open in Huntingdon, 49A High Street, PE29 3AQ and hourly sessions and coaching packages are discounted by 25% throughout May 2021 with this article.  I look forward to welcoming you to our new home in the heart of Huntingdon and wish all SPARK readers a happy, healthy and motivated May.

Suzi’s coaching qualifications include Master NLP Practitioner, Hypnotherapist and Time-Line Therapist (ABNLP). Suzi has also undertaken CBT, Life Coaching and regularly participates in continuous professional development and is registered with The Academy of Modern Applied Psychology.

Finding Your Motivation In May
Spark Magazine
May 2021 / May Issue / P14

Wellbeing Café - The “M” Word Series

To provide a confidential, fun, and friendly space to talk about the “M” word.  A community group for women of any age who are or have experienced challenges pre, during and post menopause.  If you are finding life and the ups and downs of hormones a bit of a challenge or maybe you can offer some help and advice to other women, join in and share your experiences and wisdom. 

The group is facilitated by Mindset & Development Coach Evanthia Steadman and Health & Wellbeing Coach Suzi Gibbs-Chalmers who dare we say it, is about to turn the big 50 this year.

The Menopause seems to be the last taboo; heaven knows why as we all go through it, so let’s talk.  It can be a bit lonely and maybe family are not always the best people to share feelings around the emotional and physical changes you are experiencing. So, we thought there must be other women out their wanting a safe space to let off steam, connect and have somewhere to laugh about the changes and sleeping with window open when it is -2 outside!

Our first Zoom meeting will be 4th February 2021, 7.00pm to 8.00pm.  It will be an informal session getting to know each other so just come along, listen, share, and enjoy with a cuppa. As a group, we can then plan future sessions, dates, timings, and topics you would like covered. There will also be an opportunity to do a guided meditation at end of the session if you would like to stay online for this.

Last month we really enjoyed getting to chat and share our experiences with laughter being the best medicine!  We spoke about HRT and supplements that have been useful for the group and finished the session with some visualisation relaxation/meditation. This week we’re looking at how we can embrace our bodily changes using reframing and positive mindset with everyone contributing to what works for them.
We look forward to seeing you there.

Tuesday, 2 March 2021 at 7.30pm-8.30pm.
This month’s topic will look at having a positive mindset through life’s changes can help reduce and even eliminate symptoms. With a talk from Evanthia Steadman Mindset Coach and personal -development coach and Suzi  Gibbs-Chalmers Health and Wellness coach.
The group will then have the chance discuss and share their experiences on staying well during the perimenopause and post- menopause.

“M” Series session 2 went really well, 2 new people joined and great discussions around positive mindset, checking in with how we feel and positively reframing the new life challenges.  Suzi provided top tips to help with night sweats and sleeping better.  We had a Hair Loss Specialist and Mental Health Coach join the group. 

The next session of The "M" Word Series 3 we will be joined by Jenny - a womens health nutrtionalist, she will be here to chat about nutrition and lifestyle strategies to support you through menopauce and beyond.
 
Join us on Tuesday 6 April 2021, 7.30-8.30pm

This month it was great to be joined by Jenny from Go Nourish, she spoke to the group on “5 ways to feel healthier and fitter”.
 
Jenny presented on healthy eating, serving sizes and the correct macro ratios for our meals, supplementation (if required) especially the importance of Magnesium, B Vitamins and also Botanicals during menopause. Great tips on staying hydrated with filtered water, avoidance of pesticides using more organic foods if possible and how important it is to reduce stress and move more.

Next wellbeing café is Thursday 13th May, 7.30pm.

This month Bev Thorogood a Menopause Specialist and Midlife Coach with be joining us to discuss how to successfully manage menopause/peri-menopause symptoms in the workplace. She will join us for discussion on 'MAKING MENOPAUSE MAINSTREAM', Helping businesses retain valuable female talent through menopause awareness training. Helping women over 40 rediscover their confidence and thrive through midlife and beyond.

Next wellbeing café is Thursday 10th June, 7.30pm.

In Series 6, we will be discussing how to overcome associated feelings of overwhelm, anxiety and difficulties in focusing. Using mindfulness and NLP techniques, we will explore how to prioritise our time, develop more “me” time and increase our sense of freedom to choose.

The "M" Word Series won't be running over the summer months as everyone takes their summer break and enjoys more time with their family. But it will return soon, check back on our website or social media for return dates. Email Suzi or Evanthia to register your interest and do let us know what you are struggling with and what you need support with.

All welcome, please share the invite with your female friends who may like to join us.
The group is FREE and to book a space please contact:

• Evanthia at [email protected]
• OR Suzi at [email protected]