Lady early twenties

• Initial enquiry - therapy to accompany withdrawal from antidepressant medications
  

• At assessment - client has been on antidepressant medications for nearly 2 years and wished to stop taking them. She discussed it with her GP who agreed, provided the client agreed to attend therapy
  

• Therapy used - a combined approach of existential psychotherapy, relaxation training and mindfulness meditation
  

• Outcome - client ready to be taken off medication after 4 sessions of therapy. BDI score reduced from 33 to 3 and BAI from 16 to 2. Her 2 remaining sessions will see her through the adjustment period
  

Lady in late teens

• Initial enquiry- sleep problems
  

• At assessment - chronic sleep problem since the age of 10 years old
  

• Therapy used - strict sleep schedule over 1 week, adjusted over a further 2 weeks + hypno-psychotherapy
  

• Outcome - Full recovery and sleeping normally
  

Lady in her thirties

• Initial enquiry - traumatised following RTA as passenger several years ago
  

• At assessment - extremely anxious and nervous; unable to take even short car journeys. Two further RTAs since the first, each incident adding to the initial trauma
  

• Therapy used - PTS (post trauma stress) specific
  

• Outcome - able to travel in a car
  

Lady in late teens

• Initial enquiry - traumatised after being attacked by a dog
  

• At assessment - prior history of depression; extremely anxious since the attack and afraid to go out anywhere on her own
  

• Therapy used - a combination of counselling, cognitive therapy and hypno-psychotherapy
  

• Outcome - full recovery
  

Gentleman in his fifties

• Initial enquiry- long term depression, anxiety and lacking self-confidence
  

• At assessment - felt overloaded with pressures and worries, ranging from personal life, socially and work. Had depression for most of his adult life, low self-esteem and lacked self-confidence
  

• Therapy used - a combination of a person centred approach, existential therapy, cognitive therapy and hypnotherapy
  

• Outcome - found the patterns of thinking that had led to feelings of depression and anxiety, and changed them; greatly improved self-esteem and self-confidence
  

Gentleman in his early seventies

• Initial enquiry – severe depression and anxiety following several years of coping after a stroke
  

• At assessment – unable to come to terms with the changes that the stroke had caused and the effect those changes had made in his life. He felt “useless” and a “failure”. Lack of self-esteem and self confidence, and felt he was a burden on his family
  

• Therapy used – cognitive therapy
  

• Outcome – he found a new way of looking at his life; more accepting of his condition and was able to move forward rather than being stuck in the past, resenting what had happened to change his life
  

Lady in her fifties

• Initial enquiry - long term anxiety, low self-esteem and self-confidence
  

• At assessment - difficulties with all forms of relationships, very low self-esteem and feelings of guilt that every negative situation was her fault. Depressed and anxious for many years
  

• Therapy used - a combination of person centred counselling, cognitive therapy and hypnotherapy
  

• Outcome - a fully rational perspective on life, no longer experiencing guilt, depression or anxiety, healthy self-esteem and self-confidence
  

Gentleman in his twenties

• Initial enquiry - nail biting (since childhood)
  

• At assessment - very frustrated with this lifetime habit and persistent compulsion of biting his nails. No apparent link to any underlying anxiety
  

• Therapy used - hypnotherapy
  

• Outcome - nail biting stopped completely
  

Lady in her twenties

• Initial enquiry - fear of driving
  

• At assessment - evidence of obsessive thoughts and other aspects of OCD, irrational thoughts and beliefs concerning her own abilities across a number of areas in her life affecting motivation to progress with her life
  

• Therapy used - cognitive therapy and altered-state work (similar to hypnotherapy)
  

• Outcome - regained full control of her thoughts, highly motivated and making plans for career progression including attending a specialist advanced driving school to complete her journey
  

Gentleman in his late thirties

• Initial enquiry – fear of flying
  

• At assessment – longstanding phobic behaviour over travelling on planes or trains, and even in a car for any distance. Feelings of being “trapped” resulted in panic attacks. Also, loss of confidence in the workplace and unable to go to any event where there were lots of people. Felt he was being watched by others – this made him feel extremely uneasy, even when the other people were known to him including family and friends. His wedding was due in a few weeks time, and he was not looking forward to it as he saw it as an ordeal that he was afraid to face because of his anxieties
  

• Therapy used – cognitive therapy
  

• Outcome – no more phobic behaviour, was able to travel by plane, train and car without worrying or uncomfortable feelings; and he thoroughly enjoyed his wedding!
  

Lady in her early forties

• Initial enquiry – high levels of anxiety and some depression; wanted to lose weight
  

• At assessment – had many anxieties including “fear of death”; longstanding problems with sleep; previous history of breakdown approximately 6 years before. Many anxieties – the most significant (to her) was her inability to lose weight and use of food as a “comfort”; eating packets of biscuits and other foods in large quantities sporadically and then feeling guilty about it! Had previously tried CBT with another therapist and felt it had been unhelpful
  

• Therapy used – hypnotherapy
  

• Outcome – no significant anxiety or depression; eating habits changed; self-confidence and high self-esteem returned