Bio

Always worked in personal development areas with people.

Worked for army (army commander), in Help for Heroes centres learning mental
health first aid. Did coaching but qualified with Institute of Management using
funding given from army.
Army- usually had 30 soldiers, did HR for the regiment, went wherever the
regiment went. Worked in Afghanistan, worked with these 30 to do pay & admin
for 5700 regiment in Camp Bastion, working 7am-11pm 6 days a week. Included
gym/fitness. Also stationed in Iraq, looked after all VIP visits to Basra, working
itineraries and accompanying visitors.
Did coaching upon leaving army.
Brought up in Wiltshire, community of 12500 army members.

Anxiety
Issues with time management- brains become so scrambled they struggle to
have any clarity with anything, aim in therapy is to unscramble.
To-do lists- someone with anxiety struggles to focus and find somewhere to start
so they get only 1 thing done, whereas someone without anxiety with a clearer
mind would get 8 done as they can pinpoint a place to start.
Let the chaos build up- compare to debt, do not want to address it. Rather than
deal with it they let it fester until it reaches a point where they cannot deal with
anything in life.
Losing judgement -> letting it build up. True of any type of mental illness.

Public speaking
Most recently worked with client *Kate, hypnotherapist, treats others anxieties
but could not deal with her own. Had never done public speaking before properly.
Used to work as a Montessouri teacher and was fine, but had to look after her
disabled child and it was returning to work at which point she felt this fear.
What frightens her the most? Her fear was simply that her mind would go 100%
blank, that she would not be able to think of anything.
But realistically has it happened? No.
Shows that it isnt based on hard fact, based on a belief rather than a previous
experience. The belief that it COULD happen was enough to petrify her.
To heal, had to change this belief, work on presentation and structure. Scripted
the first 1.5 minute, so that if she felt her mind go blank then she would have
that and afterwards her heart rate would drop enough to relax.
Discussion of her business so an easy topic.
Amazed that she could do it at the end.

Thoughts: petrified, thought of 24 people -> attention -> 24 pairs of eyes all
staring, centre of attention, the anticipation waiting for her to speak.
Initially scared, 6/10 worried (far away, not think about it), went to 9/10 when
brought forwards.
Brought forward 4 weeks, added to fear. April seemed so far away in January but
it was changed to March. Pushed it to back of her mind and then this
announcement brought her to terror. Heartbroken, even more terrified. Thought
it was in front of 15 people but changed to 24, had to judge when best to tell her
this news.
Props etc were helpful, eg: table to use as a physical barrier, flip chart as a prop
with images to serve as a prompt, and plastic model brain with similar purpose.
Spent a while realising that if she forgot her words shes the only one who would
know. Repetition of speech and speaking out loud extremely helped -> help the
brain by verbally speaking, becoming familiar.

Personal fear of needles

CBT, had no belief it would work, but it of course did. Demonstrates power of
self-doubt and therapy.
Distorted reality- I faint but of course in reality she didnt faint every time ->
important point across all illnesses.

Majority of clients know why they are going to Emma or at least that an
adjustment needs to be made.

Most clients worked with have been aged 17-55, common sense of being able to
break down what is causing the issue into a structured process. Helps with
progression between appointments. This is a fore focus in her work- to make
progress within each session and between sessions, if not then therapy usually
has to stop as it is not fair to waste a clients patience and time.

Gender differences
Men are more direct, eg: one man came in and said I know what the problem is,
Im arrogant
Emma doesnt see differences but other people might.
However, sometimes working with men is like getting blood out of a stone,
whereas with women sessions could easily last 2.5 hours.
Thinks its due to conversational difficulties, men more precise, just want to deal
with that one issue, whereas with women can go off on a tangent/distraction.
Can be difficult with men but with women whilst it takes more time the
conversations can be valuable in finding other contributing factors connected to

another issue or aspect. A balance may be best! Women just like a chat rather
than using it as a means of not addressing the original issue.

cjk-studio.com -> website of secondary school friend who did an Art

Foundation, worked as fashion designer around Europe before moving to Florida
with her husband and becoming a painter, work is frequently exhibited,
commissioned and sold for thousands.

Recommended reading and viewing

The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking 1962, Dale Carnegie, 80-90% of
leaders gov ministers etc have difficulties speaking in public.
TED talks, 2nd most popular one 32 million views, by Amy Cuddy Your body
language shapes who you are used to believe fake it til you make it now fake it
til you become it faking it until it becomes self-belief and you realise you can
actually do it