Keep It Simple Counselling - Testimonials

Hi Andrew,
Thought I’d drop you a little line with an update on how I’m doing as we haven't spoken now for some time but also I spotted something today that made me think of you..
“Is this world a prison or a paradise? It is, of course, both. Both together. Both at once. Both in the blink of an eye. It is a prison when we feel we are being punished, when our needs are not being met, when we are more conscious of our fears and limitations than of our hopes and dreams. And yet it takes very little to turn it all into a paradise. Lottery wins really aren't necessary. Simple solutions to a few basic problems can be more than enough. So, too, can be a small change of expectation or attitude. Work on that if you want your paradise. ...”

It's actually my horoscope for today but the words just made me think of human givens! Maybe you can use it somewhere I don't know... Anyway, i guess you could say I’m doing ok. I've had no feelings of utter despair or hopelessness for such a long length of time it's impossible to say when I last felt this way. I wouldn't class myself as depressed any more which is a huge leap. The strangest thing is I’ve not been 'aware' of my state of mind at all. It's like when I was depressed all I could think were these negative thoughts & I felt like I was drowning in quick sand in a situation I couldn't control but now that everything feels fine I guess you could say I’m just 'being'. Living life without being aware of it.

The biggest development is my work life. I have been approached by an old colleague in respect to a job. This was an unexpected development but I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity land in my lap. Not that I haven't earned it mind. I bumped into this person whilst attending another individuals leaving party. It was a completely random encounter but one that wouldn't of happened if I had been sat at home feeling sorry for myself! I've been making much more of a conscious effort to socialise more again, meeting up with old friends on a regular basis. I'm not walking on air all day by any means but I feel as though I’ve made huge significant progress in the right direction.

The change has been so refreshing & just seeing how I’ve achieved these changes inspires me to attempt more in life. I have you to thank for that. One of the most valuable lessons you taught me is that you have to take action in life to achieve things & to facilitate change. It's a very hard lesson to learn when you're in a pit of despair but if you can summon the courage to take action then that's the medicine you need to move forward & the reward is more than worth the effort.

I think I’ve talked for long enough now! Hope everything is good with you & family. Miss our chats - you helped me so much in so many ways. I think I’ve only truly began to appreciate that fully now on reflection.                     

Hi Andrew, I have been feeling a lot better about everything and more confident. I have had my down days and times when it has been tough, but I certainly coping much better than before. I am down in Dorset at the moment for a break before I go back for my final exams. I have been driving around, and even drove all the way down to Exeter, from my house to go to an interview for a student’s associate scheme placement. It involved all the aspects of driving I worry about, including country lanes, main roads and most of all parking in car park and reversing. I coped really well, had a couple of moments where I worried, but I was able to dismiss them quite easily. I want to come and see you again before I finish after my exams, I would like to just polish it all a bit, (if that’s the right phrase) and make sure the stress of exams doesn’t make it flare up again.                                             

Shortly after moving to London I had become quite depressed and frustrated with my own lack of self esteem, low morale and subsequent inability to be self directing. I was struggling to accept myself and feeling at odds with the world at large as well as with the people closest to me. As a result I had become quite withdrawn. I Googled for things like perfectionism because I am very self critical which was one of the things both inhibiting and motivating me - I had arrived at a stale-mate between the two and was unable to function. I am an artist and as such need to be particularly self motivated so this seemed like a huge problem to me. The information on perfectionism led me to look into cognitive behavioural therapy and from there to find the Human Givens website, where I found Andrew Richardson listed. From the first time I met with Andrew I began to feel more at ease with my situation. We talked at some length and Andrew sent me home with a hypnotherapy CD to listen to. I found the CD to be very calming and quietly reassuring. I began to feel more positive about having had to seek help with my state of mind and confident that the Human Givens techniques were a suitably flexible and practical approach which could help me to deal with the my problems. I had about six sessions with Andrew and no longer feel depressed and anxious. I have been through some difficult circumstances recently affecting my physical health and I suffered a bereavement. Despite these factors I am continuing to make progress with my personal fulfilment and goals. I have been able to return to my work and have just had a painting accepted for a prestigious exhibition in central London. I have found a new studio and enough confidence in myself now to commit to leasing a space to work in. I had previously chosen to work at home as I didn't have enough faith in myself to go out into the world to work. I have also joined a meditation/psychic development group where I have connected with a group of people who share some of my more unusual experiences and help me to make sense of them. This was an area of my life which I was living largely in denial of as I felt that anything psychic is so taboo in our society and likely to attract ridicule. I did not broach this subject with Andrew until quite late in my therapy sessions with him and was relieved to find that he had an open mind on the subject and encouraged me to follow up my hunch to join an organisation where I could understand more about it. This has been the single most empowering thing that I have done, but I would have been unlikely to do this or any of the other things I have mentioned if I had remained in my former state of mind prior to seeking Andrew's help.                          

I am a counsellor, trained in Integrative Psychosynthesis - an approach that has helped me enormously. I have spent some years in personal therapy, and no longer feel the need for on-going support. I have been to see Andrew a handful of times - seeking help in moments of crisis. My interest was partly professional, partly personal. I have heard about the Human Givens approach and wanted to know more. I experienced a seemingly simple combination of hypnotherapy, storytelling and conversation which calmed me, helped me take my needs more seriously, helped me draw on my resources to that end, and gave me new insights into my situation.                         

When I decided to learn more about the Human Givens approach from the US, Andrew was available via Skype. I had heard about Human Givens approach and was curious to try it. I live in Mexico so I start looking for someone who was willing to give me therapy by SKYPE. After a few months of unsuccessful fertility treatment I started feeling exhausted, could not sleep at night and felt uneasy all the time. I was lucky enough to find Andrew, who helped in only 2 sessions to feel relaxed, happy and optimistic. We did relaxation and trance by SKYPE also and Andrew could clear all kinds of worries that I had – mainly to do with my work which he found had developed from my past. I am a psychologist who had tried many different types of therapies both for me and my patients and I never experience something so effective and fast! Thanks Andrew for your generosity.                         

Andrew stopped me in my tracks before I got too upset, which was a huge relief... He relaxed me and used the rewind technique to quickly remove the feelings of trauma which had burdened me for so many years. He then went on to help me see ways in which I could take back control of my future and improve my relationships. I went out of that first session feeling that a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and able to imagine a bright future again. I can't recommend Andrew highly enough.            

I had been depressed for a year, I couldn’t sleep well, I was anxious and over sensitive to pressure. I visited Andrew Richardson after reading ‘How to lift depression fast’ (the bestselling book by Ivan Tyrell and Jo Griffin, the founders of Human Givens). I learned how to relax and put a stop at the grey ideas rumination. I revisited some parts of my childhood and more recent years to understand fix things and release emotions. After four sessions I was officially not depressed. It's been two months since the last session and progress continues.                         

I want to thank you for the work you did with Anna. The sessions have been so very helpful and have allowed her to emerge from a very dark place. I speak to Anna very regularly and I am amazed at how much her outlook has changed in such a short time. She has mended her friendships and is talking positively about her future. Clearly she still has a way to go but the strategies you have helped her develop are enabling her to find positive ways forward. Thank you so much for helping my daughter to get her life back. The Human Givens approach came highly recommended to me and i will certainly recommend it to others.                         

I have been doing a new type of work (driving a mobile exhibition and road show for a diabetes charity) which, while it has its own stresses, they are not the same as those associated with my normal work. Your guidance has helped my wife and I deal better with the depression – and each other – and we are progressing nicely, I think. I go to the Depression Alliance meetings still but I am increasingly taking a contrary view to the majority of those there who say “once a depressive always a depressive”. I don’t want to believe that and I am improved for thinking in the positive way that you have advocated. I am much livelier, more social and have been throwing myself in some long outstanding DIY projects. I am sleeping well most nights too. Overall the word would be energised. Much of this is, I feel, down to our sessions for which I thank you again. Perhaps I can stay in touch as things continue to progress                         

I have tried my best to maintain the ideas you have put forward to me i.e. 7/11 which works every time and remaining in calm surroundings and definitely not taking on tasks which I feel will get me anxious. I drove on the A12 this weekend for the first time in about four months and it felt great. So at this present moment in time I feel like my old self again.                         

I was getting to the end of my tether, and so were my work colleagues - not knowing how to deal with my unexpected bursts of tears, general mood of moroseness, and fears over well just so much. They were getting fed up? Heck. I was getting furious with myself again. Somehow I just KNEW it was my entire fault really, I was just being pathetic, I should yell at myself to get it all together, I should just try HARDER. In the end it was my manager who told me that since I'd tried legal drugs, the talking cure, and exercise she might have a new option. Well goodness, I was ready to try anything The setting was a quiet area, a family home, and a softly spoken Andrew Richardson. Yes I DID arrive near to sniveling but it all soon wore off. I even share a medical issue - if that is the correct phrase - with Andrew but we didn't spend much time on that as I was, and still am, sure that MS is the LEAST of my worries. By attending my sessions with Andrew I found out that he considered that I have been through a trauma. This was such a different way to look at that time as a twelve year old when I just hadn't been able to cope with the bad luck of being bullied and trying to commit suicide, in the middle of my mother dying from Alzheimer's disease. Okay. I now see how I might not have been unreasonable in feeling awful a lot of the time because behaviour now tripped me back into that bullied child. And this is what Andrew got me to work on, with his help. I was taught a way to view past memories and so got rid of the emotion of them. As part of the visualization I regained one of my past German Shepherdesses who I used to sit with my arm around, so if I seem to be poised awkwardly it's because my left arm is busy cuddling a pooch. I also found words coming out of my mouth that I hadn't planned on saying but seemed to make sense to Andrew. I filled in questionnaires that we reviewed in later weeks and he gave me proper charts to look at, (and keep), to help me see my progress. I also have a promise that if I feel it's all becoming too much again, all I have to do is telephone and he will be ready, willing and able to help - a bit like the cavalry of human givens. Yes it was worthwhile. Yes I use Andrew's visualization technique with stressful stuff that stresses me out at work. Yes, I feel happy that I have his back-up. And yes, I still have my ghostly bitch to cuddle when my live one is otherwise engaged.                         

I met Andrew when I needed his help the most. My opinion is that you meet people in life for a reason and my reason to meet Andrew was to help me recover from depression and OCD and to change the way I saw life and the future. This man gave me answers to my questions, taught me to stop looking for the wrong answers, encouraged me, answered my calls at any time of the day or night (while going thru the panic attacks), made me feel that I was good in what I was doing and made me feel important! He also made me feel that I was not alone! Andrew kept on teaching me that the times I was feeling bad was because of the stresses in my life. And only later did I realise that he was right – that the small daily stress from running around all day with a 1 year old child and work, and no time to relax, that was what was affecting my state. I had started to think that all the thoughts I was having were not my thoughts but my imagination and that was the why I was reacting to stress as a way of harming myself (by imagining horrible things). I understood that I was reacting to what I was imagining by panicking and getting depressed but the case is that any normal person would do that if they were to imagine the worst! So with Andrew’s help I started to stop fearing what I was imagining, slowly and gradually. I learnt that all is working if you are willing to listen to what your stress is saying to you (and when I say listen I mean really listen). You are the most important piece from the recovering puzzle. By seeing Andrew, I learnt to make time to relax and how to relax. Andrew helped me to find my interior balance, and made me understand that I MUST HAVE MY NEEDS MET! I started to see life in a different way and to search for my passions. He gave me lots of explanations to what I was going through so I felt that I had someone that understands me and that I was not going mad. Thank you so much for all you did for me Andrew! I and my family owe you BIG TIME!                         

He was able to effectively apply the Human Givens approach to my questions about losing a parent, the challenges of being a parent, and growing a professional practice. In a remarkably few sessions, the insights and techniques I gained in consulting Andrew provided me with the lasting benefits of improved sleep, stress reduction, and work/life balance. Andrew used the rewind technique to resolve painful emotions related to a childhood experience. The inevitable challenges and dilemmas of daily life still arise, time often feels short, but I simply feel better able to find the resources to meet the needs of the moment. Andrew showed me where to look to find the resources I already possessed and the means to repeat the process when needed.                          

I went to see Andrew in 2008 because I had an emotional blockage. This had actually always been there, since I was very little. I was anxious in my relationships with other people, afraid of them. I had for most of my life suffered from low self esteem. Although I had visited different psychotherapists before, I felt the blockage hadn´t been resolved and I decided to visit Andrew. What we discovered in our sessions opened my eyes and made me regain my self esteem. At the age of 8 I suffered the sudden abandonment of my best friend at school (she went to another school). As we found out following rewind techniques in a state of deep relaxation, my unconscious mind learnt from this experience that friendship is no good and this learning led me to mistrust people throughout my whole life. I was unable to engage in close relationships with other people and I always feared abandonment and rejection. My closest friend was, paradoxically, my mother, who is the person who has helped me most and is dearest to me. Apart from this abandonment, I also lived a toxic home environment. As a growing girl, my emotions were totally neglected. My monetary and academic needs were covered, but my emotional needs remained unmet for years on end. My parents had an emotionally abusive relationship between them which reflected in their relationship with me and my sister. My dad is emotionally clumsy himself and didn´t know how to teach us to manage our own emotions. For years I was angry at him and regarded him as a bad person. Andrew helped me look at these feelings from a more objective perspective and used the tapping technique to unblock the toxic emotions. Now I don´t feel like that about my father. I have realised that he behaved the best way he knew and I know that he loves me very much. I believe in emotional education in childhood. Emotional and social intelligence are the basics of human relationships, and are as (or more) important as IQ (intelligence quotient). They are also as important as having economic resources to give children a good academic education. From my experience, I know that meeting a child´s monetary needs is not enough for him to grow up happy and secure. It is an emotionally intelligent household what counts for in the shaping of the child´s future happiness and ability to cope with stress in life.                          

This was affecting my health and my relationships. Through Andrew's patient, skilful counselling and use of the rewind technique I feel less depressed and anxious more of the time.  And my relationships have improved. I still have things to work on but I know I have Andrew's support for this as long as I need it.