Very quickly after I'd begun seeing Anna she asked if I might be interested in the Practitioner's course. And I was! But I had certain fears and doubts. The first was would I have enough energy to be able to travel to London and attend the weekends. My second, big fear was about being in learning environment again when it had been so long and the most I'd done in years was the odd evening class whilst feeling ill.

Fortunately, both of these fears were proved to be just that....fears in the end. I won't say that I wasn't nervous and sometimes felt tired/or had symptoms whilst I was there. But the course helped me hugely in so many ways. Firstly it enormously improved my confidence about what I was physically capable of doing because I made every single weekend except one because I went on holiday!

Secondly, it tangibly aided my recovery. I learnt so many fantastic & fascinating tools that I applied to myself along the way. And thirdly, I learnt about psychology and emotion in a way that not only gave me confidence in my own ability to learn again but also started my new career. Some things feel fated and this course did for me. I realised that I gained so much more out of this course then I would have done from the Psychotherapy training I was originally intending because of the practical tools I learnt.

The other side of the course was the people I met. I made lasting and supportive friendships with people on my wave length. I also found there was a great degree of support and encouragement from Alex, Anna and the other trainers. Unlike other training courses they really understand ME, so were understanding if I had a slightly wobbly day.

They were also really warm and encouraging around acting as the therapist for the first time with each other as clients. I was a little nervous about this at first but realised that everyone is at first and the point is to just have a go! And I did and started really enjoying myself.

Without doubt, the Practitioner's course positively contributed to my recovery, new career, friendships and life generally. I remember feeling so happy and excited every time I came home after a weekend from all that I'd learnt and experienced. I would recommend it to anyone who is even only a little interested in the subject matter and also wants to get better. My life would be very different now had I not followed my heart, despite my fears and gone for it.

‍