Things feel tangled right now. They don't have to stay that way.

We start by mapping what sets it off and what keeps it going — often the avoidance meant to control it is what feeds it. From there we work on practical tools: slowing the body down, grounding, and loosening the thought loops. Panic in particular tends to respond faster than people expect.

We begin with small, concrete things — sleep, routine, the activities that quietly stopped — because momentum usually comes before motivation, not after. Then we look at the thinking patterns underneath. If it's severe or long-standing, I'll say so honestly and suggest seeing a psychiatrist alongside our work.

Sessions can be with you on your own or with your partner — both work, and starting alone is completely normal. We focus less on who was right in any particular argument and more on the pattern the arguments follow, and on how each of you raises something difficult.

For younger children I usually work with the parents rather than the child. We look at what the behaviour is communicating, and which responses at home make it settle or escalate. Most of the change happens between sessions, in how the household runs day to day.

Teenagers often arrive reluctantly, sent by a parent. The first session is simply about whether they want to talk at all — there's no pressure and no lecture. Parents are kept informed of the general direction, but what the teenager says stays between us. That boundary is usually what makes it work.

First we separate what can actually change from what genuinely can't — a lot of exhaustion comes from spending energy on the second. Then we work on boundaries, recovery, and sleep, which is usually the first thing to break and the first thing worth fixing.

We look at where the critical voice came from, whose voice it actually is, and how accurate it is when tested against evidence rather than feeling. Alongside that, practical work on saying no and on tolerating someone else's disappointment without folding.

Often the real difficulty isn't the decision itself but untangling what you want from what's expected of you — and being allowed to say the difference out loud. Procrastination usually turns out to be anxiety wearing a different coat, so we treat it as that.

This is where hypnotherapy usually fits best. These are patterns that willpower alone tends not to shift, because they run below the level of deliberate decision. Work here is normally a short, defined course of sessions rather than open-ended therapy.