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“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” Maya Angelou

Welcome. I am Hannah and I am the creator of Guidance, Therapy & Healing, and I help people attend to life experiences that may be having a negative impact on their lives.

I have been privileged to work alongside individuals for 12 years and have come to understand that these experiences can affect individuals in different ways. For some it can cause physical limitations such as headaches, tension in the body, tiredness. Others it can result in struggles with anxiety, depression, or a break down in relationships. Sadly the list is endless….

Often the cause of these struggles are avoided, as they are just too painful to face. I provide another way forward… By following your lead, I will provide you with a range of resources that best suit your personal need in that given moment. I can offer you music so you can shake out any uncomfortable feelings. Or pens and pencils so you can scribble across reams of paper. Or I can just give you some space to chat over a cup of tea. Be it a personal or professional need, I will be alongside you to guide and heal you, into a greater sense of health and well-being.

Please note, sessions will be held online until a change in the Government guidelines.

“Hannah has managed to get responses from residents that can’t express their emotions or are not able to talk” ME. Activites Coordinator

Who is Hannah?

To move forward happily into your future, it is quite important to have a clear idea who you will be working with. As people, we choose who we openly talk to carefully, especially if we have been hurt.

I have a love of movement, and it has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Following a personal trauma, this love became affected, leading to a struggle through my training at college and University. It was if I had developed two left feet, and I could no longer move like the rest of my class..

As an outcome, I found a passion for creating movement for performance, and went on to make work for Primary Schools, young adults and created my own Company, GyiDance, integrating my love of nature through site specific work. On finding Dance Voice in 2008, a Therapy and Education Centre in Bristol, I trained as a Dance Movement Psychotherapist. Here I discovered the Body-Mind connection and everything became clear. The way I moved was no longer about how good I looked, but about the physical, mental and emotional release it brought to my well-being. Blessed to work with adoptive families for 8 years, I shared this work, whilst learning how art, sand, music and play can also provide this freedom from our difficult life experiences.

I continue to support individuals in a 1:1 and group setting, and I am currently training in dōTERRA essential oils to enhance the healing process.

“I’m so glad I found Hannah as my supervisor. She has a wonderful, empathic and almost magical way of being able to help me think clearer, and untangle my mind.

With all her creative wisdom and guidance, she has been able to support my work with complex client issues… making me feel so supported and held. Thank you Hannah.”

The Patchwork Quilt

Over the years I have noticed myself repeat a perspective on life to friends and loved ones that derived from my love of patchwork quilts. The colours, the textures, the random imperfections and of course, those annoying loose threads. What I came to realise was this Love was actually a reflection of life… As we live our lives, the experiences that we have are equivalent to a patch. One may be bright, another very tatty and not one to look at for too long.. A pink and a blue one might be a favourite, and a star pattern might bring a tear to the eye. As individual patches they might not be what you would have chosen, and some are pretty unsightly in both presentation and memory … But on holding that quilt up, and seeing it as a whole, they are always beautiful.

Our individual life experiences don’t make us who we are, but sometimes we might need a hand to hold to help us get through them.

No two quilts are ever the same. Embrace your colours, embrace your difference.

“Hannah is one of the most person-centred people I’ve ever met, who genuinely meets you where you’re at with passion. She’s fabulously creative and always gives great insights to add to your repertoire. She’s open, flexible and fun! Can’t recommend her work enough!” Client

Supervision

Supervision is for any practitioner needing to reflect on their practise in order to support their professional development. It is paramount for professionals to maintain regular supervision so that the mental, physical and emotional weight of others does not lead to a burn out. In a supervision, I provide a confidential space to ensure you are supporting others to the best of your ability, as well as supporting you.

Together, we will ruminate through discussion and creative exploration to make sense of anything that may be impacting on your professional or personal well-being.

“Hannah offers a non-judgemental space of deep listening and enquiry that enables me as a psychotherapist to explore my work from different perspectives. I am delighted that my supervision can be as creative as the therapy sessions I facilitate.” – Supervisee

Just Be.. Me Class

In 2016 I founded Just Be.. Me, a movement class supporting individuals living with Parkinson’s. This class provides a space for individuals to share their strengths and interests, and thus support each other in ways they may not have considered if continuing their journey alone. Examples of this is sharing specific movements that alleviate stiffness in their bodies, music that stimulates and uplifts, or a topic of conversation that initiates creativity and connection. The class is based purely on what each individual brings that day resulting in spontaneity and surprises every week.

The social time at the end of a class gives participants the option to demonstrate their skills in the kitchen and bring in homemade bakes to share. With a cup of tea in hand, the class unites in discussion, and often runs over our allocated time slot! For some, this is the highlight of the class. Due to the current climate change, it’s not quite the same, but a monthly Zoom coffee morning substitutes this, where a cup of tea and conversation can still continue.

I now provide a weekly online class leading the participants through posture, warm up exercises, and gentle movement routines. In order to carry forward the spirit of a face to face class, input from the participants is welcomed every week via email. Allowing the class to continue and keeping the human connection alive. For an example of one of my classes, please follow this link; https://youtu.be/v2WSEUS3nRo Or get in touch for further information.

“Each week we find your sessions enjoyable and greatly beneficial to our movement. It helps with the awareness of movements that P may be losing, this also includes myself, so these movements can be worked on. Being able to do these sessions as a couple is very bonding and makes us accept the diagnosis in a more positive way. Your sessions are uplifting due to the range of music and movements you use, but mainly through your sunny personality. Keep up the great work and thank you” – M&P

Case Studies

As a part of my training, having therapy was a necessary requirement and I was advised to “shop” around fore the right therapist. On following this advice, it came to light that, in order to move forward through my own process of therapy, it had to be with someone I felt comfortable with..

If you and I have yet to meet, it feels worthwhile to give you an insight into my work. To help you decide if I am the right person that you ,or your loved one, feel comfortable with. Please find below some examples of who I have worked with, and how I have accommodated their momentary needs through my approach to Healing. Please note, details have been changed for confidential purposes.

Group work with in Addiction Recovery

Providing psychotherapeutic support in an addiction recovery centre, four men came to an open session for the first time. They each arrived sporadically and placed themselves at a distance, quietly sharing a check in in response to a topic of choice, ie, an object, a weather state, a colour. On opening up a window of opportunity, the men united in a musical experience which carried them around the room in a stomping ritualistic circle dance with bells. The session closed with the seated group connected through their experience together, chatting in an open and relaxed discussion.

1:1 living with bullying

A client had been bullied for two years in the work place, and was struggling to move forward due to a hit to their confidence. The client was withdrawing from their interests, resulting in feelings of depression, and affecting personal relationships. Together we explored the clients’ strengths creatively, through their love of movement and writing down their strengths through colour and bespoke design. This enabled the client to visibly see their positive traits, and what these brought to the lives of their loved ones, and themselves. Within 8 weeks the client’s confidence had increase dramatically as well as a new found strength to face challenges by themselves.

1:1 with a non-verbal client living with Dementia

A resident within a group setting would come to a session and observe. Frustrated and angry, the resident would express this through physical attacks on staff. In my role as a result of the current crisis, I found the resident sitting alone in the corridor by their room. Sharing an interest in my bracelet, a light touch was made, followed by eye contact. A resident known to contain their emotion, held the gaze, and began to cry. On recognition of a safe space and human connection, this was enough for the resident to liberate their emotional holding.

FAQ

What are the advantages of working with Guidance, Therapy & Healing?

Working with the creative modalities for 12 years, I have explored healing through more ways than talking alone. As an outcome, I have observed a greater level of engagement, connection and release. The thought of having to talk openly and directly about something can be troubling and can sometimes prevent the healing from even beginning. A non-direct approach of your own choice can allow you to have a level of control over your healing process, something that is often a reason clients attend therapy in the first place; feeling out of control of their life. These approaches can include a multitude of options; writing it down, drawing an image, making a music playlist and drumming along, or even just going for a walk. These client-led approaches can then allow the process to start gently, at your own pace, in your own way.

Furthermore, some of our life experiences can be deeply imbedded into our way of being. They are no longer accessible on a conscious level and are unable to be accessed just by talking about the issue. With these out of our immediate memory, it does not necessarily mean that they don’t have an impact on our reactions, or cloud our judgement of certain situations. So how can we make sense of them if we can’t access them? Well the answer is we can. Our bodies remember (Rothschild, 2000). For example, putting on our shoes and socks, climbing the stairs. This is not new to our body every time we perform these actions. Our bodies remember these pathways. And sadly this is the case when our body goes through deep levels of trauma. By exploring therapy through creative methods, we access the unconscious and these movement pathways reawaken. Enabling unprocessed emotions experienced through this time, to be managed gently, then put to rest. It is my job to journey and guide you gently through this, as it can be difficult to be with the emotional content that surfaces. But by revisiting these together, you can then have control over what you do with them, and taking you into a greater place of emotional health and well-being.

What is a typical session like?

As I am trained in the Person-Centred Approach (Rogers 1951), a session depends on what a client brings on the day. This could start with an informal chat, but sometimes it can be difficult to know how to start addressing a difficult situation. This might lead to some gentle questions and bring an awareness to their feelings and where they are being held in the body. Or it could be writing down or drawn, or just listening to a piece of music that stimulates the feeling that is needed to be expressed. With each client having their own life experiences, the outcome of a session can greatly vary. To reassure you, experience in the creative arts is not a requirement.

What can I help with?

People needing support with; ASHD, anxiety, adoption, attachment, autism, building confidence, bullying, Children and Young People Complex PTSD, dementia, depression, a degenerative disease, divorce, grief, loss, Living with Cancer, M.E. OCD, Medical Trauma, Mothers, older populations, Parkinson’s, Recovery from sexual abuse, stress, students in psychotherapy, trauma, work-life balance

How long is a session?

A session depends on the need of the individual, and can range from 1-1.5 hours.

I offer short-term programmes of 6-8 weeks however this can be extended at any time

How much is a session?

To ensure that anybody is able to access the help they need, cost is tailored to suit each individual.

Please get in touch for further details

Travel costs will need to be taken into consideration for face to face sessions in your own home

Where are sessions held?

Online via Zoom or Skype

Face to face in the comfort of your own home

How long will it take before I see results?

This can vary depending on the depth of healing required. However shifts have been experienced after only 1 session

Do you offer group sessions?

I do. If you have an idea in mind or a specific requirement, please get in touch and I can find a way to accommodate your request

Testimonials

“To work through current issues and difficult issues from the past takes courage and it was vital to me to find a therapist who was someone I felt comfortable with and knew that I could open up to. I have not been disappointed in Hannah. She is sensitive, thoughtful, understanding and empathetic. She works with me and offers her insights and suggestions when and only when she feels that these will help. She is a truly person centered therapist”

Client

“Ive been crying / am crying and it’s good!

Yes so much that surpasses words!

You left me with a gift.”

Supervisee

“Exercise and movement is so important for our residents, and you fitted in so well”

Activities Co-Ordinator

“I’m so glad I found Hannah as my supervisor. She has a wonderful, empathic and almost magical way of being able to help me think clearer, and untangle my mind. With all her creative wisdom and guidance, she has been able to support my work with complex client issues… making me feel so supported and held.

Thank you Hannah.”

Supervisee

“Thank you once again for today, I feel lighter – I know I’ve said it so many times but you are really gifted”

Client

Contact

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Hannah Creighton: Humanist Integrative Psychotherapist, RDMP and Clinical Supervisor

Email: hannah@guidancetherapy.co.uk

Telephone: (+44) 07816-219-543

I am a registered member of the Association of Dance Movement Psychotherapy, UKCP trainee, and recognised as a Private Practitioner and Clinical Supervisor. Practising in a safe-space under their code of ethics.

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“Hannah has made me feel positive about myself. I definitely feel like a ton weight has been lifted off my chest. I feel like I am a changed person.”– IM. Client