Trevor's Blog

is how I’d like this book to be described, and I’m sure that’s how many authors in the field feel when they publish. This has been four years in the writing and it’s an absorbing, frustrating, enlightening and sometimes overwhelming experience, so it’s normal that you want it to be well received. The time to find out is fast approaching because the publication date is October.

This has been one of the main reasons why my blogging has been quiet for the last few months – hopefully I can spend more time on that once my baby has gone out into the world. Unless its success means I have to embark on a world tour in a private jet. Well, we can dream can’t we?

Ooh, I suppose I should tease you with what it’s about. Essentially it’s a book of two halves. The first brings together some theories from neuroscience that suggests a theory of mind that explains why we do the things that limit our lives – and why we can take control and change ourselves.

The second half takes this theory and describes a model of therapy that allows practitioners to base their interventions (from any school or discipline) on the information they glean from the client – and how they can flexibly alter tack if their choice doesn’t work. It includes about 14 techniques that act as examples of how any technique you currently use can fit into the model. And for good measure there is a chapter on a mindset that avoids making the mistake our brains are prone to – that our way is the way. How different would our field be if it embraced the notion that nothing is ‘the best way’? That’s what I’d like the book to achieve. So it’s a baby with a pushy father.

Trevor talks about the different types of goals you can set for running success. Click here.

Trevor was approached to give advice to three couples experiencing challenges in their relationships. Always a tricky thing to do at a distance, relationship therapy with a trained therapist can often make a huge difference. Often it’s not a lack of love causing the issue, just each having a lack of understanding of the mind of the other.

Most often we’re told that we should be realistic about our goals. But in this article I go against that advice and tell you how being unreasonable could transform your year.

Cognitive Hypnotherapy had a high profile at the Olympia Diet show. SlimQuest had a stand, manned and womanned by Questies eager to educate the public in how easy it is to to lose weight when your mind is working for you. On the Saturday Rebecca Silvester gave a presentation on how to use simple techniques to keep the mind in control of your weightloss. This was followed on Sunday by Questies Katie Abbott, who gave a talk on Cognitive Hypnotherapy and NLP, and Cathy Simmons who presented on using EFT. Cathy is a member of SlimQuest, which runs group weight loss courses for the public using Cog Hyp techniques. All course leaders are graduates of our Diploma course.

As the beginning of a new regular column with Combat, Trevor introduces the readership to some ways to harness the mind to bring better results.

Negative emotions that are evoked by past memories can be removed, according to new research from the University of Amsterdam. Dr Merel Kindt discovered that administering a beta-blocker called propanolol while patients were thinking of a negative emotion caused the emotion to disappear when the memory was recalled later.

The principle behind it is called reconsolidation theory, and it has been taught on our Diploma course and guided the work of Cognitive Hypnotherapists since it was discovered by neuroscientist Joesph LeDoux. He found that recalling a memory rendered it unstable and capable of being changed. Drugs appear to be one method, interventions used by our approach are another. I have written a blog on this theory for those who would like to know more – and there is an excellent article in the Times

One of the most important things to recognise as a coach are the differences in the way people think. Working in an athlete’s model of the world will make a world of difference to the results you get. In this article Trevor explores these differences.

How many times in history have people claimed God to be on their side? A recent study by Nicholas Epley at the university of Chicago might explain why. He asked Christian volunteers their views on a series of controversial topics, such as the death penalty and abortion. They were then asked what they thought the views were of average Americans, public figures like Bill Gates, and God. The volunteers own views most resembled those of God.

The next stage was a clever twist. Another group of volunteers were given tasks designed to soften their views, such as playing devils advocate and defending the death penalty when they were actually in favour of it. The result was that the views attributed to other people remained the same, but those of God shifted in accordance with their own.

Finally the team used a brain scanner which showed that the same brain areas became active when contemplating their own views as those of God, but an area used for inferring other people’s mental states lit up when thinking about other American’s views.

Interesting isn’t it? As an atheist my conclusion is going to be different from people of faith, and I’d be genuinely interested to hear their thoughts – and anyone elses, obviously.

In this issue of Slim at Home a graduate of a SlimQuest class describes how Cognitive Hypnotherapy techniques changed her attitude to food, and her dress size.