3 therapy tools that all birth professionals can use to support parents’ healing from trauma, depression or anxiety.

One of things that I love about hypnobirthing is how it introduces parents to a self help tool that can support them through the early days of parenting as well promoting gentle, empowered birth too.

Indeed, it was the reason that I retrained as a hypnotherapist after the birth of my son 20 years ago. My pregnancy then had been incredibly stressful and anxiety was off the chart. I only came across some hypnobirthing CDs at 36 weeks and yet I credit them with the great birth experience that I had.

Since training over 15 years ago I have supported thousands of parents with hypnotherapeutic techniques for other issues aside from birth. There have been parents who have used hypnosis to quit smoking when trying to conceive. Pregnant women who I have worked with to control hyperemesis gravidarum with hypnosis. Needle phobic fathers who didn’t want to feint on birthing day. Women physically injured by birth and looking to reconnect and heal both body and mind. Of course, there have also been many, many traumatised parents who have been re-triggered in subsequent pregnancy.

It has been a privilege to journey with these parents as they heal and naturally find their way back to health and wellness. I am indebted to them for everything I have learnt so far and continue to learn.

As I have evolved as a therapist I have learnt many other useful skills such as mindfulness, meditation and self compassionate approaches which can also be invaluable life tools for parents who want to thrive as their families grow. 

However I will always return to these 3 core therapeutic skills that can be game changers for those who feel stuck with anxiety, low mood or are struggling to cope.

Therapeutic tool #1

Being solution focused to discover their own goals for health or recovery. After hearing a person’s story, understanding their journey and their perception of their problem I will always acknowledge and validate their experience and feelings about that. Together we become curious about what they would notice when their feelings, thoughts or ways of responding about their problem are not there anymore. By focusing attention on their solution state and by engaging their imagination in what they will notice when this occurs they can experience that change and transformation of their problem. This is my favourite part of supporting clients and it is just a conversation!

Therapeutic tool #2

Teaching deep relaxation is an essential tool for managing anxiety. Anyone experiencing anxiety long or short term will benefit from learning a way to affect their autonomic nervous system to switch into the para sympathetic, relaxation response. I always finish a session with a relaxation that I record (using voice notes on my phone) and then share with the client for regular practice.

Therapeutic tool #3

Visualisation is a very powerful way of mentally rehearsing the thoughts, feelings and responses that we want to adopt and that promote health and wellbeing. Very often when we are driven by anxiety thinking, worry and low mood we are visualising worse case scenarios, catastrophe and frightening scenes. Using the client’s own solution state we can encourage parents to visualise this at the end of the relaxation. In a relaxed state the mind can learn new ways of thinking, feeling and responding.

There is only one thing that I enjoy as much as witnessing parents discover their own peace of mind again and that is sharing these therapeutic skills with perinatal professionals.

I absolutely love hearing other professionals share their success stories of supporting parent’s emotional health and wellbeing with these skills.

Bernie Allport, a retired Midwife, and now TBR Perinatal Hypnotherapist said of her experience studying with The Birth Republic:

‘So, I thought TBR 3step Rewind was it! Until I got well underway with this 2 year certification!

It wasn’t an easy decision to invest in it, not knowing where it might lead me/where I could take it within my offerings to new and current mums and families. But it is proving itself to be one of the most valuable courses of my life, meaning more than ever at this time of my life (recent midwife retiree).

The confidence amassed from working with Alex has only ever reached me in previous roles of the highest supervision and management; I am compiling plans to work with clients like I never believed I could! Despite a lifetime of midwifery experience on all these topics – this angle is different, refreshing and up to date with what is required now from the fallout of Maternity care and has been a godsend in personal stories of those around me, who I am able to view from a different perspective to my usual medical view now.’

It feels like a HUGE moment for the evolution and development of perinatal care to have professionals like Bernie combine their years of experience with these powerful mind body tools.

It feels like we are finally acknowledging the equal importance of parents emotional and mental health.

It feels like we are finally committing to up skilling to be able to provide easy access to brief interventions that can prevent more serious mental health problems.

The 2 year, level 3 Perinatal Hypnotherapy course is now closed but will reopen again next year. Join the waitlist by sending an email here with the subject line 'add me to the list'.