Chris People Therapy and Coaching

13/03/2026

Inside the Manosphere:
I think this take by Spencer mirrors my own thoughts well.

Please watch this documentary. Let’s make sure we understand what our young men are exposed to, and let’s help them see there’s another path.

09/03/2026

It's always been my intention that any material I release should help anyone who comes into contact with it, regardless of whether they are already, or eventually become, my client or not.

With that in mind, I thought it might be helpful to try and summarise in a series of posts, what we know about good therapy and therapists, and also what we know about hype and BS in the field of psychotherapy, in the hope that it helps guide people to effective and ethical professionals and the most effective treatments.

This has been inspired (or probably more accurately, directly taken from) the work of the amazing Dr Donald Meichenbaum, who has always challenged us to be the best therapists we can be, whilst calling out the huge amount of bu****it in this industry of ours. So I'll start then with what we refer to as the 'Core Tasks' of psychotherapy before I move onto the characteristics of hype and unsubstantiated or exaggerated claims in therapy. More to come...

26/02/2026

Think I'm going to start responding to all the crap that fills the coaching and psychotherapy spaces on Linkedin with 'AI;DR' ("A.I. - didn't read") from now on!

Emdashes and single sentence paragraphs I can live with. My pet peeve is "It's not X - It's Y", with "here's what I learned about leadership from Y experience" a close follow up!

Anyone else have any "obviously-AI content" pet peeves???

13/02/2026

Just brilliant metaphor for how we often like to approach therapy (plus a legendary movie). Courtesy of the awesome Tom Parkes.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUqXhcTjsi0/?igsh=NGNvMGgzNXJvZ3B3

12/02/2026

What a great privilege to help facilitate the British Psychological Society's Careers Festival Inspiration Stage this week with the The UK College of Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy.

The UKCoHH sponsored the Inspiration Stage and it was amazing to hear from all the inspiring Psychologists working across many fields. I was particularly taken with the opening presentation from Professor Geoffrey Beattie, who discussed the psychology of climate change and boxing (2 areas close to my heart), as well as his role as executive producer alongside Sylvester Stallone on the new Prince Naseem Hamed movie 'Giant'. It was also brilliant to hear Mark Davis and Dr Krissie Irvings present to the membership on Hypno-CBT as a robust and evidence-based route to pursuing a career in psychological therapies.

02/02/2026

Getting the yips on game day? Something holding you back from being your best self on the field, court, golf course, road or mat, or in the ring or pool?

Or maybe, like many of us, you're struggling with motivation to get up and do the training you need to be your best?

From managing nerves and improving motivation to developing resilience and mental calm and clarity, I provide practical tools that will make a real, tangible difference. I work with all levels of athletes and enthusiasts - from those recovering from illness and injury, those hoping to get into something new, and national-level competitors in a broad range of sports and activities including golf, tennis, running, cycling, swimming, Hyrox, triathlon, weight lifting, dancing, judo, boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian jiujitsu and mixed martial arts amongst many more.

Whether you’re an amateur enthusiast or high-level professional athlete, my approach to coaching sports and athletic performance focuses on building confidence and self-belief, enhancing focus, and overcoming performance blocks.

Using a mix of sports hypnosis and hypnotherapy, personal coaching, CBT, ACT and mindfulness, I can tailor sessions to support your specific goals.

Therapy and coaching sessions are available in Brighton & Hove or online, with a free 30-minute consultation to get you started.

26/01/2026

I f*$king knew swearing was good for you!

A new study explores how disinhibition might give swearing its performance-enhancing effects.

25/01/2026

Do you find yourself frequently anxious or worrying?

Feeling calm, confident, and resilient in our lives is almost never about totally eliminating those challenges, stresses and setbacks in life altogether. That's probably not realistic, and so it can be helpful then to learn how to relate and respond to our challenges, feelings and worries in a more effective way.

Have you ever noticed that the more you try to stop worrying, the more persistent your negative thoughts seem to become?
Do you find yourself mentally rehearsing problems that have not happened yet, even when life is broadly going okay?
Or perhaps you feel tense, agitated, or on edge despite knowing at a rational level that you're not in any immediate danger?

Anxiety and worry are understandable responses to life rather than some sort of personal flaw. Anxiety and worry develop as a helpful or protective ('adaptive') process, with our minds scanning for potential threats and trying to prepare us for what might go wrong in order to try and keep us safe. This habit is extremely good at keeping us safe in the face of immediate physical danger, but it is far less well suited to the ongoing pressures, uncertainties, and internal demands that are provided to us in our modern lives.

When worry becomes a habit, our attention is pulled away from the objective present and into imagined futures, our bodies can show symptoms like muscle tension and disrupted sleep, and we can experience difficulties with focus and feelings of agitation or restlessness. As a lover of nerdy movies I sometimes say to clients, its a bit like we get stuck in the second act of a movie (the part where we, the hero, are at out lowest) and we never see it all the way through the third act, and the actual ending we we eventually succeed.

In therapy, we focus on helping both mind and body settle, problem solve effectively, and come back to the present moment. Using evidence-based approaches including cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT), mindfulness, and hypnosis, we work on reducing unhelpful patterns of worry, strengthening emotional regulation, and developing greater psychological flexibility to the challenges we face. This can often involves learning new ways of responding to anxious thoughts, calming the nervous system through the breath and reducing muscle tension, seeing the problem through to the 'final act', learning to believe in ourselves that we can cope, and taking meaningful action in our lives without needing absolute certainty or complete reassurance.

Sessions are available face-to-face at my clinic in Brighton, or online from anywhere.

Chris

23/01/2026

Is there a habit you need to break in 2026?

It's a safe bet to assume that most of us come into each new year considering making some changes to our daily habits. Often these habits are around food, drink, motivation and exercise, but might include many other aspects of our daily routine, like using your phone less.

Maybe you feel you've overindulged over the Christmas and New Year period, or maybe this is a habit you've wanted to work on for longer.

It might be you want some support around participating in Dry January or helping you cut back on certain foods, or perhaps supporting a broader weight loss target.

Or maybe you want to be more present with loved ones, and need to cut the tie to your phone or other device?

Together we can help smooth the path and make this as easy as possible for you using hypnosis, CBT and mindfulness.

Join me at my clinic in Brighton or from anywhere online. Free and without obligation consultations.

*Quick caveat on this delicate topic*: If you have any concern about possible alcoholism or disordered eating/eating disorders, we always recommend working alongside your GP and/or a specialist in those fields. However if you are in any doubt if this might be the case, please don't hesitate to reach out and discuss it. I promise to always advise if I think medical support would be beneficial and/or if a specialist service might serve you better.

Chris

19/01/2026

A new year and new resolutions *aren't* always about doing more.

It's also vital we learn to do less, and resist those pressures and demands from ourselves, our work, and the world, that don't actually need to rule us.

Anyone who knows or has worked with me knows I rail hard against 'toxic productivity', which is particularly prevalent in an increasing hustle-harder culture. Stress is a significant issue for many of us - and it can (if not managed correctly) ruin our enjoyment of life and undermine our attempts to pursue what matters. Stress can have knock-on effects which impacts our sleep, our feelings of energy or motivation, and even our sense of joy in the world. As someone who made all the mistakes possible in this area, and has fully experienced burnout, along with all the lovely physical as well as psychological effects of this, I'd love to help others not make the same mistakes I once did.

What many of us are searching for then is a life of not just peace, but meaning and purpose. Sometimes yes, working really hard to achieve something we really want, but also learning to take our foot off the gas and stop to smell the roses. This 'middle path' is not one of constant moderation (that honestly sounds a little dull doesn't it?!?), but of psychological flexibility and adaptability.

These pressures and inflexible demands that bully us can take many forms: what we expect from ourselves; what we expect from others and what we think they expect from us; and what we expect from the world around us. The late, great psychologist Albert Ellis called this
"The tyranny of the 'shoulds'"
or
"must-abation" (which is probably my favourite word in all of psychology!!).

Using CBT, hypnosis, mindfulness and behavioural therapy - including developing assertiveness, authenticity and skillful communication, we can learn to navigate around the demands we face, and direct ourselves to the life of meaning, freedom and balance we've been searching for.

Therapy sessions are available face-to-face at my clinic in Brighton or from anywhere via online therapy.

Chris

16/01/2026

Do you want to finally give up smoking or va**ng?

It's always hugely useful to consider the benefits of changing our unhelpful habits as it helps us to build motivation. NHS stats indicate that, for the average smoker, the cost of ci******es each year is about £2000. And whilst we don't have robust data on va**ng there is some early evidence that the cost of va**ng might be similar or even exceed this.

What would you do with an additional £2000 each year?
An amazing holiday? A deposit on a car? Renovate your home?

We all know the impacts of this habit - and I know you don't need to be patronised here. We know your health will be better - you'll live longer, live better, have better cardio, and generally have more capacity for what really matters most to you. Whether that's playing with the kids, having more energy for sport, hobbies, work or spending time with your loved ones.

How we'll do it...
We'll use a combination of hypnotherapy, CBT and mindfulness to understand the exact nature of your habit (why do you do it), and how to cope, manage and thrive without it.

We'll help you surf the urges, build rock solid motivation for change, get yourself out of autopilot, and now see and experience yourself as a happy, healthy, and content non-smoker.

My Stop Smoking programme is a 2-session boot camp, so you can get on with the life you want as quickly as possible.

The programme is available face-to-face at my clinic in Brighton or from anywhere via online therapy.

Let's start 2026 and the rest of your life the right way.

Chris