What are the opening hours?

Monday 08:00 - 17:00 Tuesday 09:00 - 16:00 Wednesday 09:00 - 16:00 Thursday 09:00 - 16:00 Friday 09:00 - 16:00

Naomi Holdt - Psychologist and Speaker

Home
South Africa
Hilton
Naomi Holdt - Psychologist and Speaker

Psychologist | Speaker | Author | Personal & Professional Growth Mentor
Upcoming book: What the Actual Canary?! launching soon. Get on the waitlist 👇

ABOUT NAOMI
Naomi is a psychologist, author and speaker with over 20 years experience in education, educational psychology and psychotherapy with a special interest in the emotional well - being of children and young adults. With an initial teaching background she has insightful knowledge on the role of both parents and teachers in supporting, nurturing and helping young people reach their potential. Naomi qualified cm laude with an MA in Educational Psychology from University of KwaZulu-Natal and is in private practice in Hilton, South Africa. She has spoken countrywide and her online parenting courses have now reached an international following. Naomi is a mother of two young children and regards this as a privilege and her most important role. DISCLAIMER
All content found on the Naomi Holdt Psychologist and Speaker Website and social media channels, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. The Site and its Content are provided on an "as is" basis. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your psychologist or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a mental health condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website or Naomi Holdt Psychologist and Speaker’s social media channels. If you think you may have a mental health emergency, call your psychologist or doctor, go to the emergency department, or call emergency response immediately. Reliance on any information provided by Naomi Holdt Psychologist and Speaker, Naomi Holdt Psychologist and Speaker’s employees, contracted writers, or professionals presenting content for publication to Naomi Holdt Psychologist and Speaker’s channels is solely at your own risk. Links to content not created by Naomi Holdt Psychologist and Speaker are taken at your own risk. Naomi Holdt Psychologist and Speaker is not responsible for the claims of external websites and organisations. Please note that due to an overwhelming demand for assistance, I am unable to respond to requests and messages on this platform. If you would like to book a consult, please email info@naomiholdt.com or WhatsApp: +27 74 131 0260.

14/03/2026

It’s been about 38 years…

Today I took my daughter ice skating for her school social.

And of course - grabbing life by the balls, horns and all else imaginable- this mamma decided she was skating too.

Now let’s just say it has been a veeery long time since I last put on a pair of ice skates.
And naturally I assumed (okay- hoped like heck!) muscle memory would just kick in.

Spoiler alert:
Muscle memory did not kick in.

Lap one looked less like elegant skating and more like a herd of baby giraffes clinging desperately to the side rail.

By the end of that first lap I was feeling muscles I didn’t even know existed.
My ankles were wobbling.
My dignity was questionable.

And I very seriously considered handing in the skates and retreating gracefully to the stands with the other parents.

But that little voice in me - the one that has been getting louder this past year - said:
“Naomi… you get one life girl. Keep going.”

So I did.
Another lap…
Still wobbly.

Another lap.
Still unstable…

Another lap…

And slowly something shifted.

My body began finding rhythm.
My balance improved.

And before I knew it I was skating around a full-blown disco rink thinking:
“Oh my word… this is actually the BEST fun ever.”

(I may or may not have thrown in a few questionable disco dance moves to the blaring music.)

When we finally got back home, my little girl’s words came over and over- “Thanks for skating with me mom. That was THE best day ever!”

Reminder for this mamma: Don’t let one day go by without squeezing all the ice you can out of it. And one more actually: Never let the fear of a potentially wet butt stop you from skating your heart out on life’s rink.

And if you happened to see a woman doing questionable disco moves on an ice rink in Durban this morning… keep it moving 😂

With love and expecting a leeetle stiffness,
Naomi 🤍

13/03/2026

I felt angry today.

Which is interesting… because anger is one of the emotions people judge themselves for the most.

We’re taught it’s unattractive.
Immature.
A sign we’ve lost control.

But in nervous system terms, anger isn’t the problem.

Anger is often a signal that your body feels powerless.

When something feels unfair.
When you feel misunderstood.
When someone misrepresents you.
When you feel disrespected.
When your nervous system senses a threat to your sense of safety or belonging.

Your body doesn’t just sit there calmly analysing the situation.

It moves into protection mode.

And one of the ways the nervous system tries to restore a sense of power…

is anger.

Not because you’re dramatic.
Not because you’re unstable.

Because your biology is trying to regulate a perceived loss of control.

But here’s where most of us unknowingly make the mistake.

The moment we feel angry, we believe the solution is to:

Explain.
Defend.
Prove.
Correct the story.
Even to ourselves…

We rush to respond.

When in reality-

sometimes regulation begins the moment you stop trying to fix the interaction.

Not every misunderstanding needs to be corrected.
Not every reaction deserves a response.

But silence is only powerful when it comes from regulation, not suppression.

And that’s a distinction most people have never been taught.

This is something I see constantly in the work I do around stress and nervous system regulation.

People believe their stress is coming from workload, deadlines, or busy lives.

But some of the biggest sources of nervous system stress are actually emotional dynamics like:

• feeling misunderstood
• people pleasing
• absorbing other people’s projections
• constantly explaining yourself

For people who are emotionally aware, empathetic, and wired to think deeply about relationships, these moments can be especially dysregulating.

And most people have no idea how much these interactions are quietly stressing their nervous system.

This is one of the nervous system patterns I unpack much more deeply in my upcoming masterclass on Stress, Status & Nervous System Regulation.

Because most people are trying to manage stress without actually understanding what their nervous system is doing in moments like this.

Once you understand that…

you stop reacting.

You start responding.

And sometimes the strongest response of all…

is silence.

⬇️

If your nervous system is tired of carrying stress it was never designed to hold-

this class might be exactly what you need.

Grab your seat here:

👉🏼 https://naomiholdt.thrivecart.com/stress-and-the-nervous-system/

🗓️ 24th March 2026 @ 6pm SAST

Your nervous system doesn’t need you to win every argument.
It needs you to choose which ones deserve your energy.

With love,
Naomi ❤️

11/03/2026

One of the biggest sources of stress in modern life…
is other people’s projections.

This morning at gym I noticed my trainer, Thami, looked tired.

Not physically tired.
The kind of tired that sits deeper than the body.

Thami isn’t just a trainer to me.
He’s a friend. A soul human.
A grower. A deep thinker.

The kind of person you end up having real conversations with between sets.

And this morning we started talking about something I’ve worked through with countless patients over the years… and something I’ve had to learn in my own life too.

What happens when people try to pull you down.

When they judge you.
Criticise you.
Spread untruths.
Say negative things about you.

And slowly… without even noticing it…

You start questioning yourself.

Maybe they’re right.
Maybe I’m not good enough.
Maybe I’m the problem.

Your nervous system goes into full threat mode.

Stress rises.
Self-doubt creeps in.
Your sense of who you are becomes blurred.

And here’s the psychological truth most people don’t realise.

What is being thrown at you is very often projection.

Projection happens when someone cannot hold their own pain, insecurity or shame…
so their nervous system finds relief by offloading it onto someone else.

In simple terms-

What they cannot process inside themselves gets vomited onto you.

And if you are a deep feeler…
a sensitive human…
emotionally perceptive…

You don’t just see it.

You absorb it.

Which is why highly attuned people often end up carrying emotional weight that was never theirs to carry.

You feel the sting.
Your nervous system reacts.
And suddenly… you forget who you are.

But here’s the powerful reframe I reminded Thami of this morning:

Projection tells you far more about the person projecting than it ever does about you.

The problem is not the criticism.

The problem is what your nervous system does with it.

Because if your internal wiring already carries the old scripts-

You’re not enough.
You’re too much.
You’re the problem.

- then projection lands straight into those pathways and amplifies the stress response.

Which is why one of the most powerful practices I teach people is this:

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE.
WRITE IT DOWN.

Not who others say you are.
Not who old wounds tell you you are.
But the truth.

Then next to it write down how someone’s words made you feel.

Look at that list.
And remind yourself:

This feeling may be real.
But the story attached to it isn’t yours.

For emotionally aware humans, this is one of the hardest things to learn.

But it’s also one of the most liberating.

Because when we learn to recognise projection…
to regulate our nervous system…
and to stop internalising what was never ours…

our stress levels drop dramatically.

And something extraordinary opens up.

Space.

Space for clarity.
Space for calm.
Space for joy.

This is exactly the kind of deeper psychological and nervous-system work we will be unpacking in my upcoming masterclass:

Stress, Status & The Nervous System.

I’m always excited about the masterclasses I teach.

But this one…

This one comes from a year of enormous personal growth, healing and life-altering realisations.

The moment when all the dots start connecting.

When you realise stress isn’t just about workload.

It’s about things like:

• belonging
• judgement
• people pleasing
• status
• projection
• boundaries
• nervous system safety

When you understand these patterns your relationship with stress changes forever.

👇🏽

If you are someone who feels deeply,
thinks deeply,
and wants to live with less toxic stress and more aliveness,

This masterclass is for you.
And I am teaching it from the first-hand, real-life, other side of it all- with more passion and fire than I have ever felt before.

Seats are filling quickly.

🗓️24 March 2026- 6pm SAST
💰 Your Investment: $55

Join us here:
https://naomiholdt.thrivecart.com/stress-and-the-nervous-system/

And Thami… thank you for the real conversations between sets.
The world needs more deep thinkers- in gym spaces too.

With love and weights,
Naomi 💪🏽❤️

PS. We had a laugh-a-lot photoshoot here!

08/03/2026

Confession: I don’t like uninvited guests. Except the ones that reset my nervous system…

Before any wild and chaotic assumptions take hold of your mind- let me make explain a bit…

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not good with stranger tea time small-talk.
Also, not even with guests I know who weren’t exactly invited.

I mean please do not rock up at my front door unexpectedly expecting a warm hello, come in and take-over-my-space kind of vibe. Really. Not joking here.
No. Please don’t.

Hang on though- that’s not what I’m meaning here…

I’m talking about a different kind of unwelcome guest I’ve learnt is ESSENTIAL to invite in when it comes to changing our relationship with stress.

This is one of the many powerful shifts I have made in my relationship with stress over the past year:

Learning to welcome what I used to fight, what I tried to ignore, what I felt guilty about having, and what I suppressed for the sake of all those around me.

And if you’re wondering what exactly all that was… and is…

It’s those big emotions...
The ones we don’t put on our Christmas list of things we desperately want every day.

Sadness.
Fear.
Grief.
Anger.
Frustration.

Well… NO MORE.

Things have changed between me and these typically ‘unwelcomeds’.

You see, most of us were never taught what to do with these.
So when they show up, we try to shut them out of our lives. ASAP.

We get frustrated that they’re there. I mean what the heck!

We feel weak for feeling them. Guilty for feeling them.

We want to get over them as quickly as possible. Run Olympiad style in the opposite direction.

But now I like to think of these emotions as unwelcome guests knocking on the door…

Here’s the scene:
Imagine them outside.
Banging.
Saying,
“Let me in. I’m here. This is your day. FEEL ME, dammit!”

And what do we usually do?

We shout from the other side of the door:

“No! What are you doing here? Go away. I don’t want you around.”

And we do everything we can to keep them outside.

We pump up the tunes and put on the headphones to try drown them out.
We busy ourselves with all manner of projects and work and things that “need to be done.”
We try sneak out the back door unnoticed.

But the thing is…

They don’t leave.
They keep knocking.

Harder.
Louder.

They are persistent and forceful.
And that tension of knowing they’re there while we’re trying to keep them outside is actually what dysregulates our nervous system even more.

So instead, the reframe I’ve been practising is this.
(And it works powerfully.)

Open the door.
Literally.
Yip. Do the scary, brave thing and open the door and face them head-on.

WELCOME THEM IN.

I sometimes say the words out loud.
“Sadness, I see you.”
“Come in.”
“Have a seat.”
“Let me make you a cup of tea.”

And something interesting happens..
The emotion doesn’t magically disappear.
But it loses its power.
The threat of being overwhelmed by it softens.
Instead of being fought with, it feels compassionately embraced.

Because every emotion exists for a reason.
It carries a message.
It knocks to speak in whispers we need to hear.

Grief may be telling us that we’ve lost something that mattered deeply to us.
And loss isn’t only about losing a person- it can be the loss of a dream, a path we thought we would follow, a version of life we imagined.

Fear might be telling us we are standing right on the edge of something brave.
The unknown always comes with fear.

Anger may be signalling that a boundary has been crossed.

Frustration may be pointing to somewhere we feel stuck or powerless.

These emotions are not our enemies.

They are gently delivering information that says:
“Slow down. Pay attention. Today, give yourself grace.”

When we stop fighting them and start listening to them, when we invite them in for tea- something shifts in our nervous system.

The knocking stops.
The tension softens.
And we realise that these unwelcome guests were never trying to harm us.
They were simply trying to be heard.

👇🏽

This - and so many other powerful nervous system resets - are exactly what we’re diving into in my upcoming masterclass:

Stress, Status & the Nervous System: The Hidden Cost of Chronic Pressure

If you want to understand your stress, regulate your nervous system, and start living with more calm, clarity and joy…

Join me on 24 March 2026 @ 6pm SA | 4pm GMT | 11am CST

- Location: Live online (replay included)
- Investment: $55 / R875

Grab your seat here: https://naomiholdt.thrivecart.com/stress-and-the-nervous-system/

Let’s change your relationship with stress. 🤍

07/03/2026

One of the biggest ways I have reduced stress in my life recently has been learning to disappoint people.

This past year has been one of many, MANY lessons.
Hard ones. Fiery ones. Essential ones.

But something very interesting has happened during all this…

Objectively speaking, my life has been more stressful than it has ever been.

Cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Running businesses. Starting new ones.
Relationships changing. Circles shifting.
Parenting. Navigating tween and teen years. (Need I say more on that!)

Just about every part of life that could change… has.

And yet something inside me has shifted in a way I didn’t expect.
In fact, at first it made no sense.

My nervous system feels calmer than it did in years when life was much easier…

It took me a while to connect the dots and figure this one out.

I’m not calmer because life got easier.
I’m calmer because I finally understood the real source of my stress.

For most of my life, my stress didn’t come from my schedule, busyness or from external pressures.

It came from trying to avoid conflict.
It came from trying to keep the peace.
It came from how much I cared about being liked, accepted, and approved of.
(All, of course, happening at a very unconscious level.)

My nervous system was constantly monitoring the room.
Checking phone responses.
Rapidly determining if I had in any way rocked a boat I shouldn’t.

The ruminating thoughts ploughing through my brain at 300km/h.

Am I upsetting someone?
Am I disappointing someone?
Is anyone mad at me?
Is everyone okay?

But here’s the thing…

When life throws canaries at you and you wake up and start living more aligned with your truth- when you start putting boundaries in place- something fascinating happens.

At first the nervous system panics-
“Hello! Please, NO! This boundary could mean people stop liking you. It could mean you’ll be rejected. It could mean someone will start raging. It could… get you annihilated!”(Yes- it's literally behaving like a drama queen on steroids.)

Because when you’ve been wired to be a people-pleaser, boundaries feel dangerous.

But then sometimes, after canaries and a lot of hard work processing feathers, over time something else happens…

Your nervous system realises:
“I am allowed to exist without constantly managing everyone else’s comfort.”
“I am allowed to exist and love ME enough to honour my needs- to be true to what my body, heart and soul are asking of me.”

And the amount of stress that disappears when that happens… is nothing short of extraordinary.

There have been many tectonic shifts in me that have resulted in me MASSIVELY changing my relationship with stress over the past six months in particular.
Growth that has felt inexplicable even to me- the one who is daily trying to figure it all out.

But here’s the best part:

When we remove the contamination of toxic stress, we open up the space for breathing… for laughing… for life.

Some days, and in some relationships, I’m still learning.

But this has been one of the most profound lessons:

Sometimes the biggest stress reduction in your life comes from one uncomfortable shift-
disappointing people.

👇

Join me live for this conversation on 24 March @ 6pm. Early bird investment ends tomorrow and yes, there will be a replay if you can’t make it live!

https://naomiholdt.thrivecart.com/stress-and-the-nervous-system/

This is NOT your usual stress info wrapped up in a ball of energy.

Nope.

We’re going to be talking about the unspeakables, the myths, people-pleasing, the role of boundaries, self-actualisation, unlikely ways not only to reduce toxic stress but sustainable ways to change your relationship with it. And in doing that, to reclaim a confident YOU.

And if any part of this reflection resonated with you…then this conversation on stress might be one you didn’t realise you needed.

04/03/2026

The other night, as I got home from pottery class - clay still under my nails - I opened a message from a parent asking a really good question:

“Will the Stress, Status & the Nervous System workshop help me with my teen?”

The short answer? Absolutely.

Because the more we understand stress in ourselves - how it works in the brain, how it shows up in the body, how it shapes our tone, reactions, and regulation - the more equipped we are to help our children understand theirs.

Before you fix your child’s stress, understand your own… When we empower ourselves with knowledge and tools, we stop reacting blindly and we start responding with steadiness.

And that steadiness becomes the environment our children borrow.

In Stress, Status & the Nervous System: The Hidden Cost of Chronic Pressure (24 March, 6pm SA time), we’ll explore:

🌿 What chronic pressure does to the adult brain

🌿 Why stress reshapes how we show up in parenting and leadership

🌿 How regulation begins with us

🌿 Practical shifts that lower the temperature at home and at work

This isn’t theory for theory’s sake. It’s understanding that ripples outward.

If you’ve been wondering whether this will help your teen - yes. Because calm adults raise calmer children.

Stress, Status and The Nervous happens:

- 24 March 2026

- 6pm SA | 4pm GMT | 11am CST

- Live on Zoom, replay will be made available

- $55 / R875

Use code EARLYBIRD for $15 off (ZAR link already discounted).

Earlybird offer ends 8 March @ 11pm.

👇

You can also add Raising Calm in an Anxious World (30 April, 10am SA time) - A deep dive into anxiety in children and teens.

Register for both workshops and save $35 as a bundle.

In Raising Calm, we look at:

✨ What anxiety really is (and what it isn’t)

✨ Why it’s a nervous system response - not a flaw

✨ What’s happening in the amygdala & prefrontal cortex

✨ Why logic doesn’t work when a child is dysregulated

You’ll leave understanding that anxious behaviour isn’t manipulation or weakness. It’s distress.

Stress in adults. Anxiety in kids.
Two conversations. One nervous system.

Plus access to replays for 12 months.

→ Link below bio to grab your seat:
https://naomiholdt.thrivecart.com/stress-and-the-nervous-system/

02/03/2026

Ten years ago I changed everything I ate, how I trained, how I lived.
I controlled every variable I could.

Except one.

Stress.

When I was diagnosed with cancer, people said, “But Naomi, you’re the healthiest person we know.”
What I hadn’t been doing… was listening to my nervous system.

Yes, I have the genes.
But genes are not destiny.

Understanding your stress response? That’s power.

Over the past six months I’ve gone deep into the science of the nervous system - and what I’ve learned has changed not just my health, but my joy, my peace, my energy, my fullness of life.

Stress is inevitable.
Burnout is not.

In Stress, Status & the Nervous System, I’ll be sharing the tools, habits, mindset shifts and practical strategies that have helped me feel stronger, calmer, and more alive than ever before.

If you want to stop just “coping” - and start living fully - this is for you.

👇

Join me for Stress, Status & the Nervous System: The Hidden Cost of Chronic Pressure.

Date: 24 March 2026
Time: 6pm SA | 4pm GMT | 11am CST (replay available)
Investment: $55 / R875

✨ Register now and get $15 off with code EARLYBIRD or pay just R600 via PayFast (no code required). Earlybird investment ends * March @ 11pm ✨

Link in comments to see all the details and grab a seat.

See you there 🤍

25/02/2026

I realised I say the word powerful a lot in this video - probably because these cards have quietly worked magic for over 13 years.

Thirty-two cards. Countless conversations.

When you give words to feelings, healing can begin.

👇

The EQ Cards are 10% off right now - until 8 March, 11pm (SA only).

Tap the link below to order yours:
https://naomi-holdt.shopstar.co.za/products

🌊✨

Address

Hilton
3245

Opening Hours

Monday	08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 16:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 16:00
Thursday	09:00 - 16:00
Friday	09:00 - 16:00

Telephone

073 585 4672

Website

https://naomi-holdt.shopstar.co.za/, https://naomiholdt.com/what-the-actual-canary/, https://naomiholdt.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Naomi Holdt - Psychologist and Speaker posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Naomi Holdt - Psychologist and Speaker:

Shortcuts

Address
Telephone
Opening Hours
Alerts
Contact The Practice
Claim ownership or report listing

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Hilton?