“WHO?” & “WHY?”
WHO AM I?
I got into NLP after going through an experience which left me in a pretty bad place mentally. A friend suggested that I go on the NLP Course she had been on (and found very useful). Initially it was as a journey of self-discovery and personal development – but I soon realized that it resonated with me a great deal – and that if I could help myself get out of my dark place, I could help others. So, I did the whole course and qualified as a certified NLP Practitioner. My aim was to use NLP as a personal development tool for my Business Consultancy clients. Then by chance, I reconnected with an old mate from the Yeomanry who I’d not seen for 10 years. He’d been diagnosed with PTSD in 2015 going back to his deployment on Op Banner. We met up for an ale (as you do!) and I ended up carrying out the NLP for PTSD technique on him – which he found very life-enhancing.
WHY AM I DOING IT?
I spent 25 years in the Army Reserve and so can especially relate to Force’s mindset and banter, the ‘what happens on tour stays on tour’, the “been there, done it, got the T-shirt”. As Squadron Leader and as a CVO, it gave me an insight as to issues facing Veterans and Personnel coming back from operational tours, in particular my own soldiers returning from deployments on a number of Op Telic and Op Herrick tours throughout the period 2003 to 2010 – some of whom went on to experience PTSD to varying degrees. It was heart-rending to bear witness to their difficulties – and now I have the chance to be of service and to help. Whilst there is a well-established system for helping Regular personnel with such issues, the same cannot be said of Reserve Forces’ personnel once they have gone back to civvy street and they fall through the gaps – there is clearly an unmet need in this sector.