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As a child and adolescent my emotions
plagued me. I especially had trouble
coping with anxiety and anger. This became
so bad that I had learning difficulties
and most of my teachers (and one psychologist)
told me I would not amount to much academically
and should leave school. However, being
always fascinated with the mind and body,
even from a young age, I could never
get enough information about how the
mind and body worked. This was such a
passion for me, that with the help of
my family, I was able to focus my energy
on this particular interest and gain
the knowledge to master my emotions and
reach the goals I had set for myself.
The first major hurdle - one of many
for me - was to complete a psychology
degree. On finishing the psychology degree
I wanted more, and decided to keep studying.
I also gained qualifications in massage,
herbal medicine, hypnosis and other forms
of psychotherapy (including Gestalt Therapy
and Psychodynamic Therapy). Throughout
this study and clinical work, I seemed
to be constantly drawn to mind-body medicine
and the role of emotions in physical
and psychological health.
My interest in emotions came from client
needs (wanting support with their own
emotions) and my own struggle with performance
and social anxiety, which was a carryover
from my experience at school. So I kept
looking.
In the mid 1990s I came across “Emotional Intelligence” by
Daniel Goleman, “Multiple Intelligence” by Howard
Gardiner and “Emotional Focused Therapy” by Leslie
Greenberg. The work of these very talented researchers and
practitioners sent my thinking in a whole new direction. Over
the last 10 years I have been continuing to feed this passion
for understanding emotions and the mind body connection to
improve my own life and those of my clients.
In mid 2005 I decided to formalise my
research and what I had been doing with
clients. The end result is an effective,
powerful, life changing and challenging
12-week Emotional Coaching program.
Dean Smith
Registered Psychologist
Hypnotherapist
Herbalist
Remedial Massage Therapist
Qualifications:
B.A. (psych)
Grad. Dip. Counselling
Dip. Psychotherapy
Adv. Dip Gestalt Therapy
Dip. Clinical Hypnosis
Dip. Herbal Medicine
Prac. Cert Relaxation Massage
Prac. Cert. Remedial Massage
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