Hi, I’m Claire
Alongside my work as a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, I have been teaching yoga for over 15 years. Throughout my life, I've worked in a variety of roles and met many wonderful people who have helped shape the person I am today. I'm also a wife and mum to two young children who keep me busy, grounded and smiling.
People often ask me what led me into hypnotherapy.
The answer is simple: I wanted to help others in the way that I have been helped myself.
My Experience with Trichotillomania
For many years, I lived with Trichotillomania (Hair Pulling Disorder). It began when I was around 12 years old, shortly after starting secondary school. At the time, I didn't understand why I was pulling my hair, only that I felt unable to stop.
Like many people living with Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours (BFRBs), I experienced periods where I managed it well and times when I struggled more. Although I often appeared calm and capable on the outside, internally I carried a great deal of frustration, self-criticism and shame. The behaviour affected my confidence, self-esteem and how I felt about myself.
Over the years, I explored many different approaches, including therapy, hypnotherapy and extensive personal research. Each taught me something valuable and helped me move forward in its own way.
There were times when my hair grew back and my confidence improved, but I often found myself returning to familiar patterns.
As I began to understand how my brain worked, I developed greater self-awareness, self-compassion and a healthier way of responding to life's challenges.
Rather than constantly criticising myself for pulling, I learned to understand what my mind and body might be trying to communicate.
That shift in perspective allowed me to move away from a cycle of shame and self-judgement and towards greater acceptance, resilience and wellbeing.
What Made the Difference
Looking back, the biggest change wasn't the behaviour itself — it was my mindset.
What I understand now is that I wasn't broken. My brain had simply learned a way of regulating itself that had become deeply ingrained over time.
Looking back, hair pulling wasn't just linked to stress. It often showed up when I felt anxious, bored, excited, overwhelmed, or even when I was deeply focused on something else. Over the years, it had become one of the ways I responded to and managed my internal world, often without consciously realising it.
As I progressed through my hypnotherapy training and experienced Solution Focused Hypnotherapy for myself, I began to understand something that changed everything.
Constantly focusing on the problem had become part of the problem.
My mind had become hyper-focused on what was wrong, what needed fixing, and what I wanted to stop doing. Learning how the brain works and beginning to focus more on what was going well helped me develop a very different relationship with myself and my wellbeing.
Why I Do This Work
This is one of the reasons I feel so passionate about helping others.
I know how frustrating, exhausting and isolating Trichotillomania and other BFRBs can be. I know what it's like to promise yourself you'll stop, to feel disappointed when you don't, and to wonder if things will ever change.
But I also know that meaningful change is possible.
It's easy to believe that life will begin once the pulling or picking stops. I understand that feeling because I lived it myself for many years.
But life is happening now.
My aim is to help you understand yourself with greater compassion, build resilience, reduce stress and move towards the life you want to live. Whether you're struggling with Trichotillomania, Skin Picking or another BFRB, you don't have to navigate it alone.