Fergus Findlay, clinical hypnotherapist and psychotherapist
From classrooms to monasteries and back again
I’m Fergus Findlay, student of Solution Focused Hypnotherapy at the prestigious Clifton Practice. I’ve dedicated the majority of my adult life to exploring how brains and minds work, and am especially interested in what leads to freedom, peace and reliable happiness.
This started with university studies in physiology, psychology and neuroscience, providing an solid basis in scientific understanding. But these intellectual studies, as valuable as they were, didn’t seem to be enough. I left my doctoral studies in neuroscience to approach the study of minds and brains and bodies from a totally different perspective. From that point on, I’ve devoted as much of my time as possible to the study and practice of meditation. I’ve travelled widely in Asia and Europe in order to learn from many meditation masters, including a little over four years spent living and training in various Buddhist monasteries. There I learned about the mind from an experiential rather than an academic viewpoint. From this has come priceless insight into how we can change our minds in order to let go of unnecessary suffering, and into the states of freedom and ease that can be available to all of us.
Inspired by what I’d developed, I left the monastery I was living at and enrolled to study hypnotherapy with the prestigious Clifton Pratice, swapping my robes and bowl for jeans and a notepad, and learning how to help people to change their lives for the better, overcome unwanted symptoms or imrove performance.
How does all this help you?
One of the key aspects of Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is the explanation of how the brain and mind works. This helps clients to understand why they are feeling as they do and what I can do to help them. My scientific background makes me ideally placed to give this explanation in clear plain language, and to answer questions that clients might have. It also enables me to read the latest scientific research papers on the brain and on the conditions that clients come to see me about, ensuring that the therapy I give is in line with the most up to date scientific understanding.
Free Meditation classes
Scientific research suggests that hypnotherapy is even more effective when combined with meditation practice. My background in meditation training means that I can teach various meditation methods and techniques, adapting my teaching to cater to the individual needs and background of clients.
I offer all my clients weekly drop-in meditation classes as a free optional extra, guiding clients toward an increased sense of self-knowledge, understanding, peace and freedom, and boosting the many benefits that hypnotherapy brings. Clients are free to join the weekly sessions if and when they want, and can continue to attend for free even after their hypnotherapy sessions have come to an end.