about us

Our experienced team of therapists is second to none. With practitioners throughout Wales & the West, we are strategically led by the following team of experts.

Andy McCann MA(Ed) BA(hons) PGCE DCHyp ACertCSHyp GQHP SBST

Andy is the Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy Wales and is widely regarded as Wales’s leading strategic clinical hypnotherapist, with clients travelling from all over the country for appointments with him.

Andy has a background in health, education and sport and is in wide demand as a therapist, trainer, writer, key note conference speaker and media figure. Andy is an internationally published author with Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London (specialists in Social and Behavioural Science). His work has been acclaimed in the UK national press and medical journals and he was nominated for the prestigious Glen Dimplex Writers’ Award, 2006 (non-fiction category). He has also been commissioned to contribute a series of wellbeing pieces in the Times (Educational Supplement).

In 2007, Andy was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. This is the highest category of membership and carries a status usually reserved for those who hold a medical, dental or vetinary qualification. Andy is also a member of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association; The NHS Directory of Complimentary & Alternative Practitioners; and the General Hypnotherapy Register. In addition, Andy sits on the Board of The Society of Brief & Strategic hypnoTherapists.

Andy is also Director of Studies (Wales Region) for the BST Foundation, which offers the highest teaching standards and modern approaches to both the application of hypnosis & hypnotherapy. The BST Foundation’s training courses incorporate aspects of psychology, counselling, modern medicine, psychiatry, traditional hypnosis, medical hypnosis and indirect Ericksonian hypnotherapy.

Dr Ridheesh Ahya MBBS MD CTM MRCPath DCHyp ACertCSHyp

Ridheesh is a specialist medical adviser to Clinical Hypnotherapy Wales. He is a Consultant Haematologist with the Velindre NHS Trust in Wales .While continuing clinical practice in general applications of clinical hypnotherapy, he has a particular interest in specific medical conditions including cancer, pain, anxiety and stress. Having graduated in clinical hypnotherapy with the BST Foundation, in addition to his work with Clinical Hypnotherapy Wales he joined the BST Foundation as a specialist medical adviser, tutor and external examiner and is involved in all aspects of student development and training.

Dave Costello BA(Hons) DipCOT DCHyp GPQH ACertCSHyp SBST

Dave is a specialist occupational health adviser to Clinical Hypnotherapy Wales.
Dave has been an Occupational Therapist for 17 years, and has worked in a variety of clinical areas in mental health in the NHS. He has specialised in vocational rehabilitation, and worked for a national pilot in job retention in Bristol, where he helped to deliver training to some 30 Trusts and Voluntary Sector providers around the UK in job retention case management. Dave has continued this work in Wales, and was the lead OT for the Healthy Minds at Work Equal Programme.
In recent years Dave has worked outside the context of the NHS, and has designed and delivered Condition Management Programmes for Depression through the New Deal, as well as providing rehabilitation and case management to the Insurance industry, supporting and enabling individuals to return to work following illness or injury.
Dave regularly utilises clinical hypnotherapy in addition to employing more traditional therapeutic approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy and solution focused approaches. Dave is also a guest lecturer at the University of West of England and a teaching associate on the BST Foundation’s clinical hypnotherapy courses.

Glenda Lewis RGN DCHyp ACertCSHyp SBST

Glenda is a community health adviser to Clinical Hypnotherapy Wales.
Glenda is a Registered General Nurse with more than thirty years of clinical experience. For the past eighteen years she has worked in the primary health care sector as a practice nurse. Assessing the needs of clients with chronic illnesses is a major aspect of her role. This entails formulating and promoting positive life style changes to enhance clients’ health and well-being. She is a member of the R.C.N. (Royal College of Nursing) the N.M.C. (Nurses and Midwives Council) and the Society of Brief and Strategic Hypnotherapists. In addition, Glenda is a healthcare adviser to the BST Foundation.

Noleen Mariappen BA(Hons), PGDip Res Psych, DCHyp, ACertCSHyp, GQHP, SBST, GHR Reg

Noleen is an industrial psychology advisor to Clinical Hypnotherapy Wales. She has had experience in the area of both diagnosis and treatment of a range of conditions. She was employed by CASRA (Centre for Applied Social Research in Action), performed psychometric testing, and completed qualitative evaluations and designed soltion-focused interventions and protocols. Since receiving professional training and qualifying as a clinical hypnotherapist Noleen regularly utilizes clinical hypnotherapy with presenting conditions.

Mark Pinches MSc BSc (Hons) Dip EHP DCHyp ACertCSHyp SBST

Mark is performance coach and clinical hypnotherapist with an academic background specialising in Psychology and focusing on the relationship between the mind and body. He has developed an expertise over many years of lecturing and performance coaching in business, sport and clinical work with a wide range of clients. Mark is committed to maximising individual, team and corporate wellbeing and performance in a wide range of business, management, sport and personal coaching scenarios.  
 
Mark is an Associate with Clinical Hypnotherapy Wales and a Teaching Associate on the BST Foundation’s clinical hypnotherapy courses. He uses hypnotherapy to treat a wide range of conditions, improve performance and overall wellbeing. He can provide support for acute and chronic conditions, stress management and panic attacks, confidence and anxiety issues, phobias and provide assistance with smoking cessation, weight loss and unhealthy eating patterns.

He has gained over 25 years experience in successfully applying his unique coaching principles in a wide range of fields ranging from Formula One Motor Racing and professional sport, Police, Fire & Rescue Services, the Armed Forces, Banking, Information & Communications Technology, Education, Local Government, Health Care, Insurance, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing and the Legal Profession.
 
As an engaging speaker, Mark has made numerous presentations on subjects such as Managing Stress and Building Resilience, The Psychological Impact of Change, 21st Century Communication and Work Patterns, Creative Thinking, and numerous subjects relating to Leadership, Teamwork, Personal Development, Health and Life Coaching, and Personal Effectiveness.

Clinical Hypnotherapy Wales practitioners are skilled in the use of cutting edge techniques and research including advanced assessment skills; inclusive and strategic hypnotherapy; psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) therapy; fovea focus deconstruction; strategic eye movement re-processing; and motor stimulation reprocessing.

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