A More Conscious Way of Responding to Life
Life will not always be the way we want it to be. People disappoint us. Relationships change. We experience loss, uncertainty, rejection, frustration and circumstances we cannot control. We cannot prevent all of these things from happening. But we can become more conscious of how we respond to them. For more than twenty years, I have used the RIPP approach with people experiencing many different forms of emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, grief, OCD, PTSD, stress and persistent unhappiness. Although the circumstances may be very different, much of my work comes back to one important principle: understanding what is happening within us can give us greater choice in how we respond.
A Grounded Approach to Emotional Freedom
The term emotional freedom is sometimes associated with Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), tapping, spiritual practices or other alternative approaches. STOP RIPPing® is not EFT, does not involve tapping, and is not based on spiritual or alternative practices. It is a practical, psychologically grounded approach to understanding how and why we react emotionally, how those responses can become conditioned and automatic, and how greater awareness can give us more choice in how we respond. There are no tapping sequences, rituals or techniques that require you to believe in anything or adopt a particular philosophy. We work with the reality of what is actually happening in your life, the emotional responses you are experiencing, and the patterns that may be contributing to unnecessary emotional suffering. When I use the term emotional freedom, I mean something very specific: not freedom from emotion, but greater freedom in how we respond to what we feel and to what happens in our lives. Emotional freedom does not mean escaping reality or trying to make difficult feelings disappear. It means becoming better able to meet reality without automatically losing yourself emotionally in response to it.
How Can I Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay?
Being okay when things are not okay does not mean approving of what has happened, accepting unacceptable behaviour, giving up or pretending that something does not hurt. It means learning not to lose ourselves emotionally in response to something we may not be able to change. When things around us are not okay, that is often when we need our own okayness most.
From Automatic Reaction to Conscious Response
Much of our emotional suffering happens automatically. Something occurs and, before we have had an opportunity to think about it, we may find ourselves angry, anxious, overwhelmed, withdrawn, resentful or deeply unhappy. RIPP helps us slow that process down and understand what is happening. Rather than simply being carried along by a conditioned emotional response, we can begin to recognise the point at which we still have choice. That does not give us control over life. It gives us greater choice over how we meet life. This is what I mean by emotional freedom. It is not freedom from ever experiencing sadness, fear, disappointment or pain. These are part of being human. It is the freedom to experience life's difficulties without automatically becoming trapped in unnecessary emotional suffering.
A Different Relationship With Life's Problems
Sometimes a problem can be solved. Sometimes action needs to be taken. Sometimes something genuinely needs to change. But some circumstances we cannot immediately change—and some things we cannot change at all. When we repeatedly fight internally against a reality we cannot alter, the struggle itself can become an additional source of suffering. Learning to recognise this gives us another possibility: to meet what is happening with greater awareness, clarity and resourcefulness. Being okay is not a retreat from life's problems. It can be the source of the clarity, courage and strength needed to deal with them.
Individual Online Emotional Freedom Sessions
These sessions provide an opportunity to explore the emotional responses that may be keeping you caught in anxiety, unhappiness, stress or other forms of emotional distress, and to learn how the RIPP approach can help you respond more consciously. The purpose is not to teach you how to control life or avoid difficult feelings. It is to give you more freedom in the way you respond to life! Sessions are one-to-one and online, last a full hour and cost £150 per session; pay as you go, with no ongoing commitment. Understand the pattern. Change your response. Discover greater emotional freedom.
What Clients Say About Working With Me on Their Emotional Freedom
"I simply felt what I can only describe as a mental inner shift."
"I had always considered myself to be mentally very strong but 2016 was an immensely painful and difficult year for me. In January 2016 something happened which caused me to experience a mental breakdown which I would never have believed I was capable of and, in fact, I refused to acknowledge for several months until physical symptoms also began to manifest. I had tried conventional counselling in February/March 2016 but found this a terribly negative experience and therefore very counter-productive. I stopped attending and thought I could simply carry on with my life and "power through" the difficulties. However, I became progressively more unwell and by May I was unable to work or to properly function in day to day life. It was at this time I recognised that I needed help beyond standard counselling. Through a search engine I came across Gary and, like you now, I read the testimonials. The issues I was battling with were complex. I could see no resolution to my problems and I felt there was no realistic prospect that I could be "fixed". I had six weekly sessions with Gary in May/June 2016. Unlike the earlier counselling I had undertaken, the sessions with Gary were a proper two-way interaction. I did not need to go into too much intimate detail and yet Gary had incredible insight into why I was reacting to situations as I was and he helped me to understand how I "ticked", how past events had shaped my behaviours. Gary has a very calm manner and made me feel very at ease. His help also extended beyond the actual sessions and he would send text messages and provide links to useful information to read. To my amazement I did not need to actively change or do anything. I simply felt what I can only describe as a mental "inner shift" one day, leaving me calm, at peace with myself, and in control. Most notably I have learnt to accept what I cannot change and to always live for the "now", that the past has gone and cannot hurt me. Plainly and simply, Gary's methods work. I will always feel a huge debt to Gary for his support and, most particularly, for his guidance towards achieving a happier life. I have no hesitation in wholeheartedly recommending Gary to you."
J, Gloucestershire January 2017
Book Your Initial Session
You don't need a preliminary consultation or a lengthy conversation about whether you should begin.
Your initial session is a full one-hour working session at
£150.
We'll begin with what's happening in your life, what you would like to change and what appears to be driving the pattern. We won't spend the hour discussing what we might do at some point in the future.
We'll get down to work from the beginning.After that session, you decide whether you would like another one. There is no obligation to continue and no predetermined number of sessions you have to complete.
I look forward to meeting you.
