About Me
Photo by Capture this Moment Photography
Hi, I'm Caeredwen and I have the "magic hands" behind Magic Hands : Calm Minds.
During 30 years in corporate life as a manager and employee, 15 years in HR and rather more than 40 years as a human, I became interested in people and how they tick; why do they do what they do, even when it isn't working for them or making them happy?
I started by training as a life coach, which I did within my organisation as a sideline and incidentally found much more interesting and fulfilling than my actual job. I specialised in helping people with confidence problems, as this was something I had struggled with myself for a long time. When I was made redundant it seemed a natural progression to retrain as a counsellor, developing the skills I'd learned as a coach and HR professional. I'd had personal experience of stress, depression and bullying, as well as coming into contact with a lot of other people with similar problems during my HR work, so I knew how important - and how difficult - it can be to find the right support.
During the training I 'fell' into contact with Bowen therapy, and was so impressed with it that I decided to train in that as a stop-gap until my 3-year counselling course was completed. Having set up my clinic I found that I was seeing a lot of people who had emotional issues to go with their physical ones. Either they were struggling emotionally to cope with the effects of their physical problems, some of which had been going on literally for decades, or they were manifesting physical problems as a result of emotional issues. I'd noticed myself that my chronic RSI had disappeared after I left my job, and not because I stopped typing - in fact I did more typing than ever - so I could only conclude that it had never been entirely a physical problem in the first place.
I'd also learned during my counselling training that many people with conditions like ME and fibromyalgia had found their symptoms lessened or entirely disappeared after having counselling. But as that can take months or even years, it struck me that a combined service where I could work with both the physical and emotional issues in tandem could be of huge benefit to many people. Why wait months for the counselling to relieve your pain when Bowen therapy can help you while the counselling is going on?
Of course not all my clients have pain and emotional issues, and some don't realise that their physical pain is a manifestation of emotional problems. As a trained counsellor I can ask the questions to identify those who may be in that category, and offer them some help without them formally signing up for counselling. Having identified that they can benefit from a talking therapy, we can then move into a regular counselling arrangement if they want to.
I also work with people who have purely emotional issues, but anyone experiencing stress or anxiety could benefit from the extremely relaxing effects of Bowen therapy. It's a great way to either start or finish a counselling session. So my clinic in Coleford is set up to provide both services and you can choose which one you want when you book, or even when you arrive - although it helps me if I know in advance!
I hold a Level 5 Diploma in counselling, a certificate in CBT, a Diploma in Smart Bowen Therapy and a certificate in Indian Head massage. I'm also trained specifically in cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, in online and telephone counselling and I'm a trainer for the Academy of Emotional Therapeutic Counselling. I have an advanced DBS certificate and I'm a Reiki II practitioner. All my qualifications are on show in my clinic, but if you'd like to check them out in advance you can see them here.
If you are looking for someone who can help you on both a physical and emotional level, whether or not you consciously feel the need for both, or you want to have some physical or emotional pain relieved, give me a call or make contact via the Contact page for a friendly no-obligation chat about how I might be able to help.