About me
About me
Anna Pittard
DSFH HPD AfSFH MNCH(reg) CNHC
The articles below written for
Exeter Natural Health Centre tell you a bit more about me
Exeter Natural Health Centre - Meet The Therapist - Anna Pittard - Solution Focused Hypnotherapist
I have lived in several places during my life, including Wales, Bristol, Leeds, and London, and I am even lucky enough to have lived in Madrid for a year. I have happy memories of all those places but none of them have felt quite like home as much as Exeter does.
I will always be proudly Welsh, but Devon has always had a special place in my heart, and I feel incredibly lucky to be living here. A lot has happened since I moved here fifteen years ago. I have had two children, trained to be hypnotherapist, learnt to drive, learnt to play the piano, and taken up running.
I never believed that I could be any good at running, but I really wanted to take part in Park Run. This is a 5k run for all abilities held on Saturday mornings. It started in the UK but is now worldwide. Some of my family live abroad and they come and visit in the summer. Each year they take part in Park Run along with other family and friends and I have always wished I could join in.
I was also encouraged to take up running by wanting to raise money for a charity I support, called the The Lions Barber Collective. They train barbers to spot the signs of mental ill health in clients and signpost them to relevant support services. So, two years ago I started running and I very gradually built up the distance I could run. Eventually I managed to complete the ‘Lion’s roar 5 miler’ run and it felt great to be able to raise money to support them, whilst at the same time reaching the personal goal that I had set myself.
I ran my first Park Run in August last year and now I am a regular. I love the sense of community and a reason to get up and out every Saturday morning. You don’t need to be a great runner to take part and enjoy it (I am proof of that!), and I would encourage anyone to give it a go. If running isn’t your thing, then volunteering for Park Run alongside others is really rewarding and again gives a great sense of community. As well as my local Exeter run, I love trying out different Park Runs in some great locations; by the sea, in the forest and even crossing the border between Wales and England over the Severn Bridge.
I do enjoy being active but one of my favourite things to do is to lose myself in a film, made even better with a takeaway. Other things I enjoy doing are walking on Dartmoor or by the coast, spending time with friends and family, or having a moment to relax and just be, taking a break from the hectic pace of everyday life, ideally in the sunshine.
Exeter Natural Health Centre - Meet The Therapist - Anna Pittard - Solution Focused Hypnotherapist - Getting to know her
To help you get to know Anna a little better, we asked her some random questions and this what she said:
Where is your favourite place for a holiday?
It would be amazing to go on an exotic holiday, but I do really love camping in Cornwall. I spend so much more time outdoors than usual and I find it’s a great mix of being active, messing around in the sea, relaxing by reading in the sunshine back at the tent, as well as sightseeing out and about.
What sport do enjoy doing most?
I love swimming for the exercise but also because I can’t be distracted by my phone. I love being able to just daydream and switch off.
What are you currently reading?
‘Happy Mind, Happy Life’ by Dr Rangan Chatterjee, I also enjoy his podcast ‘Feel Better, Live More’. He speaks to different people and usually comes up with realistic ways to improve mental and physical health.
What’s been your highlight of 2022 so far?
I have taken part in a course run by Exeter Self-Defence Academy. I have wanted to take a self-defence class since I was in my teens and so I am glad I have finally done it. I also loved trying something new and found that I really enjoyed the sessions and felt good afterwards. It’s a great combination of learning something new and moving the body at the same time, and the lovely people who run it made it fun and enjoyable.
Tell us something most people don’t know about you
I love learning languages and I was fluent in Spanish many moons ago. I am sure with a few weeks in Spain I could catch up again. I would like to learn German and I have done a bit on Duo Lingo, which is a free language learning app. I really enjoy watching foreign films and picking up some of the language, thank goodness for subtitles.
Exeter Natural Health Centre - Meet The Therapist - Anna Pittard - Solution Focused Hypnotherapist - What is Solution Focused Hypnotherapy?
Some people are surprised when I explain what Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is because they picture a stage hypnotist and may worry that they could lose control and not remember what happened during the session. This isn’t the case at all, and clients are always in control and aware of what is happening.
The first part of the session involves talking and exploring how life could be better, rather than focusing on the problem. I help the client to develop a new way to approach life, using techniques drawn from Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
The hypnosis part of the session involves a state of trance which is very ordinary, whilst also being very powerful. It is ordinary because it is very familiar to us. We frequently go in and out of this trance state during the day. You may find your mind wandering as if in a daydream, during a walk, watching a film or even doing the housework. Whilst in this state you are coming up with solutions to problems because you enter a more creative state of mind. This is an incredibly powerful addition to the talking therapy, and it enables the client to find even better solutions to their problems than by just talking.
Some of the most common issues I work with are anxiety, overwhelming negative thinking, low mood, exam nerves, sports performance, confidence building, improving self-esteem, relationship problems, insomnia, and menopause.
I love what I do. It’s so rewarding when clients find that they are able to change their perspective and become empowered to make changes that improve their lives.
