Sonja Turner - Therapist
About Sonja
After working in a Community Mental Health environment for six years and having a life-long personal interest in alternative therapies, I undertook training at the European College of Holistic Medicine where in 2008 I gained qualifications in Clinical Hypnotherapy, Neuro Linguistic Programming and Life Coaching. More recently I completed The International Hypnosis Society ‘Advanced Applications of Hypnosis’ training. In April 2019 I completed training and gained certificates in Integrated Healing, a healing modality that has revolutionised the way I work! l I am constantly working to update my skills and have attended many NLP and coaching conferences and training courses.
In recent years, I have worked within the NHS as a Health Coach. This involves working with NHS clients, who have usually been referred by their GP, with a wide range of physical, mental and emotional health issues. I work with them on a short-term basis, assisting them to become empowered in the creation of their own well-being. I have been involved in some truly life-transforming processes. I am also a certified trainer and supervisor of Health Coaching students (this can include GPs and Practise Nurses) to equip them with Health Coaching skills in order to make the changes 'systemic' within NHS England. This is as part of a project that is contributing to the facilitation of an evolutionary paradigm shift within the NHS.
I also work for two days a week within a local secondary school and have done so for several years. During this time, I have become a valued member of a small team of dedicated professionals who work with the small number of students who face a variety of challenges - learning, social, emotional and behavioural.
When not working and studying I enjoy walking my dog, and love indulging my senses in all genres of film and music, and enjoy singing in a local band and other creative projects.
I believe that everybody has the innate ability to heal, recover and thrive. Having overcome adverse circumstances myself, I wanted to help people to recognise and reach their full potential in all areas of their life. Having been raised by a single mother and being part of a large family, I developed many unhelpful beliefs about how difficult the world around me was and how everything was a struggle. As I progressed through life, these beliefs became my reality more and more, especially after I became a single mother myself. I single-handedly raised two wonderful boys to become adults but not without stresses and struggles that at times I believed would break me forever!
At some point, I began to realise that despite my struggles, I was the ‘go to’ person for a lot of the people around me. In fact, even complete strangers would tell me their troubles! One day, I started to tell people that I was going to train in NLP - even though I didn’t really know what it was! During the one year training (which included an abundance of clinical training) I stretched myself way beyond what I believed I was capable of enduring (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not!). At the end of the training, I was changed forever. I had qualified as a therapist. And then the REAL training began!
Since qualifying in 2008, I have never stopped learning about the wonders of being human- both through personal experience and the experiences of my amazing clients. I have witnessed miracles and felt an overwhelming sense of joy and excitement as I have seen many, many people achieve changes that they would not have believed possible before we began our life-changing journey together. When I enter into a therapeutic agreement with my clients, I whole-heartedly embrace the journey with them - their breakthroughs are my passion! In other words, if my clients are happy, I am ecstatic!