Today, Gavin Bowtell connects with MysticMag and shares his journey into the world of hypnotherapy and his passion for helping others through powerful therapeutic techniques. From discussing the intricacies of BWRT® (BrainWorking Recursive Therapy) to his role at the Past Life Therapists Association, Gavin offers valuable insights into the transformative potential of the mind.
How did you get into the field of hypnotherapy and what sparked your interest in it?
My interest in hypnosis has been with me since I was a boy. I was always fascinated by the idea of ‘mind over matter’ and meditated from a young age. Later in my teens, I had a gymnastics injury that restricted my movement and I felt rather depressed. My GP gave an explanation that was based on evolutionary psychology and I became even more interested in the human mind. Then one day over a decade ago I visited a hypnotherapist and found instantaneous relief from a problem I had suffered many years and in conversation with him was encouraged to rediscover my early interest in hypnosis and this time in hypnotherapy. Within a very short time I had found a reputable tutor and within 9 months was well on my path to my current career. I think helping others with hypnotherapy is one of the best jobs in the world.
What is BWRT® and how does it work?
BWRT® stands for BrainWorking Recursive Therapy and is a therapy created by Terence Watts whom most people know for his work in Hypnotherapy. Although each brain is different, most brains work in a very similar way. Indeed I have used BWRT® successfully with hundreds of clients neuro-divergent or neuro-typical. All that is necessary for BWRT® to work is that the client knows what they want to change, can think of the earliest or worst time their problem affected them, and knows how they prefer to feel instead. It is an extremely rapid therapy most of the time.
Can you walk me through a BWRT® session?
Assuming that I have already carried out the intake with a client who has come for BWRT® the appointments follow a fairly similar routine.
Once the client is settled and we’ve checked in on their progress we then look at what we are going to work on for that session, checking to make sure that the planned work is actually necessary. Very often BWRT® shortens the duration of therapy radically, helping the client to get better quickly. We then take the issue the client wishes to work on. We discover how intense or unpleasant the feeling is by use of the Perceived Arousal Level – which is similar to the SUDs scale. We check in on how the client would prefer to feel instead and ensure that this preferred response meets certain criteria; because the client chooses how they wish to feel, and not me, the idea coming from their brain is a perfect fit, and so is accepted virtually without question. We then fire up the neural pathways associated with the unwanted feeling or behaviour, create a “wait state” and in the space insert the new feeling or behaviour. The standard protocol usually takes 5 minutes or less to run out of an appointment which could be an hour long. So a lot of work can be done in a relatively short space of time. Sounds great doesn’t it?
What is The Past Life Therapists Association and what is your role there?
The Past Life Therapists Association (www.pastliferegression.co.uk) is an international organisation for Past Life Regression, Past Life Therapy, Life Between Life Therapy, and Future Life Progression. It exists to promote Past Life Regression and to help members of the public find the therapist that best fits their needs through our directory of therapists. We also seek to promote our members through a variety of means. Most recently we have created a YouTube channel and are lining up more therapists to talk about their work. We also offer an accreditation facility for individual tutors or schools to have their courses analysed and assessed. Successful applicants receive an accreditation from us and will be listed on the new website which is currently under construction.
We also provide distance courses for those seeking training in this fascinating field of therapy. Andrew Hilldson was the founder of the PLTA, but retired in September this year. I took over the running of the Association and also deliver its courses.
What different accreditations/certifications do you offer and how does the process work?
We currently have on-demand distance diploma courses in Past Life Regression, Advanced Past Life Regression and Therapy, Future Life Progression, Life Between Life (or Interlife Therapy – which is absolutely fascinating), Past Life Energy Therapy which is about raising the vibration of the client in this life. We also have a Foundation Diploma in Hypnotherapy, Diplomas in Smoking Cessation, and Hypno-Gastric Band and Weight Management. Whilst the new PLTA website is under construction these courses can be located at essexmindcoach.co.uk/training. The new site will be online by November if not before, it can’t be viewed by the public yet but it’s looking great and the directory is going to be very special.
One of the reasons I am such a proponent of Past Life Regression is that it isn’t taught in every school of hypnotherapy. Some teach that it is nothing more than a new-age distraction. However, the danger of this is that a therapist using regression with a client could very well find themselves with a spontaneous regression to a past life on their hands, and not know how to deal with it. A real “Oh Sh!t!” moment. What we do is all about the end user – the client – so as someone involved in the training of therapists and a supervisor I have a real interest in helping therapists develop their skills and confidence so that they can provide the very best therapy to their clients. It’s all about the clients.
To learn more about Gavin’s work, you can visit essexmindcoach.co.uk and www.pastliferegression.co.uk
