Neil Shah – Consultant in NLP, hypnotherapy and specialist in behavioural change, stress management and well-being expert

If you want to make changes in your life, talk to the founder of the Stress Management Society, Neil Shah. Neil is an award-winning businessman, life coach, stress management expert and motivational speaker.

He is also a qualified practitioner of hypnotherapy and counselling and communication skills, and has trained extensively in neuro linguistic programming. He leads many of the Stress Management Society’s regular workshops.

Neil is living proof that having a positive mindset can help you achieve your goals. For example, in the last few years, he has walked on fire, climbed Mount Everest and run the London Marathon. For all of these tough challenges, he used various techniques including NLP and self-hypnosis to help him achieve these goals.

He can teach you how you can use the same techniques for your own health goals – whether that is to change your diet or start a regular exercise programme.

After all, there’s no need to drag the body kicking and screaming to a new way of life. It’s much easier to let your mind lead your body there...

Andrea Sangster – communications

Andrea is an award-winning writer and editor and is communications director for the Stress Management Society, involved since its launch.

She also writes the ‘stress-free mum’ blog on the Stress Management Society website. The blog was launched just before the birth of Andrea’s second child, and is giving a blow-by-blow account for other parents about the stresses of parenthood and how to avoid them.

Andrea has nearly 20 years’ experience in communications and a Media Studies degree from the University of Westminster. She started her career at the BBC as a freelance journalist in local radio and contributor to the World Service. Moving to print, she became Creative Services Manager for a division of Reed Elsevier and has run three creative teams in different contract publishing houses. In 2001 she launched her own editorial agency, Alphabetti Communications.

Having worked in high-pressure media jobs for two decades, Andrea has seen more than her fair share of stress. However her high stress levels and the hormones they produce in the body almost kept her from being a mum altogether. Her doctor advised her that if she wanted kids she had to learn to manage her stress better. She did, daughter Daisy duly arrived and since then Andrea has been learning about the entirely new stresses of bringing up a baby.

Aegon Welsh - Health, Fitness and Nutrition

Exercise/nutrition expert Aegon Welsh has an excellent track record in health. He was in the Royal Marines for 12 years (one of the toughest regiments in the armed forces), represented his school at a national level in athletics, rugby and martial arts, and is qualified in a number of health disciplines from boxercise and circuit training to fitness assessments.

In 2003 he qualified as a coach in exercise and nutrition and a therapist. His client list now includes professional athletes, fire fighters, business executives and housewives.
Much of his work is involved with helping people assess and correct problems with muscular balance, flexibility, function and lifestyle

Naomi Martell - Personal Development and Change Management.

Naomi is a committed Personal Development and Change Management expert with over 15 years of experience. All her professional experience has been gained in blue-chip companies in the fields of Resourcing, Retail, Investment Banking, Telecomms, and IT. Her personal experience is her life and she enjoys a behavioural and developmental challenge!
Her passion is founded on the dual beliefs that if we take responsibility for ourselves we are able to achieve anything we put our mind to, and it’s important to use our wisdom and find the right resources and people who can help us at any given point.

Naomi has studied to MSc level and practised in Organizational Behaviour, including Work and Well-Being, Organizational and Individual Change, Life Career Development, Motivation and Performance, and Training and Development.

Jayne Ritchie – Nutrition

Jayne is the Founder and Managing Director of the Bodychef and the Stress Management Society’s resident nutritional expert. Running her own business and having three children of her own, stress is something that is a big part of Jayne’s life.

After struggling for twelve years to keep her weight under control while maintaining a healthy diet she imagined how wonderful it would be if somebody was there to take care of all her dietary needs such as shopping, cooking, calorie control and portion sizes. So six years ago that’s exactly what she did, and has since been helping thousands of people reduce their stress levels, increase their feel good factor and taste success in losing weight.

She has recently begun researching other areas of nutrition and dieting, especially the role of nutrition in combating stress. It is a well known fact that nutrition plays a vital role in determining the level of stress that a person suffers. With this information she joined forces with the Stress Management Society, with the aim to work with people and assist them in reducing their stress levels through good nutrition.

Jayne has compiled an e-book to give you information to live a healthier happier and longer life, and is available for free by clicking here.

Vanessa Bolton - Consultant in stress management

Vanessa is a stress and well-being consultant and a founder member of the Stress Management Society. A documentary maker; she started studying and working in the wellbeing sector a decade ago.

Vanessa has worked in over 20 countries in five languages. She holds degrees from both Bristol and London Universities. Upon graduating from London University (SOAS) with an MA in Development Studies, Vanessa moved to Nepal to set up a theatre troupe to teach human rights for Amnesty International. She then moved to Singapore where she worked as a researcher with the Psychology Dept of the University of Singapore on the need to achieve in Singaporeans. She got her break in the movies in Berlin and worked with Hollywood crews in Italy, France and Czech Republic for a few years before moving to London to produce business news and do media training for Fortune 500 companies. She set up a dot com that floated on Nasdaq and then sold her company to become the Head of Business Development for a film distribution company. As she turned 30, she realised she wanted to live in a healthier way.

She returned to India for and trained in yoga, meditation and well being before setting up a stress busting and media training consultancy.

Shaun Hammond - Hypnotherapist/Counsellor/Healer

After qualifying from the UK College, Shaun Hammond spent seven years in prominent
research at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington. There he investigated how the subconscious mind can stimulate creativity and effective stress management.

He’s considered such an expert that he’s been invited to hold workshops around the world - from the Actors’ Centre in the UK to the Bangkok Ballet Company in Thailand. Creativity is a particular interest for Shaun and he works extensively with musicians, writers, dancers and actors to help them unlock their artistic sides.

Having studied healing and colour therapy techniques at the SAGB in Belgrave Square, London, Shaun now also takes workshops using a combination of colour healing, movement and self-hypnosis. He is currently lecturing in hypnotherapy and counselling at The UK College.

Adam Shaw

Adam is a Heart Health Consultant, founder of Wellbeing Innovation, author of Secrets of a Cardiac Nurse – The Prescription Doctors Don’t Give and public speaker on emotional intelligence and heart health. He has worked and studied within the health industry since 1992 and has led workshops with groups and corporations.

He worked as a nurse for over 13 years, in acute settings including A&E, acute medicine and cardiac care and has since gone on to train in numerous health systems. His qualifications include a First Class Degree in Nursing, NLP, Hypnosis, Time-Line Therapy, Reiki, Energetic NLP and Vortex Healing. He is also trained in Yoga and meditation.

Adam has worked with thousands of clients with acute illness and has a talent for simplifying complicated health and wellbeing issues to their core ingredients. His techniques are designed to raise your heart intelligence, increase your health and motivation and maybe even live a longer and happier life.

For more information about Adam please visit: www.wellbeinginnovation.com

Yvonne Gurney

Verbal Copywriter®; Speaker and Personal Development Trainer

For over 20 years Yvonne Gurney has been helping individuals overcome what is still regarded as the #1 fear – the fear of public speaking. Originally from Wisconsin, USA, her own public speaking career began at the age of 13 when she joined her school’s debate team as a means of overcoming shyness. By the time she gained her university degree in Organisational Communications she was an award winning presenter both on a State and National level.

Since immigrating to the UK in 1989 she has worked with some of the UK’s largest organisations, designing and delivering training programmes to European Director level in areas as diverse as leadership, group behaviour, stress management, time management, goal setting, high-impact presentation skills and even IT. In the early 1990s she was a Senior Lecturer in Management at Hammersmith & West London College and a Guest Lecturer on the International MBA at the University of Westminster.

In recent years Yvonne has built a powerful reputation as The Verbal Copywriter®. Her success is based on the belief that much of the stress associated with public speaking stems from an inability to find the right words rather than imperfect delivery. An accurate, yet simplistic description is that Yvonne “tells you what to say.” She believes when you find compelling words, that are authentic to you, it’s easy for you to become a speaker that exudes the perfect balance of confidence, humanity and expertise. 

Yvonne is a great advocate of personal development, having travelled the world to achieve her own goals she now helps others do the same through consultancy and training.

Ian Young

Senior Addiction Consultant, The Stress Management Society.

Ian Young is a leading expert in the treatment of addictions. He has helped thousands of people with addictions and their families find a new way to live without the destructive patterns they once believed were essential.

Ian is the founder of two significant rehabilitation facilities, acts as a consultant to many others, and runs www.soberservices.co.uk.

A former alcoholic and addict himself, Ian knows what it feels like to be in the grip of addiction. He uses his experience of becoming sober to help others. Since 2001 he has been teaching and coaching people away from detrimental behaviours and towards healthy lifestyle choices, addiction free. He says his quality of life is today beyond anything he could possibly have dreamed of whilst in active addiction, and he wants to share his experiences with others.

As just one of his many success stories, ‘J’ says: “Part of me hoped that you’d say I didn’t need help and it would all work out. The other part was exhausted, beaten and ashamed, silently screaming for something to fix me, to take away the craving. As I listened I was taken back by your openness and honesty. I identified with so much of your story. That hope you gave me persuaded me to admit that I needed help.

It’s been almost a year since that conversation, I now have a sense of freedom, peace and contentment which back then I couldn’t have imagined. Life just keeps getting better. Thank you for your help and inspiration.”