John Crawford - Anxiety Solutions Therapist & Author
ABOUT John Crawford - Author
In 1993 I suffered an explosion of anxiety in my life that was off the scale. Life stopped. I became very unwell, not only mentally and emotionally, but also physically. So extreme was the anxiety I suffered that my body gave up. It took the best part of three years to find my way back to a life which resembled that of a functioning human being, but I was still far from okay. During a six year period I explored many therapies and "quick fix" methods in an attempt to heal my wounded self. My intention was good, but despite having a keen appetite for self-development tools, my understanding remained lacking. My anxiety continued unabated, and with the exhaustion of repeated failed attempts to heal, depression followed. My wounds were deep, and I reasoned that I was simply not like "other" anxiety sufferers. My anxiety and depression, I believed, nobody could reach.
Sometime around the year 2000, a series of fortunate events led me finally to meet an incredible therapist. I was of course sceptical at first but that didn't last long. She didn't sit me down and talk about my mother, and she didn't tell me what I was doing wrong. It was much more profound than that. She asked me to close my eyes and bring my attention to the awful feelings in my body. Then we opened a dialogue between myself and my feelings. That was the beginning of true healing, and then, with her incredible guidance, things started to improve astonishingly quickly. I worked with her, on and off, for about two years, until I was standing fully on my own two feet. It was then crystal clear what I had to do. I needed to help other people in the way that she had helped me. I trained as a hypnotherapist and opened my two practices in Bath and Bristol, UK. I have been helping people heal their wounds and find their joy again ever since.
Becoming An Author
One Monday morning in November 2015, I woke up as usual, went to my computer to check my business emails, and had an Epiphany. The thought, "It's time to stop." I watched, somewhat bemused, as my brain told my hands to write a letter of notice to my practice rooms that I would finish work as a one to one therapist in January 2016. It was a strange experience. I am usually very considered and weigh things up carefully before making decisions, but I felt no regret or uncertainty. I practiced until January 2016 and then came back to write the book - Anxiety Relief (formerly entitled "You Can Fix Your Anxiety") which had been in development for literally years.
I took all of 2016 out to write and published my first three books. Overnight success strikes about as often as lightning, so naturally by 2017 I had spent all my savings! I returned to my one to one to one work in January 2017 and worked incredibly hard on getting my written work out into the World. It's been a slow-burn success but Anxiety Relief has been incredibly well received in the UK, and has consistently held its Amazon bestseller tag since September 2017.
I'm still working on the US! I made the mistake of using a "review service" (legitimate) to get some US reviews. Though most reviews were very positive, a few said that the book was too complicated, and this has hampered my efforts in getting US readers on board. I took those comments on board though and went back through the book with a fine tooth comb to strip out anything which could be received as overly complicated. I re-published the book with the amendments in the US under a slightly different subtitle and gave it a new cover. It didn't help. I have since reverted to the orginal cover for the US kindle version but left the newer cover on the paperback (just to be trendy!) It's starting to do better in the US in 2018 and I'm confident that it will eventually get there!
By June 2018 I could finally call myself a real writer and my life as a one to one therapist came to a natural conclusion. It's been an amazing career but it's truly time to move on.
So now I am writing. By repackaging my knowledge and experience I can reach many more people than I can using a one to one format, and hopefully affect more lives positively with the important and hard-earned understanding I have gathered over many years of being an "anxiety insider".
I thank you for taking an interest and it is my sincere hope that my books will help you to develop the understanding you need to solve resolve your mental and emotionl difficulties and find your joy again. My writing is truly a labour of love from the heart.
So here's a bit about my professional status: -
John quickly gained a solid professional reputation in the Bristol and Bath area of the UK for the treatment of anxiety-related difficulties. He has over seven thousand hours of clinical experience in helping people to overcome their emotional and mental health challenges. He is a significant contributor of sections of the training materials used by Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training (CPHT), a now international Hypnotherapy Training Centre with twelve branches in the United Kingdom. CPHT is recognised for its outstanding Solution-Focused Brief Therapy training.
John has spoken professionally for the Association for Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training, OCD Action (the largest national OCD charity in the UK), as well as regularly at smaller supervisory events for local practitioners. He has also written for the highly respected online anxiety sufferers’ resource, No More Panic. He was a registered and accredited member of three leading therapeutic organisations - Association for Professional Hypnosis & Psychotherapy, National Hypnotherapy Society, and National Council of Psychotherapists, up until 2016 when he closed his one to one practice to focus on writing and teaching.
His main qualifications include: -
Diploma in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy - Clifton Practice Training (formerly EICH)
Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma - National externally (NCFE) accredited to NVQ 4.
Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy - Externally (NCFE) accredited to NVQ 4.
Anxiety Disorders Specialist Certification - The Minnesota Institute of Advanced Communication Skills.
He lives happily in Bristol (UK) with his wife and cat, and produces (ACE!) music in his spare time.