About the Author

Dr Ann Williamson has been a General Practitioner for thirty two years and has used hypnosis for more than fifteen years to help her patients deal with stress and anxiety and to help them facilitate change in how they live their lives. She is an accredited member of the British Society of Clinical & Academic Hypnosis, a certified NLP Master Practitioner and has had training in brief solution oriented therapy and other approaches.She has been involved for many years with teaching Health Professionals how to use hypnotic techniques both for themselves and within their own field of clinical expertise.She runs stress management, personal development and brief psychological interventions workshops on request, as well as seeing private clients for therapy. She has also lectured at Manchester, Chester and Salford Universities.She has written three books: on stress management, smoking cessation and on brief psychological interventions in clinical practice. She is also co-editor of A Handbook of Contemporary Hypnosis.She is also a Reiki Master Trainer and has an interest in creativity and exploring one's emotions through the arts.

Reviews

At last! a self help book on how to manage your stress and achieve balance in life, written by someone who, in my mind has the right credentials to do so. Dr Ann Williamson, a GP of over twenty five years experience in practice has come up trumps here. Still a In The Storm is one of those books that every What's Happening Magazine reader should have in their possession, not just to read from cover to cover but to refer to as a useful dip in and out book when the needs must. With only six chapters though I would suggest reading it from cover to cover, absorbing the positive information and useful exercises Dr Williamson suggests and explains in a reader friendly way that is both easy to understand and follow. Quite lucky really, as the last thing you want when looking for ways to manage that stress is to become frustrated with jargon, be bamboozled by complicated exercises or worse, be patronised and humoured as so many books in this genre can tend to do. Happy to say this is one of those that does not do any of the aforementioned. Rather, it takes the reader on a journey to discover the levels of stress being experienced, the individual responses to it through to increasing self-confidence and helping you to figure out where you want to go in your life. One chapter that I particularly found interesting, containing an exercise I just love is Chapter 4 on the subject of dealing with the stress response. The visualisation exercise aptly titled aA Special Place' is just out of this world and I find myself retreating to my place when it feels just right to do so, then returning to the present refreshed and calmer than when I aleft'. On the subject of visualisations, I would suggest that each reader when beginning to read Still a In The Storm remains open minded to the visualisation exercises Dr Williamson suggests as they do work. Honest. So my verdict, as if you didn't have an idea already. Still a In The Storm is one of those that you should have on your book case, read from cover to cover at least once and refer to when you feel you need some balance back in your life. Well Dr Williamson, what can I say? I wish my GP was a forward thinking as you appear to be in your practice with regard to complimenting mainstream medicine with the methods you have written about. As one of your chapters asks Half Empty or Half Full? With this gem in my possession I would definitely say that my glass is over flowing! Even the dedication instils a sense of calm. Thank you.David Feakes

This is a pocket guide to gaining and keeping control of your life, creating the right direction to go and building the road that takes you to your future. It's a great little book. Written in a style that's both easy to read and follow, the techniques for returning calm and balance are simple and straightforward. I found it impossible to put down and feel the time spent reading it was an investment. Now I can look forward with optimism. I shall probably read it again in a few months time.Francis Rowlands, Marketing Director, Dragon Marketing

This is definitely the first choice reading for self-help stress management. Dr Williamson's book blends humour and fact with style, and the cartoons scattered within its pages bring tasteful fun and amusement to what is a serious subject. Giving comprehensive, yet simple and straightforward advice on a multitude of stress management techniques the reader has the opportunity to develop a tailored program that's right for him or her. The entire book flows easily with a simplicity that makes it difficult to put down. Explanations of different topics and how to utilise techniques such as hypnosis, visualisation, positive imagery and building a confidence trigger, amongst others, are clearly and simply described for all to use. It is one of the most readable books on managing stress that I have ever read and I believe that everyone will find benefits within its pages. Terri Bodell FNACHP, Clinical Psychotherapist