About ‘Doing Change’ : from our author Rob McNeilly

“Doing Change“ has a strange history. It began as a collection of articles I was asked to write for a medical newsletter. After a few months, I realised I had a collection of them, and wondered if they might make a book, so I asked my good friend, Bill O’Hanlon for his opinion, and he said he thought it was a best seller! After I got over my shock, I asked him if he would be willing to write an introduction, and he graciously agreed. It was originally published as “Healing the Whole Person” by Wiley & Sons, and when it went out of print, St Luke’s Innovative Resources graciously agreed to publish it with its  new name.

The content derived from a combination of my learning with the late Dr Milton Erickson and a coaching programme I completed based in USA.

I learnt from Erickson, that language was crucial, that everyone had more resources than they realised, and that a solution could appear at any moment for no good reason. This refreshing approach inspired me in my work and teaching, and I liked the approach, as did my clients, and also people who leant from me, and their clients! I continue to be inspired by this explorer 35 years after his death.

I learnt in the USA coaching programme, that emotions and the body could be as important, or even more important than language – that instead of noticing an emotional shift and alteration in the way someone held their body as a sign that a change had happened, emotions and the body could provide additional options for helping people to access their resources and so find their own unique solutions. We all know that when we are in a bad mood, everything looks bad, and when we are in a good mood everything looks bright. The same applies to how we hold our body. If we slump with head and shoulders down the world doesn’t look good and if we stand tall, and look up, the world looks better and so does our future.

This combination of expectancy and bringing in emotions and the body create a wonderful opportunity to help client resolve their difficulties in ways that would otherwise not be available. Therapists who have played with these principles report that the results are predictably massively improved, and they feel better also, no matter what their clinical background is – CBT, Gestalt, whatever …

It would be a pleasure to hear from anyone who found the book useful, as I notice the continuing joy of contributing to the health and wellbeing of others.

Thank you for reading this.

 Rob McNeilly