Meet Dr Mark R Baker

Our senior coach Dr Mark R Baker is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Medicine and has been working in psychological and neuroscience research for over 20 years. He completed a three-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge and he has been practicing hypnotherapy since 2010 with a particular interest in human peak performance.

Typical Session Structure: 40-Minute Maximum Performance Coaching Zoom Session

Pre-Session Preparation (5 minutes before start)

• Get Ready: Find a quiet, comfortable space free from distractions.

• Tech Check: Ensure your Zoom audio, video, and internet connection are working well. (or phone signal if your organization has opted for phone only).

• Gather Materials: Have any notes or materials you might need ready.

Session Agenda

1. Welcome & Introduction (5 minutes)

• Greeting: you'll be warmly welcomed and made to feel comfortable.

• Check-In: you’ll briefly share how I’m feeling and any immediate concerns.

• Overview: The coach will outline what we’ll cover in the session and what to expect.

2. Sharing Your Challenges (15 minutes)

• Discuss Problems: You’ll talk about the current problems and challenges I’m facing.

• Unload Thoughts: you’ll have space to express your current issues, thoughts and feelings openly.

• Identify Strengths and Weaknesses: With guidance, We wll identify your strengths and areas where I can improve to address your challenges.

3. Hypnotic Induction & Deepening (15 minutes)

• Ge ready. Learn About Hypnosis: The coach will explain how hypnosis works and what to expect. In later sessions the coach will use advanced mindfulness techniques to focus you.

• Get Comfortable: You’ll get into a comfortable position for the induction.

• Induction Process: You'll be guided into a relaxed, focused state through a hypnotic induction.

• Deepening: The coach will use techniques to deepen your state of relaxation and focus.

• In your receptive state you will experience a range of therapies including

  • CBT Techniques: We’ll work on changing any negative thought patterns (cognitive restructuring).

  • DBT Techniques: You’ll practice mindfulness and learn strategies to manage my emotions and handle stress (emotional regulation and distress tolerance).

  • Anchoring: Create a positive association with a physical trigger to help manage emotional responses. The therapist helps you establish a physical anchor (such as touching a specific spot on the hand) while experiencing positive emotions, which can later be used to counteract negative emotions related to the trauma.

  • Future Pacing/ Future Self: This powerful, pro-active technique helps you envision a future (or future self) where they are free from the impact of trauma. The therapist guides you in visualizing future scenarios where you respond to past triggers in healthy and empowered ways, reinforcing new patterns of behaviour and emotional responses.

  • Direct Suggestion: Implants positive and empowering suggestions directly into the subconscious mind. While you are in a hypnotic state, the therapist gives direct suggestions aimed at promoting healing, self-esteem, and resilience, helping to counteract negative thoughts and feelings related to the trauma. Note that it is impossible to make anyone go against their fundamental values or beliefs in this way.

  • Reframing: Changes the perception of any traumatic event by altering the way it is viewed and interpreted. The therapist helps you reframe negative beliefs or perceptions associated with the trauma, often by highlighting strengths, lessons learned, or positive outcomes that resulted from the experience.

  • Age Regression Therapy: Revisit and re-experience past events in a controlled environment to gain new insights and resolve unresolved emotions. The therapist guides you to mentally travel back in time to the traumatic event, encouraging them to recall details and emotions. This process allows for the re-evaluation of the event from a current perspective. Our methods avoid any negative events like abreaction and leave you calm and in control.

  • Parts Therapy: Address internal conflicts by identifying and communicating with different parts of the subconscious mind that may be holding onto trauma. The therapist facilitates a dialogue between the conscious mind and various subconscious parts, helping to integrate these parts and resolve conflicting emotions or beliefs related to the trauma.

  • Ego State Therapy: Similar to parts therapy, it focuses on working with different ego states that hold traumatic memories or emotions. The therapist helps you access and communicate with specific ego states, aiming to heal and integrate these fragmented parts of the personality.

  • Visualization and Guided Imagery: Uses the power of imagination to create positive mental images that can replace or reframe traumatic memories. The therapist guides you through visualizing safe and comforting scenarios, which can help reduce the emotional impact of the trauma and promote healing.

  • Desensitization: Reduces the emotional intensity associated with traumatic memories. The therapist gradually exposes you to the traumatic memory in a safe and controlled manner, often using relaxation techniques to desensitize the emotional response over time.

  • Hypnotic Regression to Cause: Identifies and addresses the root cause of trauma by regressing to the initial event that triggered the emotional response. The therapist guides the individual to the earliest memory of the traumatic experience, helping them process and release the emotions tied to that event.

  • Positive Suggestions: You’ll receive positive affirmations and suggestions to enhance your performance and mindset.

4. Wrap-Up & Future Planning - Post-Session Reflection (5 minutes)

• Review: We’ll summarize what we discussed and the techniques used.

• Feedback: You will share your thoughts on how the session went.

• Action Plan: Together, we’ll create an action plan for you to work on before the next session.

• Next Session: We’ll schedule our next session and I’ll receive any necessary homework or resources.

• Coach’s Notes: The coach will document the session, my progress, and our action plan.

• Coach’s Reflections: The coach will reflect on the session’s effectiveness and consider any improvements.