LET’S TALK BUSINESS - A therapeutic change

Christian Dunham is a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist and Bowen Therapist based in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. He is also the author of Clear, Calm and Confident: How To Change Your Life In 30 Days.

Where were you born and raised, and what brought you to the Sunny Coast/Hinterland?

I was born in Goulburn NSW and grew up in Brisbane where I went to school.

I moved to Sydney in my early 20s and then to London when I was 28. I Iived in the UK, in London and Bath for about 25 years.

The Sunshine Coast is in my blood. My mum created a wonderful life on a small farm in the Obi Obi Valley about 40 years ago. 

Please tell us a little about Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and Bowen Therapy, and how you use them?

I began the path of training as a therapist 18 years ago in Bristol, England.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a modern hypnotherapy method developed by my teacher David Newton in Bristol. It combines clinical hypnotherapy with elements of Solution Focused Brief Therapy. SFBT is a modern psychotherapy developed in the 1980s. 

It does what it says on the tin… it focuses on solutions, and it gets things moving quickly so we don’t need many sessions. Hypnotherapy is about refocusing the mind from the subconscious level to take back control of our thoughts, our feelings, and our actions.

Bowen Technique is the body work part of my practice. It was developed by Tom Bowen in Australia and is recognised as a very effective way of treating muscular skeletal pain issues in the body. It is a gentle technique that is directed through the body’s fascia to promote positive changes without the need for manipulation or going in hard and deep.

I have combined these two very unique modalities to create a technique I call HypnoBowen.

Tell us more about HypnoBowen?  

HypnoBowen is a mind-body therapy I have developed over the last 15 years. It combines the Bowen Technique with clinical hypnotherapy in the one session. Both treatments are powerfully therapeutic on their own, and the combination over  three or four sessions is designed to make fundamental positive changes to our mind and body. 

I think we all have events in our lives when we just know that the changes we are going through need a total reset in mind and body.

What does a 'typical' day entail for you? 

I start early, around 4am. Most of my Hypnotherapy work is done online to the UK, Europe, South Africa and the USA, so I work in those time zones. Before I relocated back to the farm in 2019, I had a busy clinic in London and in Bath, and many of my clients stayed with me. 

Hypnotherapy works very effectively online, for many people it is better than in a clinic. There is no travel stress getting to and from appointments, and we can often relax deeper when we’re lying in our own space talking on the phone. I use WhatsApp video calls for my online work.

During the day I see a few Bowen clients for sessions in my clinic room on the farm in Coolabine, near Kenilworth. 

What is the most useful advice you could give someone who is thinking of trying hypnotherapy or Bowen therapy?

Call me. I always begin Hypnotherapy with a free initial consultation. This is a great opportunity to discuss what you are dealing with; I explain how I work and how the process unfolds. That way you are in a much better position to assess if this is how you want to proceed. The initial consultation takes about 45 mins to an hour, and it is free of charge.

With Bowen Technique, again, call me. Most people come to Bowen after trying a few other therapies they are already familiar with. A conversation allows us to discuss what is going on and take it one step at a time. Real healing starts when we are feeling confident with the choices we are making and the people we are trusting to help us get through the tough times.

Do you have a specific condition you specialise in ?

When I began my hypnotherapy practice it was focused on anxiety and depression, two broad issues that hypnotherapy is very effective at helping to treat. These days I find more and more people are becoming aware of the dysfunctional and controlling relationships in their lives, and how past traumas and behaviours are affecting current relationships. Fortunately, in Solution Focused Hypnotherapy we have some specific techniques that help us to deal with these difficult relationships and past trauma. I am very interested in how we can move on and heal from these situations.

What do you like about the Sunshine Coast Hinterland ?

The space, the quiet, and my freedom. I have had adventures in my life that have taken me to cities around the world and the gratitude I feel every day for where I find myself now in these times is not a cliché, it is a daily practice.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I’ve been a professional musician most of my working life. These days I enjoy playing my double bass. I perform locally with jazz/blues pianist Andy Cowan, and I tour with Australia’s first King of Pop, Normie Rowe a few times a year. I am currently focused on creating a special musical experience with local drummer and artist Peter Hudson. The band is called ANTEDOTE. It is a natural extension of my life as a therapist, using some of the positive techniques in a sound healing way to invigorate the mind and soothe the soul (antedote.com.au).

Do you have a favourite quote or saying that inspires you?  

An ex-girlfriend from way back in the day left me with a quote that used to seriously annoy me back then. However, these days I find myself sharing it often in my sessions with people….

“No thought required….only action”

Visit: christiandunham.net or phone 0448 303 013