THIS week brings good and bad news for Louise Latheron, who has been supported on her weight loss programme over the last few weeks by The Dunmow Broadcast. On the positive side, Louise is finding she is more focussed on her life as she gains a self confi

THIS week brings good and bad news for Louise Latheron, who has been supported on her weight loss programme over the last few weeks by The Dunmow Broadcast. On the positive side, Louise is finding she is more focussed on her life as she gains a self confidence she hasn't experienced for many years. The evidence for this is that she has started line dancing on a Thursday at the United Reformed Church Hall on New street which she says she is enjoying. This is a long way from where we started 6 weeks ago when everything in her life was everyone else's fault. Taking charge of her life has meant making sure she has some aspirations of her own. The last class she remembers taking was her Bowen qualification class in 2004. Coupled with this development is her recent application to Helena Romanes School as a cover supervisor. She is hoping that a part time job will raise her standard of living, enabling her to come off benefits and move onto Working Families Tax Credits instead, which rewards her for working. A sea change in her perspective has been that, instead of feeling guilt for potentially leaving her two-year-old with a child minder while she might work, to looking forward to having a break from the little one so that she can enjoy her time more with him and indeed, her elder son, when they are together. As a single parent, the stresses of being solely responsible for a small child most days of the week, often lead to a lack of motivation, and sometimes a sense of helplessness. Louise did indeed fit into this profile in her early days which is changing now with her new focus on healthy eating and healthy living. She is even noticing how, now that she regards herself more significantly, her closest relationships are improving and she is finding them more collaborative than confrontational.

On the negative side, Louise has damaged her hip. She quips that it's because she's walking more to try and raise her exercise levels. She will have the results of x-rays imminently to determine whether it is a skeletal or a muscular problem. She is a qualified Bowen therapist, which deals in soft tissue manipulation but still lacks the confidence to set up in practice for herself and indeed cannot self treat. Is there a Bowen therapist in Dunmow who might be able to help with her hip?

So detoxing old thinking and embracing a new, more expansive outlook on life is showing through in her body. Her confidence is growing and she is pushing back the boundaries to what she thought was possible. She has been receiving loads of encouragement from strangers in Dunmow who tell her they are following her story, say she is very brave, and they are doing it with her.

I suggested a few weeks ago that we call those who are supporting her to the recreation ground in Dunmow to run round the ground on a Saturday morning. This may have to wait now till her hip is easier.

As for her eating, she says generally she finds herself snacking less, eating far less bread (except when she is lacking in money when it is a cheap staple) and drinking more fluids. Currently she says our sessions are what is motivating her as we look to release old self beliefs and inspire new ways of thinking.

I'm aware we need to do some hypnotherapy to re-focus her mind into her new positive self image. Till now it has not been necessary as we have brought into the conscious mind some of the beliefs that have been holding her back by talk therapy alone. This has been the 'safest' way to work with Louise, ensuring that she is conscious of how sabotaging some of her deepest beliefs have been. Now focussing her mind on future successes will ensure that new beliefs find an opportunity to root as effectively in her subconscious as her old beliefs once did.

Jenny Lynn

Psychotherapist