I am Richard Lamb, a depth psychology-trained life coach and therapist in Nottingham in the East Midlands of England. I have been in practice for over 6 years, combining hypnotherapy with transpersonal psychology and life coaching.
After a life-changing winter mountaineering fall in 2001, I decided to take action (the vital ingredient to any change work) to explore the principles and techniques for how to change the way I felt, communicated and acted. This involved the exploring of varied states of conscious awareness (beyond the problem-solving, anxiety-ridden state we all share in the modern world) through NLP, hypnosis, transpersonal psychology and other integrative therapies, which is how I came to the coaching and therapy professions.
Over the years I have naturally oriented my life experiences and training to assisting people through challenging life transitions at key points in life, some of which have include assisting people with pain management and trauma, which I have direct experience of in the past, as a result of amputations sustained from the mountaineering fall.
My main interests lie in a range of directions. Therapeutically I enjoy the inclusion of depth psychology-oriented coaching, a combined psychotherapy-hypnotherapy as a holistic approach to assisting others in coming to awareness of their own inner compass; an ‘inner true north’. This inner compass, based on our sense of values and personal meaning, and trust in self can sometimes be disoriented by life’s circumstances and challenges, and so my work with people involves exploring and bringing to awareness an individual’s values, meaning and purpose that is uniquely theirs. As part this framework I value the insights of depth psychology, specifically Psychosynthesis and Carl Jung’s approach to the nature of the personal and collective unconscious, together with Ken Wilber’s Integrative Psychology, which informs an integrative, holistic approach to working with the challenges of the modern world.
My time mountaineering re-created within me a deep respect for and joy in Nature, and through this appreciation, over time I became a student of a number of the great wisdom traditions of the world. Research in prehistoric and historic archaeology, together with ancient environmental and (often abrupt) climatic changes has instilled an appreciation of “deep time”, of humanity’s connection and symbiosis with the natural environment. Beyond the consulting room I take especial delight in good cooking for close friends and family, a broad taste in literature and music, an active and frequent commitment to yoga and meditation practices, and enjoying the moment I wake up each day, knowing life presents its gifts and lessons.
I am an active member of a number of Psychosynthesis organisations internationally (e.g. Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis), as well as being a member of the National Council of Psychotherapists and the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) in the UK.