Kay Holdsworth - Therapist and Coach — Counsellor in Leeds, England

Kay is such a lovely lady! She is very easy to talk to and very understanding too. It made the whole process a lot easier as I was going to see her about my negative, intrusive thoughts and she put me at ease. She helped to formulate ways to work around them and I would really recommend her work! :)

Kay is a great listener with a calm and empathetic manner. She makes you feel completely listened to. She has a great knowledge of the relevant brain science to enhance the sessions. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.

I’m only four weeks into working with Kay and I’m absolutely blown away by the positive impact it’s already had on me — it’s honestly been life-changing in such a short space of time. Kay has this rare gift of creating a space that feels completely safe, supportive, and judgment-free. From the very first session, I felt seen, heard, and deeply understood — which in itself was powerful. But what’s truly amazed me is how quickly things have started to shift. Longstanding patterns of overwhelm, self-doubt, and tension (that I didn’t even realise I was carrying) have started to unravel. Her blend of hypnotherapy, insight, and compassionate coaching is something really special. It’s helped me uncover and reframe some deeply held beliefs that were holding me back — and I’m already noticing more calm, more clarity, and more confidence day to day. I feel like I’m finally starting to trust myself again and make choices that align with who I really am. Kay is not only incredibly professional and knowledgeable, but also warm, grounded, and truly passionate about what she does. Her work is powerful, her presence is calming, and her approach is so intuitive and thoughtful. I honestly couldn’t recommend Kay highly enough. If you’re thinking about working with her — do it. You’ll wish you’d done it sooner 🫶🏼

From the moment you meet Kay, it’s clear you’re in the presence of someone truly special. She makes you feel seen, heard and genuinely valued. She brings an incredible level of care and mindfulness to her work, creating a safe and nurturing space for healing and growth. Kay practices Hypnotherapy with passion and purpose, her energy is genuine, her presence grounding, and her commitment to helping others is nothing short of inspiring. If you’re looking for someone who leads with heart and walks with integrity, look no further than Kay.

I can’t recommend Kay highly enough. With her wealth of experience as a counsellor, she brings such depth, empathy, and professionalism to everything she does. Now also a fully qualified Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, after training with us at SFTA Leeds, Kay blends her therapeutic skills beautifully to help clients move forward with clarity and confidence. Her sessions are supportive, insightful, and genuinely empowering. Anyone looking for a compassionate and highly skilled hypnotherapist is in excellent hands with Kay.

Kay is a warm, non-judgmental therapist who creates a safe and supportive space. She collaborates with you to outline and achieve your own self-directed goals. I highly recommend her services to anyone seeking thoughtful support.

I sought hypnotherapy from Kay for help with anxiety and lack of confidence in certain situations, mostly at work. Kay's approach was wonderfully supportive and the hypnotherapy was very relaxing. Kay has given me practical tools and techniques to manage my anxiety, which were cemented by the hypnotherapy. I have noticed a shift in my mindset when encountering problems and am more able to deal with the things I can effect, and worry less about the things I can't. This has had a positive impact in both my work and home life and especially in my relationship with my teenager. I would recommend hypnotherapy to everyone, even those who are sceptics about the practice (as I was before the sessions)!

1. What brought you to seek hypnotherapy? I have suffered from generalised anxiety for around 25 years and I have found it has had a significant impact on my functioning and enjoyment of life to varying degrees over the years. I have not found medication particularly useful in the past and at times it has worsened my symptoms. Recently due to some changes at work I had found that my anxiety had increased and I was keen to seek alternative ways to deal with it without resorting to medication, or unhealthy and temporary fixes such as alcohol and smoking. ________________________________________ 2. How did you feel before starting your sessions? I was nervous prior to starting to sessions as I had never had this type of therapy before. I was admittedly sceptical and worried whether I would feel safe or exposed. It was also difficult at the thought of talking to a stranger about things which I have historically tended to keep to myself. ________________________________________ 3. What was the experience like during your hypnotherapy sessions? The first half of the sessions were spent discussing the previous week and my experiences of both anxiety symptoms but also focusing on what had been good, what had helped, what had been positive and what had worked. I found this very helpful in identifying what I knew I had to change for me to feel like things were better, and helped me set some achievable goals for each week. It also directed my focus away from my anxiety symptoms and my tendency to put too much pressure on myself, then berating myself when I did not meet my unrealistic expectations. It also made me realise that I have always struggled to relax and ‘stop’ in general. The second half of the session was the hypnotherapy part. I found this extremely relaxing and at times I felt that I had completely ‘let go’. I found the therapists voice extremely calming, I felt as I was in a completely safe place and could ‘switch off’ in terms of what was going on around me. I felt a sense of complete calm, which often lasted long after the session had ended. I looked forward to the sessions due to this effect.________________________________________ 4. What changes have you noticed during and after completing your hypnotherapy sessions I noticed that for several hours after the sessions I felt much more relaxed than I have done previously, and was able to ‘tune out’ the anxious feelings more easily. I also felt more able to focus on the positive things I could do that could maintain this feeling, so made plans each week to try and build on the activites I knew would work for me. I also found that I slept better the night immediately after therapy and generally felt less ‘highly strung’ the following day. ________________________________________ 5. How has hypnotherapy impacted your life long-term? I have only just finished my sessions with Kaye, however so far I feel that I have benefitted from the therapy in term of my general sense of wellbeing and ability to cope. I also feel I am more able to tune out the anxious thoughts and challenge me negative thinking. Over the last couple of weeks I have experienced some challenging experiences which I feel I would have struggled with more, had I not had the therapy. 6. What did you enjoy most about working with me? I found Kay to be a very warm individual who made me feel at ease from the start. I did not feel awkward, even when talking about very personal issues. I found she was quickly able to identify the nature of my anxiety and help me identify how these negative thinking patterns have become a habit, and how I can challenge this. 7. Would you recommend hypnotherapy with me to others? If so, why? I would highly recommend this therapy to others, especially people who suffer from anxiety. ________________________________________

I came to Kay to seek help for my spiralling weight gain. I consistently felt unable to conquer it and couldn’t see where I was going wrong. I was opened minded to hypnotherapy but a little cynical that it would truly help and in the initial session I struggled with focus. Kay has definitely helped me open up and understand the underlying cause of my problem was an all consuming desire not to be selfish and therefore I was putting everything before my own needs, especially healthy eating and exercise. She has helped to reframe my thinking and made me see how destructive this was. Her relaxed, conversational style makes you answer her probing questions without feeling like you are being put on the spot and being analysed or judged. I feel much calmer, more in control and much more organised. Most importantly, I don’t feel selfish for tending to my own needs anymore. Life is not perfect, and I don’t always get the balance right but I can see now this isn’t a disaster and it doesn’t make me selfish, Ive even started to lose weight. I would 100% recommend Kay to other people. The balance of questioning and conversation with deep relaxation has really helped me feel happy again.

I have worked with Kay on two of her programs: Finding your creative spark and solution focused hypnotherapy. On each occasion I have found her inciteful, authentic, open and kind. I need to have trust in a person to work in such an open and vulnerable way. Kay makes it easy and she gained my trust immediately. I love her heart centred approach. She is clearly genuinely committed to improving the wellbeing of her clients. I have found fresh perspectives, valuable insights and clarity on things which I may have visited in the past, but have made sense to me anew, when I have worked on them with Kay. I recommend her without question.