Why This Work Matters

Modern healthcare can be extraordinary. When something goes acutely wrong, we have highly skilled clinicians, sophisticated investigations and powerful treatments that can rapidly identify and address a problem. In many situations, this care is quite literally lifesaving.

But not every health problem fits neatly into a medical specialty or shows up clearly in the tests available to us. And not every problem can be resolved by treating the body from the outside.

This can be particularly true when we are living with chronic ill health.

Sometimes, despite extensive investigation and treatment, we are left without a clear explanation or a straightforward way forward.

We may simply be told to manage our symptoms and get on with life.

This is where I believe stress deserves attention.

Stress is the body's response to pressure, demands or perceived threat. It is a protective system, designed to help us respond when something feels unsafe. And it involves far more than our thoughts or emotions. It can affect everything from what we notice and how we perceive our surroundings, to muscle tension, digestion, sleep and the way we experience sensations such as pain.

When we are living with illness, there can be several different sources of stress placing a load on our system:

The stress of the symptoms themselves.
Pain, fatigue, dizziness, breathlessness or other persistent symptoms are difficult to live with. The experience of being unwell can itself keep our system on alert.

The stress of not knowing.
We often rely on healthcare professionals and medical systems to help us understand what is happening and make us better. When answers are unclear, investigations don't provide an explanation, or treatment doesn't resolve the problem, this can be deeply unsettling. It can challenge our sense of safety and leave us feeling uncertain about what to do next.

The stress of living with illness.
Illness can change almost every part of life — relationships, work, family, finances, independence, plans and our sense of who we are. The impact is different for everyone, but the load can be substantial.

Sometimes it is one of these things. Often, it is a combination.

Over time, carrying this level of uncertainty, pressure and emotional burden can leave us feeling helpless, hopeless or powerless. And when we feel that we have little control or no clear way forward, our protective systems can find it difficult to settle.

So, what can you do about it?

Sometimes, having someone help you step back and look at the whole picture can make a real difference — exploring what may be placing a strain on your system, making sense of your experience, and identifying what you can influence or change.

And for the things you can’t change, we can explore ways to relate to and carry them differently.

For me, this is about helping you reconnect with your sense of agency — feeling that you have some choice, understanding and influence in your own experience.

That’s the space I aim to provide.

As a Body Electrician, I don't see myself as replacing medical care or trying to fix everything myself. I see my role as working alongside you — helping you understand your own system, identify where there may be additional avenues worth exploring, and create a safe space to work with the stress and emotional burdens that can accompany illness.

My services offer different ways into this work, depending on what you need: exploring your system, exploring and reducing your load, or creating space for your own system when you are caring for someone else.

And because the impact of illness on carers is so often overlooked, The Carer's System provides a protected space for those supporting or living alongside someone with physical illness.

The aim throughout is simple: to help you feel less alone with your experience, more connected to your own system, and better supported in navigating life with illness.

I'm Nikkie. Why should you trust me?

I have personally experienced chronic ill health too

In short, I get it.

The longer answer is that I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in my 20s. I spent years trying to understand what was happening to my health — piecing together the different factors that contributed to my symptoms and discovering what helped, what didn’t, and how much chronic illness could affect every part of life.

Being ill was challenging enough. But the stress of living with ongoing symptoms became a significant part of my daily experience too — particularly when I was trying to keep going, maintain some sense of normality and simply ‘get on with things’ despite being so unwell.

I know firsthand how profoundly chronic ill health and medically unexplained symptoms can affect your life. The uncertainty, the frustration, the isolation, the impact on relationships and work, and the experience of having a body that no longer seems to respond in the way you expect it to.

I also know how lonely the journey can feel. Finding the right support can make a significant difference, particularly when you’re beginning to explore different ways of supporting your health alongside the medical care you may already have.

My own experience ultimately led me to the work I do today. For more than a decade, I have supported people living with fatigue-related and chronic health conditions, combining my professional training with an understanding that comes from having lived through many of these challenges myself.

I can’t promise to have all the answers — but I can offer something I know can be invaluable: someone who understands the reality of living with chronic ill health, listens without judgement, and can help you explore the emotional and psychological side of your experience with compassion and care.

I have over a decade of specialist professional experience - not just lived experience

My career in healthcare began within the NHS, where I trained and worked as a physiotherapist before progressing into the management of complex disability services in an Oxfordshire hospital.

Alongside my clinical and operational experience, I completed an MSc in Health and Public Policy, giving me a broad understanding of health from both individual and systems-level perspectives.

In 2014, I made the decision to move beyond conventional healthcare and train in integrative approaches to health and wellbeing. This was informed not only by my professional experience, but also by my own experience of the limitations that can sometimes arise when we look at health through a single lens.

For 10 years, I worked with the award-winning Optimum Health Clinic, where I also taught and spoke professionally. During this time, I developed extensive experience supporting people living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and associated conditions, and deepened my understanding of the complex relationship between chronic ill health, emotional wellbeing, stress and our experience of symptoms.

For the past five years, I have worked in private practice, bringing together my clinical background with a range of evidence-informed therapeutic approaches. I am an Advanced Practitioner in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), as well as a qualified hypnotherapist, life coach and NLP practitioner.

This combination of conventional healthcare experience, specialist training and years of working alongside people with chronic health challenges allows me to offer a compassionate, genuinely integrative perspective.

You are the expert in you and I will always work from that foundation

When I began my physiotherapy training more than 25 years ago, I committed to the professional values and ethics that underpin good healthcare. Although my career has since moved beyond physiotherapy and conventional healthcare, those principles continue to shape how I work with every client.

I believe that you know your body, your experience and your life better than anyone else. My role isn’t to tell you what your experience should be, or to assume I have all the answers. It’s to listen, bring my professional knowledge and experience to the conversation, and work alongside you to explore what might be helpful.

I believe people living with chronic health conditions and medically unexplained symptoms deserve to feel just as heard, respected and supported as anyone else seeking healthcare. Sadly, many people have experienced feeling dismissed, misunderstood or not taken seriously — and I feel strongly about doing things differently.

I want my clients to feel safe to talk openly, be the centre of all decisions related to their condition and be respected as the individual they are, without judgement or assumptions about what their health journey should look like.

And because I also recognise the limits of my own expertise, I believe in working collaboratively and, where appropriate, connecting clients with trusted specialist practitioners who share this commitment to compassionate, person-centred care.

For me, ethical practice starts with seeing the person, not just the symptoms — and making sure that your voice remains at the heart of the work we do together.

Qualified, experienced and transparent about what I do — and what I don’t.

I believe it’s important that you know exactly what my qualifications and experience are, and equally, where the boundaries of my expertise lie.

My professional background spans physiotherapy, health policy, and specialist training in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), hypnotherapy, life coaching and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

Alongside these qualifications, I have more than a decade of professional experience supporting people living with chronic ill health. Together, this training and experience inform the way I work with clients today.

I am an Advanced Practitioner in EFT and a member of EFT International, adhering to their code of ethics and Continuing Professional Development requirements.

My work is intended to complement, not replace, medical care. I encourage you to maintain your relationship with your GP, consultant or other healthcare professionals, and I am happy to work alongside appropriate medical support where this is helpful.

For complete transparency, I am not a medical doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist, nor am I a psychotherapist who is a member of a statutory or professional psychotherapy regulatory body. I am also no longer a physiotherapist. I do not diagnose or treat medical or psychiatric conditions.

My role is to offer support within my areas of training and experience, while respecting the expertise of other healthcare professionals — and, most importantly, your own understanding of yourself.

Professional standards matter to me

I’m a proud member of EFT International and follow their code of ethics and Continuing Professional Development requirements. I also undertake regular professional supervision and personal therapy to support my ongoing development and practice.

If you ever have a concern or complaint, I encourage you to speak to me directly so we can try to resolve it together. You also have the option of raising a complaint with EFT International.

I hold professional indemnity insurance with Hispania.

A gentle reminder

My work is designed to complement, not replace, medical care. If you’re currently under the care of a doctor, consultant or other healthcare professional, I encourage you to continue that relationship alongside any work we do together.

If you are experiencing an acute medical or mental health crisis, please seek immediate support. You can attend your local emergency department, call the emergency services (999 in the UK / 112 in the EU), or, if you are in emotional distress and need someone to talk to, contact the Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK and Ireland.