Hi I'm Patricia Worby, PhD, a somatic psychotherapist interested in all aspects of psychology, natural medicine and science. I bring my past experience as a former scientist, clinical researcher**, and now specialist practitioner in chronic illness to bear on every subject I write about.
A child of the 1970's from a 'normally dysfunctional' family, I found solace in education, being the first in my family to go to university where I studied biochemistry, the science of life. But life seemed strangely absent from the information I received and, after a series of health challenges in my 30's and 40's (including depression and chronic fatigue) brought about, I now know, by the unresolved grief from the death of my father when still i my teens, I was compelled to find my own answers.
I studied hypnotherapy, psychology, and natural medicine to advanced levels and finally became a practitioner in somatic trauma release helping people to overcome Anxiety and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes such as ME and Fibromyalgia.
After being introduced to the healing power of such 'alternative' approaches (which I initially was very sceptical of), I began my writer's journey in 2016. My first book The Scar that won't Heal (effect of common occurrences of 'everyday trauma' and stress on the body) was a labour of love that took 18 months to write (around the same time as preparing the evidence for my PhD*) and I have now published seven books:
1. The Scar that Won't Heal (stress, trauma and emotion in the body)
2. The World Within (the microbiome)
3. Losing our Minds (healthy aging)
4. Life Illuminated (light and energy in the body)
(All in these are in the MindBody series - science for the lay person interested in the mind and body connection).
5. The Dementia Diaries (a memoir of my mum) and its follow up
6. Life Lessons - (messages from my family from beyond death)
7. The Mystery of Number (the mathematics of the natural world)
And in press The Highly Sensitive Handbook (released July 2023) - how to manage life as a highly sensitive person
I now devote my time to my busy practice (Alchemy therapies), writing and speaking. See my website https://alchemytherapies.co.uk for my work and www.patriciaworby.com for details of the full range of my interests.
*in clinical hypnotherapy to investigate the links between past life events and emotional repression in creating chronic pain and fatigue
** I worked for the UK National Health Service (NHS) and then the University of Southampton in medical education, clinical research and administration for 25 years, but I felt that something was missing in my work life and, finally, I left 10 years ago to pursue my passion which is teaching and applying a combination of science and natural medicine.
