Frequently asked questions

It is wretched feeling self-conscious. I know because I felt like that myself for many years.

Social Anxiety is experienced by many people, and it is usually fuelled by self-consciousness.

It is that experience of feeling that the world is pointing a very powerful camera at you and noticing everything you say and do. There is an ongoing commentary going on in your head about what that camera is saying and thinking about you - and it feels very real.

Even though there may be no evidence out there in the world that other people are saying and thinking these things, there is a part of you, your Critical Voice, which absolutely believes that this is happening.  Your Critical Voice will go to extraordinary lengths to protect you from exposure and ridicule.

It does this, by keeping you in a "straight-jacket", and drawing very strict lines around what it has decided is OK-behaviour and what is not-OK-behaviour. Whenever you cross the line into what it conceives as NOT OK - then you will experience acute self-consciousness. This may take the form of blushing, embarrassment, sweating or other unsettling symptoms - which will draw even more attention to your self-consciousness.

So how do you get out of this?

How do you stop feeling self-conscious when every cell in your body is wired up to being self-conscious?

It can be achieved much easier than you think. I did it and I did it through drama that in reality was going to make me feel exceedingly self-conscious.  It was uncomfortable to begin with, however when I went through that barrier, it opened something up in me.  I didn't experience exposure and riducle or any of the things my Critical Voice told me was going to happen, so I began to relax.

After a while I started feeling an awful lot less self consciousness. By persisting on this path, the self consciousness completely went away.

Without this self-consciousness, I was free to be myself and my confidence began to grow.

As a result, I have achieved things that would simply been impossible if I hadn’t put my shyness and self-consciousness right behind me.

Learn more about my story.

It was this experience that inspired me to start up Making Moves - and to create courses that would put together all I had learned in a format that would enable people to break through self consciousness  - and would save them a lot of the hard learning experiences that I went through

I can show you how to break out of your shell effortlessly and easily, resolve issues that have been undermining your well-being  for years – whilst at the same having an enormous amount of fun. Because the fact is that when you move from self consciousness to self awareness, you have a very powerful tool that will serve you for many years to come - and will enable you to break through almost any obstacle in your path.

How to get started

If you haven’t yet signed up for the  free chapters from my book From Wallflower to Sunflower I suggest you start there. You get it for free if you subscribe to the Making Moves Newsletter. Reading the chapters  is a very good way to gain more understanding of why you are in your shell and what it will take to get you out of it. Many participants find very helpful before participating in one of my courses. I will also keep you posted on the courses I'm offering.

Confidence Building Courses for Overcoming Self-Consciousness"

I offer a wide range of Confidence Building Courses aimed at beginners for different levels and abilities.

See How do I get started

Making Moves specialises in helping quiet people break out of their shell and express themselves powerfully in the world based on my experience of being a shy introvert – using the tools and techniques that worked for me personally.

They have also worked for the many hundreds of people who have attended my courses over the years - no matter how shy, reserved, inhibited or lacking in confidence they believe themselves to be.

This includes a specially adapted form of drama (designed for people with confidence issues), expressive movement and the personal development approaches that I've had found the most effective in improving confidence.

See more about how it works

And a more detailed account of what happens in a session?

Shyness is learnt or adapted behaviour, and therefore can be unlearnt.

The reason that the Sunflower Effect courses are so effective at overcoming shyness is that they give you an opportunity to try out new behaviours in safe space through the transformational power of drama.  This will enable you to gradually come out of your shell at your own pace and in your own way.

Overcoming shyness is not going to happen overnight and needs determination and commitment to unlearn that behaviour. But it can be achieved much quicker and easier than you would think. I did it, and I can help you do the same.

I have been running my courses since 1997 and have a very high success rate with overcoming shyness.

I recommend the Breakthrough Group, a safe environment in which you can gradually come out of your shell and experiment with new behaviours. Many people have come into this course absolutely frozen with fear, and by the end of the course have completely put shyness behind them. They find themselves participating just the same as everyone else - no longer the "wallflower".

I also have a 100% money-back guarantee if you don't get anything out of the course.

It takes courage and commitment to overcome the discomfort of shyness, but that is what is needed - and with the support of other people all rooting for you.

For some people coming into a group is too big a step in which case a series of individual sessions will help to prepare you. Basically, the more of this kind of work you do, the quicker you will learn new skills and banish the old habit of shyness.

See this article on overcoming shyness for more details of how it works or read about how I banished shyness forever.

The easiest way to get started is by subscribing to the free chapters from my book From Wallflower to Sunflower which will give you insight into why you’re in your shell and what it will take to get you out of it.

You may like to email me and tell me a little bit about yourself, and I will recommend the best course of action for you.

The sky's the limit as to what can be achieved but the key to getting most out of it is to participate fully - or "to go for it". This is more in your intention and an attitude of mind than anything else.

At the same time you will be having fun and  the combination of these two is very powerful.

Below are some of the common results that you can expect:

• greater self confidence
• more comfortable performing/speaking in front of groups
• more assertive and able to hold your own with challenging people
• overcome shyness and social awkwardness
• find your voice and the ability to express your feelings with more authenticity
• more relaxed and natural in social situations
• able to speak off the cuff and respond naturally to unexpected challenges
• have more fun in life
• increased energy and aliveness

Participants also have reported:

• getting out of ruts, depression or feeling down
• resolving past traumas and negative life experiences
• getting out of their head and becoming more spontaneous
• freeing themeselves of long standing repressed emotions especially anger
• finding inspiration for new directions
• discovering they are more creative than they thought they were
• healing of chronic fatigue symptoms

Drama and playing out a dramatic character forms a big part of  Making Moves Courses.

We will be working through the Sunflower Effect, a powerful confidence-building system, using an adapted form of drama.  This is designed for people with confidence issues and has worked even for people who feel seriously inhibited.

You will be invited to play out a character which is very different from role play.  If you have had bad experiences of doing role play in assertiveness training or on other training courses you may find this very different - and even quite a lot of fun.

A dramatic character is three dimensional and is closer to the human personality, which gives free rein for you to interpret him/her in any way you would like. There is no right or wrong way to play the character.

You actually instinctively knew how to do this as a child - as playing pretend games is part of the way we develop. Although you may have got a bit rusty- this ability will never leave you - even if you never played dressing up games as a child. It is part of the human make up.

I have a suitcase  of dressing up clothes, hats, brightly coloured fabrics, scarves, shoes, masks and wigs through which you can create your own costumes- and this makes it much easier to step in the shoes of the character

The purpose of working with character is to permit you to express yourself in very different ways than you do in your normal life. And this will stretch your comfort zone. The more you stretch your comfort zone, the more comfortable you feel in situations where you previous felt self-conscious or embarrassed.

You will be working in a group so there will be an opportunity to collaborate with others and this is where the magic begins to happen.

See  Do I need to have any drama experience?

How does the drama in the Sunflower Effect help to build confidence

VIDEO Can’t do drama

If you have a creative block – and this is very common – this is a sign that your natural creative energy is not flowing.

• This may be because it never has i.e. you have a powerful urge to be creative – you’d love to paint, write, dance, act (or any other creative activity) but when you come to do it, you can’t – you feel frozen, incapable of doing anything.
• Or you have had times when your creativity has flowed effortless and now it just isn’t. What is commonly called writer’s block but can come in almost any form i.e not just limited to writing.

You may have tried some of Julia Cameron’s wonderful books, and found that although her exercises really help they do little to dispel the real block, and/or you find it hard to motivate yourself to do the whole programme on your own.

GETTING OUT OF THE HEAD

From working with people over the years and from my own experience of releasing my own creativity, I know that that the thing that blocks us most is in our own head. It is the critical voice inside you which judges and censors everything you do. It tells you, you are going to look stupid, people are going to laugh at you and you won’t be “cool”. This is why talking approaches or anything that requires you to sit in the chair can only help to a certain extent.

A far quicker and more powerful way of releasing the block is through the body. Working through the body will enable you to access the powerful core of your creativity – which lies in the whole of you and not just in your head. The body in fact is a far more powerful source of your true creativity than anything your head can dream up.

If you come to work with me I will give you some simple tools to get out of your head and to allow your body to lead you. This is the fastest track way to outwitting the “judge”. But this alone is not enough for many people. Often the block conceals powerful emotions  and having a vehicle for accessing and expressing those emotions, will get to the core of what is keeping the block in place. Then it will simply dissolve.

For most people this is an effortless process and they find that working through creativity has an incredible effect on their capacity to be creative. They tell me that they are on a creative high for weeks or months afterwards.

THE QUICKEST WAY TO RELEASE A CREATIVE BLOCK

I usually recommend the Improvisation Group which is a very fast way to unlock your creativity. This the quickest and most economic way for most people to get unblocked.

You may also want to join one of my other courses – Breakthrough or Breakthrough Plus or the Breakthrough to Performance Course which works through creativity which offers an opportunity to progressively allow your creativity to flow – exploring through myths, plays or film storylines.

I regularly run Mega ME, an Advanced Workshop, which is  a more intense “creativity attack”. Many people come to Mega ME just to keep their creative juices flowing and to find creative inspiration.

The one day Express Yourself Workshop is aimed at beginners and is another good way to release creativity.

Participants often tell me that after attending one of my courses or workshops - their creativity flows like a dream - they can't stop writing, painting, composing.....

Individual sessions are powerful when there is a deeper issue that is causing causing your creativity to be blocked. Sometimes this can be achieved in just one session particularly in combination with a group or workshop.  Otherwise 3-6 sessions will get to the bottom of the deepest creative blocks.

Take a look at the article Brief Encounter which describes how I worked individually with a client – and how the creative process got to the core of what was keeping her blocked in a powerful and moving way.

Article: Overcoming writer’s block: how to write like a dream even when you think you can’t

Article: How to be more creative

Article: How to be creative – even if you think you’re not

People attend my confidence courses mostly because they have confidence issues to resolve both at work and in their personal lives.  Sometimes one is more critical than others. Sometimes people are able to get sponsorship from their employers to join one of the courses.

I run most of our confidence courses and workshops in London.

Most courses take place in Central London around the Camden Town/Euston/Kings Cross areas where there are easy transportation links. Many people travel long distance to attend the courses i.e. Leeds, Leicester, Birmingham

The venue of the course will be indicated in the course details which you will be sent when  you have booked your place. There is usually a map on the course page so you can see exactly where it is and how to get there.

Weekend courses and workshops enable people in other parts of the UK and abroad to attend.

From 2020, I will be training other people to run the courses so that they will be more available in other parts of the country.

Most of my courses are over a span of 12 weeks, once every week in the evening from around 7:45pm to 9:45pm. I also run an early evening course from around 5.30-7.30pm.

The one day Express Yourself Workshop, runs all day on a weekend from 10:30am to 5:30pm, with an hour break for lunch. This is the same for all our weekend courses (Breakthrough Plus and workshops).

The taster evening – Express Yourself Introductory Evening runs on a weekday from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

I run most of the evening courses 3 times a year i.e Breakthrough Group, Finding Your Voice Group and Beginners Improvisation for Social Confidence. Courses usually start January, May and Sept . I run the Express Yourself Workshop three times a year and this usually happens in between the start time of the 12 week courses i.e. Feb/March, June/July, Oct/Nov.

Breakthrough Plus for Confidence and Self Esteem  runs twice a year usually in the Spring and Autumn

Please refer to the Calendar for my upcoming events.

Most people comment on just how supportive the other people are and how quickly they feel at home and part of the group. The spirit of camaraderie between people and the sense of connection with other people is what makes the experience so heartwarming.

• Many come because they are introverts, shy or reserved, and they’ve had enough of hanging out on the sidelines. They want to move into centre stage. They want to be more confident at work and be seen and valued for their gifts and talents.
• Most come because their daily lives do not give an outlet for self-expression and as a result, feel blocked in their expression. They live busy lives and do jobs in which everything is about being serious. They want to express themselves, be more of who they truly are and to play more in their lives.
• Some people who come feel that they are on some kind of a path of personal growth or personal improvement. They know there is something more to life that accumulating money and possessions.
• Some come because they feel they have lost touch with their inner child and that a vital spark is missing. As a result, they feel exhausted and deadened a lot of the time. Perhaps they never played much as a child because of family dynamics and became “a little adult before their time”. They want to play but don’t believe they can.
• Some have gone through a lot of difficult or traumatic experiences that have caused them to withdraw into their shell. They want to break free of these, without having to stir up a lot of painful memories.
• Some are wanting an alternative to head based or talking approaches. They've had enough of talking about their issues, and find when they work with creativity; suddenly they begin to shift in ways they could never have imagined.
• Some are creative people who have lost their creative spark or want to be more visible in the world.

There is a wonderful group of people who are drawn to Making Moves. Many go on to become good friends with other people they have met on their course or workshop.

SEE Who is it for?

There are usually 12-14 participants on most Making Moves confidence courses. Some courses have less - some a few more.

t is hard to say an average age – because we don’t ask people their age – but we have had people in their early 20’s to 50’s and also older. We do get quite a lot of younger people  because this is a problem that afflicts many younger people. Older people often experience this kind of discomfort after they’ve had a traumatic experience, or because they haven’t got over issues experienced in childhood.

One of the lovely things that happens in the courses is that there is a bonding of all ages – you really don’t notice that some people are older and others younger or that they come from many different walks of life – because the group is meeting each other in a completely different way.

My assistant will send you a link to a Google Map and detailed directions to the venue when sending our confirmation email to you. Or you can refer to the Google map on each course webpage.

Shortly before the start of the course, we will send you a joining reminder and directions to the venue again.

Please bring with you or wear comfortable clothes that you can move in and a jumper (be prepared for different temperatures). You can change at the venue.

I prefer people to be without shoes because then they can be more responsive - and some venue we use may request that shoes are removed (and these are carpeted). Some of the venues aren't carpeted and in colder weather, I don't want you to have cold feet. So you might want to bring some extra socks to wear or very light shoes.

However, people have participated in all kinds of footwear. Very heavy footwear is going to limit your movement and make it hard for you to feel free, and high heeled shoes/boots will definitely make it very hard for you to participate fully.

Funny enough, I do get a very high proportion of foreigners or people with different ethnic origins in my courses –  quite often there are more “foreigners” than "English people"!

I don’t know quite why that is?

By foreigners, I mean people from many parts of the world that are working or living in the UK. Many do not have English as their first language.

But there is also a very rich ethnic mix of people originating from other countries.

How good does your English need to be?
It needs to be good enough, by which I mean that if you are able to hold down a job and converse with other English speakers, your English is probably good enough. Your English, in fact, may improve because the courses encourage you to speak spontaneously. This is particularly so if you have a heavy accent.

Many foreigners find their confidence is effected because English is not their first language, even though they speak English very well.

See Who benefits from the Sunflowere Effect Courses

We accept debit card or credit card through our online booking sytem, BACS  or electronic transfer or cheque.

We require at least a non refundable deposit upon booking to book your place on the course. You may also choose to pay in full or by installments (to make it easier for you).

More information will be detailed in our booking email to you.

See our Terms and Conditions for booking any of our courses.

The taster evening – Express Yourself Introductory Evening costs £17.50.

The one day Express Yourself Workshop costs £95.

12 week courses cost between £300-£375 depending on which course you do and all courses can be paid in 3 installments if you prefer.

You will find these details at the bottom of each course webpage including dates and where the courses take place. Click here to access the Calendar for more details.

You can book for all my courses and events online.

All courses include details of how you book your place by visiting the course page on this website, where you can send a confidential email to Claire about the course.

See calendar  for current and upcoming events.

If you’re not sure which course is right for you, we suggest setting up a time to speak to Claire about your needs.

Book a telephone consultation with Claire

We do provide refreshment (tea, coffee, biscuits) at weekend courses but do not provide meals.

We suggest that you bring bottled water with you, and often you can help yourself to a glass of water if there is a kitchen at the venue.

There are plenty of cafes and eating places near the venues where we hold our courses and you can have your meal before or after coming to the evening or early evening courses.

Because I know how effective  my groups and courses  I offer the No Moves Money Back Guarantee,. If you attend 10 out of the 12 sessions of any course and participate fully in the sessions and you have gained nothing from the experience then I will refund you money in total.

If you are participating in a weekened event – you need to attend the full workshop or course – and not be more more than 15 minutes late at the start of each day.

What do you mean “participate in full”?

I mean that you’re putting your best foot forward. You are visibly “doing your best” and engaging in the process then I will happily refund your money.  That doesn’t mean that you won’t have resistance, won’t be scared or won’t have challenges to overcome. I will support you to the best of my ability with overcoming these.

It is just that if you are half-hearted about participating then you will get half-hearted results – that’s the way it is.

I also ask you to wait 6 weeks after a group, course or workshop has finished before you apply for your refund, because it can take a little while for the shifts to take place.

The Refund Process

• I will then ask you to fill out a form in which you identify what you were seeking to achieve and why it didn’t work for you.
• We will then have a conversation on the phone about your experience and why the course didn’t work for you.
• If out of that it become clear that you were doing the wrong course, I will offer you an alternative course free of charge because I want you to get results.
• If you do not get any benefit from the second course and fulfill the requirements above then I will refund 100% of your money.

No you don't.

Most people have little or no experience of drama.

My courses are designed for people with little or no drama experience or have had negative experiences of drama - and will help you overcome your fears of being in the spotlight, of looking ridiculous or expressing yourself.

It is not like a drama class where you are put on the spot and told to do something that you don't want to do. See I know I will be made to look silly

Or, where there is an expectation for you to perform well.The thing that blocks most people's confidence and self expression is the pressure to perform and to look good - which is an ego state and which blocks so many other areas of life too.

The Sunflower Effect will take you beyond ego, competitiveness and the usual trappings of drama to a means of expressing yourself through powerful characters within carefully chosen stories.

During the session you will be invited to take this pressure off yourself, to be prepared to make mistakes,  to go with the flow of your natural instincts and to have fun. This produces a very safe atmosphere for self-expression.

The funny thing is that when you stop being so focused on the result, this opens up a space where you may surprise yourself as to what you are able to achieve.

Because it's not about being good or bad at drama, it's about what you experience when you are playing the characters. This focus will put you much more in touch with your "essential self" and what really matters to you in your life.

I've created a video on this very subject - which you may like to view which won't display on this page

See the article Express Yourself for more detail about how this works.

If you've had some drama experience
For the same reason, people who had previous experience of drama find the Sunflower Effect, a very different way of working because it's not about performing and putting on a good show.

It's about exploring the truth within the character and through that liberating your self to be more of who you truly are. See confidence for performers

More questions
And if you have any questions that are not answered on this website please don't hesitate to send me an email

how to get unstuck

Yes – that is why we limit the group number to around 12 so that we can get to know you properly. This helps me to address a specific confidence issue or difficulty you are having.

Keeping the participant numbers low means I can treat each person as an individual and help them with their specific issues. In most of the courses you will have support to work on an issue specific to you. This is why I ask for slightly higher levels of commitment because each course is designed so that each participant receives an allocated amount of time in order to make the breakthrough they are seeking.

If you have a lot of issues that are blocking your confidence you may need to attend more than one course, and many people do this automatically because they see how much they are getting from participating and can see how much more they can achieve by doing more courses or in some case a series of individual sessions. 

Occasionally I may suggest that you do an individual session if you are getting stuck or hitting a "roadblock" as this will help you to progress faster.

You will not be pressurised into doing anything you don't want to do.

You will be invited to take your time and to take small steps.

If you were shamed as a child for "being silly" (or even as an adult), then this will have affected many aspects of your self-expression and may have lead to you living your life in a "small way". It will certainly have left a scar. You might even discover that "being silly" is actually incredibly freeing and as good for you as vitamins or nutritious food.

Getting through this could make a significant difference to many areas of your life including career, social situations, and the ability to have more fun in life.

... how can do I do a course that involves being in a group?

I totally understand. I can remember feeling like that myself.

It is absolutely true that groups can be rather frightening and overwhelming places, particularly for introverts and reserved people.

There is often a lot of pressure to perform, to look good in which the more socially adept outshine everyone else.

The impact of this is that most reserved people retreat even more into their shell - even if they have valuable information and perceptions to contribute - afraid that they will be shot down for saying something silly.

It is only through a group that you can break through your fear of being in a group

But groups as well as being terrifying - can also be places where you can make your biggest shifts.

I see much faster progress in this area for people who come into one of my courses than almost anything else - because it is only through a group that you can break through your fear of being in a group.

My courses are very supportive and empathic where criticism is discouraged, and acknowledgement encouraged. In other words, unlike most teaching situations, you will receive acknowledgement for what you are achieving.

Plus participating in the activities of the group will stretch you and expand you in ways you can't imagine. Then the next time you're back in a group situation - you will be surprised how comfortable and relaxed you feel. And you may find yourself speaking up and receiving a very positive response.

A positive experience of being in a group

Thus Making Moves groups will help you build your confidence and give you a positive experience of being in a group - enabling you to break through this pattern for good.
We live in a culture in which people are becoming more and more isolated, which makes it all the more important for us to find strength in groups. With the support of a group, almost anything can be achieved.

I would suggest that you start with the Breakthrough Group, Breakthrough Plus Group, Express Yourself Workshop or get a taste of what to expect by coming to the next Intro Evening.

See the calendar for when the next course is starting.

Being terrified of groups need not be the end of the road for you.

I totally understand. You don’t want to commit yourself to something that might turn out to be  a waste of time and money – particularly if both were in short supply. I wouldn’t want to either.

This is why I offer the No Moves Money Back Guarantee, because I know how effective  my groups and courses are.

See full details of how the No Moves Money Back Guarantee works in practice.

Thanks for voicing your concern. I TOTALLY  understand.

What you discuss is exactly what the session is about - freeing yourself from the self consciousness and embarrassment and being out of your comfort zone.

Who would want to expose themselves to feeling like that?

So here's a few things that might reassure you.

• You don't have to dress up. It's optional. Most people do because its actually easier - you leave behind yourself and all that self consciousness.
•  Whilst you may feel self conscious, at times - my courses are a very safe place for you to break through in this area but dressing up does not need to be part of it. You can breakthrough without going near the dressing up box.

If you can move from A to B then you can participate.

It's also not about conforming to some outside expectation it's about finding a way of expressing yourself in your own way.

And you may find yourself spontaneously doing this!

I understand how frustrating it must be – if you signed up for the free chapters – and you haven’t yet received anything. The internet is wonderful but security and privacy issues are getting even tighter.

In order to make sure that you are a genuine person and not a spam robot, I use a permission-based service which requires you to CLICK A LINK in an email that was sent to you - in order to comply with the anti-spam laws.  If you do not do this, you will not receive the pdf witht he 3 free chapters.

So I suggest you take a good look in your inbox for this email.

• Or look in your spam/junk folder in case it’s gone there.
• (It’s also a very good idea to immediately add my email address to your address book and my assistant's email (info at makingmoves dot net) if you intend to join one my courses - so you can be sure to receive the booking emails we will be sending to you.)

What if I don’t get the email?
If you didn’t receive the email then either:

• You are in some way in my system – because you are already subscribed. If you don't receive the please contact us and we will send you another copy.
• You may have attempted to subscribe before and didn’t click the link in the email. If so you can try resubscribing. Just return to the sign up pages for the chapters or newsletter.
  

IMPORTANT IF YOU USE GMAIIL

Some time ago gmail changed the way email is displayed in your inbox - and they are always changing things so this may no longer be relevant. Got to your account to see if the new “tabbed” inboxes have been turned on (you’ll see the new tabs across the top of your emails).

1. Click on the Promotions inbox tab. Drag any emails from me and other services you actually want to hear from and drop them onto the tab that says Primary.
2. Then, when it asks if you want future emails to go into your Primary inbox, just click yes. If you want to totally turn off the new tabbed inboxes, just click on the Settings “gear” image at the upper right corner of your inbox and select “Settings.” This may have changed
3. Click the “Inbox” tab and uncheck ALL of the categories except “Primary” then save your changes. Then you can be sure that you will always receive the newsletter.

I hope this helps to resolve any difficulties you were having.

But please let us know if you’re having any problems and we’ll do our best to sort it out.

How you can stop receiving email (newsletters) from me?

You can click the link at the bottom of any email/newsletter we send to you to instantly and securely unsubscribe.

Simply scroll down to the bottom of the the page and click the unsubscribe link. Then it should be fairly easy to unsubscribe. If you're having problems please get in touch. We can unsubscribe you from our end.

And if you’re unsubscribing  because you’re upset with me or the service you’ve received, please let us know. We do appreciate the feedback.

Please contact my assistant on: info at makingmoves dot net or through the form on our contact page.

To change your email address for the newsletter:

Simply scroll down to the bottom of the the page and click the unsubscribe link. Then you will see your details displayed. Then it should be fairly easy to replace your old email address with your new one.

If you're having problems please get in touch. We can change your email address from our end.

Please contact my assistant on: info at makingmoves dot net or through the form on our contact page.

I'm sorry if you've had problems finding a particular page or post on my website.

We are constantly updating the site and sometimes link names get changed -  I have 100 plus pages on this website so things do go adrift.  We really appreciate you letting us know if you are unable to find what you are looking for.

Please contact my assistant  or through the form on the contact page.

FINDING THINGS ON MY WEBSITE TIP

Mostly when you see a blue highlighted phrase or word that is clickable link and will take you to another webpage with more detailed information.

There's three possible solutions.

• The navigation bar across the top is a good place to look first of all, or the links you will find either in the sidebar or in the footer may provide what you're looking for.
• Another is to use the Search facility - you'll find it on the sidebar or the footer of this website. There you can enter what you are looking for and a series of options will come up. Use different search terms until you find the right one.
• The third is to take a look at our sitemap - were you'll find every page currently on the website but there are a lot of them.  It will look something like this. It is either a post i.e. an article on the Making Moves blog,  a page i.e. a regular webpage, or a FAQ i.e. a Frequently Asked Question.

This XML Sitemap Index file contains 6 sitemaps - and the first 3 are likely to be the most useful to you. Click on any of these links - but be aware there may be a lot of pages to scroll through!

I hope you find what you are looking for.

If not please contact us through the form on our contact page.

This section intends to give you some background if you want to understand a bit more about The Sunflower Effect, how it works and why it's so effective at building confidence for quiet, shy, reserved and introverted people...

... no matter how inhibited they believe themselves to be.

I developed the system over twenty years based on my experiences of being a shy introvert – using the tools and techniques that really worked for me - that enabled me to move from wallflower and sunflower in a relatively short amount of time. See more about my story.

Drama was the last thing that I wanted to do - but it was the thing that worked the best and fastest in overcoming my inhibitions.

The Sunflower Effect will work for you even if you have little or no drama experience – or even any aptitude for drama.

See Do I need to have any drama experience

THE SUNFLOWER EFFECT - AN  ADAPTED FORM OF DRAMA

It works through an adapted form of drama which includes vocal exercises, simple drama games, expressive movement, group explorations, improvisational techniques and the personal development approaches that I have found to be the most effective. You just have to be willing to give it a go!

You actually have nothing to lose, because I offer a 100% money-back guarantee to all new people who join my courses. This means so long as you stick with it, you will see significant progress, and if you go on to participate in a series of courses, you will in time say goodbye for good to your "wallflower" identity for good.

A NON JUDGMENTAL SPACE

The Sunflower Effect offers a non-judgmental space in which you can free yourself of the psychological barriers that are holding you back from achieving what you want in your life.

This might be: being more outgoing and expressive; having more fun in life; being more sociable; being comfortable delivering presentation or standing up in front of groups; having an outlet for your creativity; overcoming blocks to your confidence and life experiences that have seriously undermined your confidence levels.

The approach will enable you to by-pass the mind and connect with your natural instincts and to become aware of a deeper intelligence within you.

The approach is fun, liberating and in many case releases life energy that has become stuck due to emotional repression.

HOW THE SUNFLOWER EFFECT WORKS DIRECTLY WITH UNCONSCIOUS PATTERNS 

It works directly with the unconscious patterns deeply buried within you which is the reason why you feel stuck or have been unable to change in the past.

It does this by using the language the unconscious operates in, story, the language too of dreams.

This is why I work with myths and stories because they able to shift these patterns without you realising what is happening. In fact for many people this process is enormous fun.

making moves courses empower participants to believe they can create the life they want through uncovering and expressing their unique and irrepressible self.

The Sunflower Effect offers a non-judgmental space in which you can free yourself from the psychological barriers that are holding you back.

The approach works through the capacity of drama to bring about significant change in people - using an adapted form of drama  - which goes much further than an ordinary drama class.

WORKING WITH UNCONSCIOUS PATTERNS

It works directly with the unconscious patterns deeply buried within you. It does this by using the language the unconscious operates in, story, the language too of your dreams. So it's a bit like being able to communicate with people who only speak a foreign language, in their own tongue.

We are thus able to work directly with the unconscious in the language it understands and resolve many issues that otherwise would remain insoluble.

Our psychology is often a mystery to us and we often don't know the reason we feel the way we do - and it is difficult to make changes because the reasons we have shut down or retreated into our shell are so deeply hidden from us, i.e. in our unconscious.

The photo below shows a participant making a significant shift. At one level she is having great fun expressing herself - but at a deeper level she is liberating the parts of her that have been locked away

PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERPINNING

Both Jung and Freud understood the power of working with stories to effect powerful psychological change - particularly when working with ancient myths some of which are many thousands of years old. In fact, this healing system was an ancient form of medicine and has been around for thousands of years - and it worked.

Making Moves draws on Jung and Freud's work but takes it a step further through enacting powerful stories- you are working directly with your unconscious mind but also liberating yourself physically of old habits and behaviours.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL

I also draw on Joseph Campbell's work - a wonderful man who encouraged us all to "follow our bliss", and he created what is called "The Hero's Journey" - a way of seeing our journey in life and to overcome obstacles in our way.

This is of course very relevant to people who have encountered a lot of obstacles in their lives, offering them a pathway to realising that they can overcome even their toughest obstacles.

Joseph Campbell was a mythologist, and he saw how ancient myths were still relevant to us today. Indeed he went further than that to say that working with myths put you back in accord (in harmony) with Nature. What he means by this - is that working with myths enables you to access your true self, your natural self.

This is one of the key reason that the Sunflower Effect is so effective at enabling you to access your natural confidence. This is the confidence that is within you - but is deeply buried due to your personality or life experiences. See my book From Wallflower to Sunflower - sign up for your three free chapters.

He also saw that as a civilisation that we are hopelessly out of touch with Nature.  This is another reason why we are stuck in our heads and cut off from our instincts and intuition. And this is even truer in the twenty-first century with the increasing impact that electronic gadgets are making on our everyday lives.

I was delighted when Phil Cousineau, author of the seminal book on Joseph Campbell's work, recognised how much Joseph Campbell would have loved the approach I have developed - if he was still alive. He saw my approach as fulfilling Campbell's vision.

"Claire Schrader’s new book ... fulfils Joseph Campbell’s vision of a remythologized world, one in which we would be, as he loved to quote Cezanne, more “in accord with nature.”
Phil Cousineau, author of The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on his Life and Work

BY-PASSING YOUR MIND

In my courses, you will draw on all this as well as learning how to bypass your mind and connect with your natural instincts through which it is possible to truly free yourself of the limitations, fears and anxieties that keep you locked away.

This is also what will put you in touch with your natural confidence.

See also The Curse of Being Too Nice and The Curse of Emotion

My training is in dramatherapy – which has enabled me to work in a safe and empowering way, as well as speeding up the process in which change can take place – so that my clients can make much faster progress than I did.

See my background and training.

There is, of course, an awful lot more to the process, based in complex psychological theory. You can find out more about how The Sunflower Effect in my book From Wallflower to Sunflower - the quiet person's path to natural self-confidence

If you are a counsellor, psychotherapist or a professional working in this field, you may want to take a look at the textbook I edited Ritual Theatre.

Making Moves delivers educational, self improvement/personal development courses, workshops and individual sessions for normal adults.

The approach is therapeutic and healing certainly. It depends on how you define the word “therapy”. Certainly some of the results people achieve are as powerful as achieved in therapy, in certain cases more so.

Personal Development

My courses are designed for people who feel motivated to shift areas of stuckness, so that you can be more effective and more empowered in their lives.  Most of my own personal work (20+ years) has been under the personal development banner and so my approach is more orientated towards personal development and empowerment – not because there is something wrong with you for which you need treatment.

However my training is in dramatherapy and I use dramatherapy structures because this provides a very safe environment for you to make the shifts you seek. See my training and background.

This means that if a deeper issue should surface I will be able to help you and may suggest that you do some individual work or do one of my more advanced courses.

My courses are not designed for who have a diagnosed psychological condition – although people who have been through some kind of “break-down” and have fully recovered have participated in my courses without any detrimental effects.

Emotional Baggage

Most people have emotional baggage of some kind, and whilst it’s sitting there inside you, it will be hampering your every move and ever attempt to move forward in your life.

I draw extensively on methods and techniques that I have found the most potent and useful. As I work with stories and myths, we are working directly with the language that the unconscious work in  and this enables us to work with the deeper cause of your issues.

This commonly gets much quicker to the root of your suffering than most traditional forms of therapy. And helps to shift the energy that has been keeping you stuck, so as to bring transformation to trauma, in a way that is liberating and empowering.

You will not be asked to delve into or speak about painful experiences in your past – as we are working in metaphor (through myths and stories) and there is often no need.

The enactment of the story/drama/myth does the “work” for you.

I often work with people who are also in traditional psychotherapy and this can be very powerful – as the my approach has a way of by-passing the mind and uncovering deep levels of awareness – which can be explored in further depth with your psychotherapist.

Many people know they need to do some work of themselves, but find the boundaries or the language of psychotherapy rather limiting. And some people have had bad experiences in therapy that has left them feeling frustrated and manipulated. So my approach offers an alternative, working in a way that is closer to coaching or other forms of motivational work.

The importance of Laughter

Laughter is very important part of the process.  Laughter therapy is coming into vogue these days but at Making Moves we have been laughing for years – often until our sides split – and this I feel is why people shift so fast.

And in my more advanced courses we have been crying too – crying at the wonder of what it is to be human or because we empathise deeply with someone else’s story, in the same way as you may find yourself deeply moved by a film, play or book.

This of course is powerfully healing.

If you are looking for ways of supporting your clients in developing their confidence and self-expression, particularly if they are shy, inhibited or introverted.

I am always happy to collaborate with you in a way that is complementary to the work that you are doing with them. I usually suggest either the Breakthrough Group or the Finding Your Voice Group as a good place to start.

You might want to take a look at Confidence Resources for Therapists, where I outline the different courses I offer to give you more of an idea of what might be right for your client.

How to get started

As a first step, they may want to sign up for the free chapters from my book: From Wallflower to Sunflower.  Many participants find very helpful before participating in one of my courses.

See also my confidence resources section which has links to helpful articles and other information.

They can also check out the inspiring stories written by numerous past participants on subjects ranging from overcoming trauma,  sexual abuse to the healing of the womb twin survivor trauma.

I suggest you get in touch and tell me more about your client and what you feel their needs are - and I'll be back in touch with you. I am always grateful for your referral.