More about Chris
After a first degree specialising in psychology, Chris graduated in medicine with distinction in 1986. Employed for several years as a junior hospital doctor, he suffered a severe burnout reaction to the stress and sleep deprivation of often working over a hundred hours in a week. He became a leading figure in the campaign to improve junior doctors’ working conditions, and made international headlines when, in 1989, he challenged the legal basis of his contract.

Although his case was initially seen as a ‘no-hoper’ in law, after six years and ten court hearings, he eventually won. Before this, many junior doctors believed that little could be done to change the system they worked under. The experience that you could defy pessimism and bring about a successful outcome, even if this initially seemed unlikely, stimulated an enduring interest in the psychology of breakthroughs and personal power. This prompted Chris to train in a range of approaches to facilitating change, including humanistic psychology, motivational interviewing, positive psychology, group facilitation, family therapy and systemic interventions with organisations. His interest in the psychology of change also led him to the addictions treatment field, an area where he has worked for more than fifteen years. His book Find Your Power brings together the tools, insights and strategies he has found make the biggest difference when there is something we want to change.

Another theme important to Chris is the holistic approach, which he first became interested in as a medical student over 20 years ago. He was at the founding conference of the British Holistic Medical Association in 1983, and through this helped set up a holistic education programme for health care students in London. Chris now teaches holistic thinking to medical students in Bristol and clinical psychology trainees in Sheffield.

One of the key words of the holistic approach is context. Medical problems are seen in the context of the whole person, where mind and body are viewed as a single interconnected system. As individual health is importantly influenced by the social and environmental context we live in, a holistic approach to medicine also attends to what’s happening in the bigger picture of our world. This is particularly important at the moment, as many of the biggest threats to human health are related to planetary issues like global warming, resource depletion and rising toxin levels. For example, the world’s oil supplies are likely to start running out in the next few decades, leading to disruption of food production and distribution systems that are dependent on oil. This could lead to food shortages in counties like Britain that are net importers of food.

What most concerned Chris was the way that big issues like these were either ignored by mainstream media or viewed as beyond our power to change. He saw a clear parallel to the denial and hopelessness often experienced by those with severe addiction problems. For example, someone dependent on alcohol may minimise problems caused by their drinking because they fear they might not be able to cope without it. In a similar fashion, countries and companies dependent on oil have sought to block action on global warming or even deny that there is such a problem. As an addictions specialist, Chris saw that his experience of helping people face and tackle disturbing realities could also be applied to global issues. Some of his workshops specifically address the issue of how we find our power to respond to concerns about our world. See The Great Turning for more on this.

Facing global issues is sometimes thought of as a depressing activity, yet Chris’s approach is centrally about embracing more joy in life. As he puts it, “joy doesn’t come from banishing sadness, but from listening to the signals painful feelings offer and then finding our power to respond in a way that improves things”. Whether in treating people with addictions, in his personal power courses or in workshops addressing global issues, Chris’s enthusiasm, interest and skill is in helping people do this.

back to the top