Meet Mick…

What do you get when you cross an ex-Army radio communications expert with a nurse, and then sprinkle in a bit of Antarctic exploration and a stint on a North Sea oil rig? Well, you get Mick, who is one of our therapists here at Cavendish specialising in hypnotherapy and Reiki.

Mick has been full time at Cavendish since 2013 but prior to that he certainly had an interesting

career. He joined the army at 16, completing three tours of Northern Ireland plus tours in Gibraltar, Belize and Cyprus. After 10 years in the army, Mick used his skills in radio communications to work at the Rothera research station in the Antarctic followed by working on oil rigs off the Norfolk coast. Whilst working on the rigs, Mick became interested in the work of the medical team which inspired him to return to Sheffield to train as a nurse. Upon qualifying, Mick worked as a staff nurse in cardiothoracic surgery, critical care and in intensive care. He later gained a promotion to a Clinical Nurse Specialist role in acute pain management.

As part of his work helping patients with acute pain, Mick noticed that anxiety can amplify pain and relaxation techniques can reduce it. He began to use some simple hypnotherapy techniques on patients then undertook further training in hypno-psychotherapy.

Mick has since left nursing and works for Cavendish as a therapist and assessor. He has a special interest in helping people affected by cancer since both his parents died of the disease. He says of his work,

“I love my job because you can make such a big difference to someone in just an hour. The therapy is specific to the person and I try to tailor it to whatever the person needs that day. No two days are the same.”

Mick is also one of our therapists who you might see on the wards at hospitals in Sheffield as part of our NHS funded outreach work. He enjoys having time to chat to patients and uses his skills to help people relax before scans or after surgical interventions.