MEET YOUR THERAPIST
Finding the right therapist is important. We naturally know if someone aligns with us or not. We intent to share as much information as possible with you so you can get a feel for who we are, how we are different and whether our offering and approach might be right for you.
Christine Rivers, PhD
My name is Christine Rivers and I am a qualified and registered integrative hypnotherapist with psychotherapeutic training, qualified health and lifestyle coach and Professor of Mindfulness and Business at the University of Surrey.
I am curious about how we can understand our inner world, create new meaning and knowledge about our world and integrate these into our new way of being. Throughout this process of healing ourselves, I find the use of different therapeutic approaches such as talking, hypnosis, mindfulness and embodied practices helpful and supportive.
Based on my own experience of therapy especially before my therapist training, just talking did not help me enough to understand myself better - why I was anxious, angry or reacted unkind and just wanted to run away from my responsibility as a parent of three children including twins. Therapy felt exhausting, slow and unclear. I often felt like I was going round in circles, which only exacerbated the problem instead of freeing my mind.
I realised, I needed something else that helped me to move from my head into the body. The combination of hypnosis, mindfulness and talking was very powerful and suddenly, I arrived at my desired outcome much faster. My thoughts and emotions changed, the way I responded changed. I learned to love and accept myself, be kind to my self and others despite my quirks. Through change my physical syndromes and pains (e.g. IBS, Panic attacks, Migraines) disappeared.
For some just talking might work really well and I am happy to offer that, for others working with imagination, the body or something else might be more suitable. I am committed to work collaboratively to identify how to best work through your presenting issue(s) in order to get to your desired outcome as quick as possible and with long lasting impact.
Clinical hypnosis, embodied and emotion-focused therapy, mindfulness including art-based methods, lifestyle medicine and talking therapy are my therapy tools of choice.
I am fully insured with Balens and enhanced DBS checked. I comply with UKCP Code of Practice and Code of Ethics.
How am I different?
I am driven by curiosity about the world, which led me to pursue a career in academia first before embarking upon a path to become a therapist. I am a Professor of Mindfulness and Business at University of Surrey, UK and Health and Mindfulness Coach. I have taught and practiced mindfulness for many years (e.g. Yoga, Meditation and Breathwork), which led me to establish my first business in 2022: Mindfulness Spaces.
My therapeutic approach is underpinned by my research in mindfulness, therapeutic training and experience as a coach. I developed a three step framework UCI to work with the whole of you.
I am interested in understanding your issues from a cognitive, emotional and physical level in the context of your world (e.g. work, home, lifestyle, habits). To explore and understand your world from these three different lenses allows us to gain deep insights about your thoughts, emotions and physical experiences. These insights are required to work at a deeper level and help us to create new meaning, new knowledge and new ways of thinking, feeling and physically experiencing.
Clinical hypnosis, embodied and emotion-focused therapy, mindfulness including art-based methods, lifestyle medicine and talking therapy are my therapy tools of choice to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and create new meaning of our issues and world. Through this approach we learn to integrate our insights into life and we can make real changes pretty fast with long lasting positive impact reflecting your desired outcome. For me that is the goal of successful therapy.
To understand, create and integrate further enables us to free our mind, get rid of contractions and distractions that no longer serve us. We can be more content and at ease with our experience because we learn how to control our consciousness, which is the key to free our mind. I know that we all have the ability to free our mind. If I can, you can.
At present I work with adults, from 18+ years old. Based on my extensive experience as an academic and parent of twins, I am also very welcoming to young adults 18-25 years and parents/guardians of multiples/ twins.
Other facts about me:
I am Austrian and live in England since 2006 and I speak German and English fluently. I love dogs, being in nature and I am blessed with three children including twins.
My qualifications
2005 Master of Philosophy: Communications and Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria.
2010, Doctorate of Philosophy: Human Computer Interaction and Remote Collaboration, University of Surrey, UK.
2018 Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching, Association of Executive Coaching, London, UK.
2021 Awarded Professorship of Mindfulness, University of Surrey, UK.
2021 Diploma in Meditation Teaching, British School of Meditation, London, UK.
2022 Certificate in Yoga Teaching, House of Yoga, London, UK.
2024 Certificate in Breathwork Teaching, YogaLap, Portugal.
2024, European Certificate in Lifestyle Medicine, Health and Lifestyle Advisor, European Lifestyle Medicine Organisation, Belgium.
2025 Certificate in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy, National College for Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, UK.
Memberships
Member of British School of Meditation since 2021.
Associate member of National Society of Talking Therapies (NSTT) since 2025
Accredited member of Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) since 2025.
Registered UKCP Psychotherapist Trainee.
My qualifications
2005 Master of Philosophy: Communications and Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria.
2010, Doctorate of Philosophy: Human Computer Interaction and Remote Collaboration, University of Surrey, UK.
2018 Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching, Association of Executive Coaching, London, UK.
2021 Awarded Professorship of Mindfulness, University of Surrey, UK.
2021 Diploma in Meditation Teaching, British School of Meditation, London, UK.
2022 Certificate in Yoga Teaching, House of Yoga, London, UK.
2024 Certificate in Breathwork Teaching, YogaLap, Portugal.
2024, European Certificate in Lifestyle Medicine, Health and Lifestyle Advisor, European Lifestyle Medicine Organisation, Belgium.
2025 Certificate in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy, National College for Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, UK.
Memberships
Member of British School of Meditation since 2021.
Associate member of National Society of Talking Therapies (NSTT) since 2025
Accredited member of Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) since 2025.
Registered UKCP Psychotherapist Trainee.
