Our Mission
HEAL’s mission is for our holistic therapy courses to provide every one of our students with an advanced theoretical insight, excellent practical ability, keen self-awareness and an accredited qualification in the holistic therapy of their choice, ultimately empowering them to run a successful holistic therapy practice of their own.
Our vision is that, once qualified, all of our students will greatly benefit the health of their clients while also enjoying a greater understanding of their own mental and physical state, along with immense job satisfaction and a good work-life balance.
In order to achieve our mission our teachers are fully qualified, accredited practitioners using modern accelerated learning techniques and drawing on their own healing and entrepreneurial experiences to provide the best possible holistic education and advice.
60 Second interview with
Mick Lawrence
and
Hareth Al Tahan
HEAL's accredited teachers and founders.
How did you discover holistic therapy?
Mick: Growing up in the 60’s I developed a non-conformist view of life and became curious about alternative ways of gaining a deeper understanding of my own mental and physical wellbeing and the world at large. Initially I took a fairly conventional career path studying maths and science at Hull University and becoming a maths teacher. I always felt there was something more I could be doing to make a positive difference to the world around me.
In 1992 a friend gave me a book on Neuro Linguistic Programming and I suddenly realised where my vocation lay.
Hareth: I had a serious illness and traditional medicine let me down so I simply wasn’t getting better. I was lucky enough to be introduced to holistic therapy and I made a swift and full recovery.
How was the idea for HEAL born?
Mick: In 2001 I enrolled on a Foundation and Certificate course in Kinesiology at TASK where I met and befriended Hareth. We both went on to gain our Kinesiology Diplomas and in 2007 I began teaching for TASK.
Hareth: From our experiences as both students and teachers of the Kinesiology course, Mick and I had developed a unique viewpoint about how the course could be improved. We began discussing the possibility of a new modern way of teaching the Kinesiology courses and potentially many other holistic therapy courses.
Mick: No school was offering students the option to study all the essential additional courses such as Anatomy & Physiology and First Aid and Nutrition all under the same roof. We realised that by using modern accelerated learning techniques and offering students all the academic and practical tools necessary to become a qualified and successful holistic therapy practitioner, we could help them to qualify more easily and more quickly in a genuinely stimulating and forward thinking environment. More than that we realised we could create a thriving community of therapists who could support and learn from one another as well as from us and ultimately offer the best possible service to their clients and contribute positively to the changing face of modern medicine.
What do you love about holistic therapy?
Mick: Holistic therapy is a highly effective (and slightly rebellious!) alternative to the paradigm and confines of conventional medicine. It gently heals both the body and the mind allowing both practitioner and client to lead a healthy and enlightened life.
Hareth: I love the intricate connection between mind and body and the absence of side effects in the gentle and effective nature of holistic treatment, which is reflected in the holistic Hippocratic Oath, “do no harm”.
What are your professional qualifications?
Mick: I’m a Master Practitioner NLP and Teacher Trainer with Diplomas in Kinesiology Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling, an ITEC Level 3 certificate in Anatomy & Physiology , Massage and Aromatherapy. In addition I have a BSc in Pure Maths and I’m a member of Mensa. I also spent a year training with Richard Bandler the creator of NLP and the infamous hypnotist and self-development guru Paul McKenna.
Hareth: Certificate and Diploma in Systematic Kinesiology, Diplomas in Integrative Counselling and NLP, ITEC Diploma in Massage, Anatomy & Physiology and Nutrition, Guild Certificate in Adult Teaching and a Certificate in Spiritual Healing and Reiki level 3.
Why do you teach holistic therapy courses?
Mick: To wake the world up to the true nature of health and healing.
Hareth: To enable others to explore their own mind-body connection and through treatments, spread that knowledge to yet more people.
What do you enjoy about teaching?
Mick: The interaction with a wide variety of people from all walks of life and the lively exchange of interesting ideas that we encourage on our HEAL therapy courses.
Hareth: Seeing the sparkle in my students’ eyes as they take hold of an idea that is new to them and begin to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of holistic therapy through our HEAL therapy courses.
What are your main talents as a teacher?
Hareth: Putting ideas across to our HEAL students simply and effectively so everyone gets it!
Mick: Using humour and quick wittedness to disseminate essential information and get the best from my students.
Why did you become a holistic therapist?
Mick: To make a positive difference in my own life and in the life of everyone I come into contact with from my students, family and friends to the.
Hareth: As holistic therapy had such an wonderfully positive effect on me when I was ill myself, I decided to make it my vocation so I could help others in the same way.
What is the most rewarding thing about being a holistic therapist?
Hareth: the immense job satisfaction. It’s great to see how happy and grateful clients are when holistic therapy gives them their health back.
Mick: Watching people develop and change themselves and their lives for the better and knowing that you have helped them achieve this.