Seán Buffonge unwittingly entered the field of change work when he decided to get fit. During this time, he was using various gyms around London and grew tired of having to ask different people for advice, and getting conflicting opinions on how to achieve his desired level of fitness. So he decided to embark on a course with the YMCA to become a fitness instructor. He used this qualification to maintain his fitness and he also began personally training clients on a one to one basis and facilitating group sessions, such as aerobic classes and circuit training.

Seán realised over time that meanwhile he could help people shape their bodies, their thinking often would not change, which sometimes lead them back into unhealthy behaviour patterns. 

This realization led him to the notion of supporting people to achieve positive change and freedom of negative habits by also shaping their thoughts, feelings and behaviour, which would in turn empower them to achieve their dreams and desires, and thus help people achieve their full potential, both mentally and physically. 

So, Seán began his quest to facilitate change in others. He chose to start in the field of substance misuse and addiction. During his early years in the addiction field, he noticed that habits, phobias, addiction and substance misuse were brought about by choices and old thought processes that individuals had built on over days, months and years. This is one of the reasons why Seán believes that these problems can fundamentally be dealt with in the same way, through the provision of support, the empowerment of individuals and in altering attitudes of and responses to everyday life by challenging their core beliefs. By introducing these new concepts of thinking, people can achieve real long lasting change.

During his time working in the drug and alcohol field, it became apparent very early on that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI) were popular models used within the field to facilitate change. He realised the value of CBT and MI when eliciting change in people, not just in addiction and substance misuse but also in any aspect of a person’s life where they wanted to create change.

As time went on, Seán realised that even though CBT and MI were essential aids in empowering people, there were other tools that were equally powerful in creating positive change in others, particularly over a shorter period of time, such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

Seán did some research on the subject of NLP and decided that this would be a powerful method of encouraging individuals to create, develop and maintain long lasting change.

Owing to the vast array of organisations providing training in NLP, Seán opted against flipping a coin and thought it a better idea to go directly to the co-founder of NLP, Dr. John Grinder. This was a very inspiring time for Seán. He proceeded to become certified in Classic and New Code NLP.

What Seán found was that because NLP can be used with any model of change, annexing it to CBT and MI further increased his ability to achieve change in others and himself more quickly, and for longer.

Seán has endeavoured to develop his services and beliefs to be accordingly responsive to the complex issues clients present, using a combination of models, but predominately using NLP, CBT and MI.

Seán facilitates CBT/NLP seminars, one to one sessions and motivationally speaks on how to both elicit and sustain change. He also continues to support clients with regards to changes around their physical fitness and strongly believes in the significance of strengthening the mind and the body as one.

Seán’s clients range from business owners, professionals, parents, adolescents and any individuals who face challenges in their lives, thus being an illustration of his belief in the fact that acknowledging differences and diversities are a fundamental key to embracing the individual’s needs.

Seán believes that we have everything that we could ever want, here and now, within our reach and that the only thing that really stops us from realising our dreams and aspirations is the way we use our minds. He strongly believes that once we achieve mastery of our minds, we can achieve all of our dreams and goals by realigning our thoughts to things that benefit and ultimately reward us, rather than limit us.

What Is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy based on thoughts, assumptions, beliefs, and behaviours, with the aim of influencing negative emotions that relate to inaccurate perceptions of events.

What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)?
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is the practice of understanding how people organise their thinking, feeling, language and behaviour, which produce the subsequent results. NLP is a process, which creates excellence and change by using modelling, language, visualisation and body language.

What is Motivational Interviewing (MI)?
Motivational interviewing is a client-centred counselling style that focuses on eliciting behaviour change by helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence.