Margaret Schwanzer

Holistic Therapist

CHt Certified Hypnotherapist (non-medical), EPP Ethnopsychology Practitioner, D.Emed Ethnomedical Practitioner

Therapeutic counselling, kinesiology and hypnotherapy (non-medical). Sessions begin with a cup of tea and a conversation, and every journey is unique.

WhatsApp Margaret

Margaret’s story.

In her own words.

I vowed that kindness and listening would be the cornerstones of my practice with more time for each client - sessions would begin with a cup of tea, followed by a menu option of the healing modalities with homework to reinforce the process.

My clients would be active participants in their healing recovery. Every journey is unique thus every solution would be tailor made to support success.

As a therapeutic practitioner, my primary goal is to:

  • Kindly and gently support my clients through a process that ensures they make healthy choices in all aspects of their lives, ending the cycle of fear-based decisions that are potentially self-destructive.

  • Focus the overall healing so that the client may become the best version of themselves in all areas of their mental, physical and emotional being.

  • Provide clients seeking spiritual development, deeper opportunity for growth so that they evolve from the inner peace achieved through the processes.

Read Margaret’s whole story

After many attempts at telling my clients success stories and struggling with the Hippocratic oath I took on patient confidentiality, I eventually decided that my story was the best option for me to tell as my healing success became the foundation of my practice.

I became a holistic practitioner by curious default through showing and telling my friends and other people what I was currently doing and had done to completely transform my life.

In 1996, my life unravelled - my father died from cancer and my perfect relationship ended because “I had too many animals”, my ex-husband decided that he was no longer going to pay our daughter’s school fees 1 month after we moved her to a private school and my salary hardly covered our living expenses. At age 36, I started waitressing at night to pay the school fees while trying to hold my fragile sanity together.

In 1998, I married an older man on the rebound, whose promises to take care of me resulted in a chaos that was beyond all things imaginable. 2 months later, I left with my daughter and 4 pets to claw my way back to self-sufficiency.

A friend who was dabbling in the holistic world passed a flippant comment about how “I should try Kinesiology as it really does stuff,” tossed a business card onto my desk adding that she would check up on me after my first appointment. I had nothing to lose and was desperate enough to try anything.

By my third session, I was aware of how much had changed within me. My natural Gemini curiosity was piqued. Each time I had a session, a “lost” part of me returned and my life became more manageable.

I had returned to waitressing part-time while working a full time job. I realised that by picking up a few more shifts, I could afford our living expenses and the basic kinesiology courses that were available. I needed to know the science behind my recovery. This awareness was life changing. I resigned my full time position and attended every class possible.

By 2000, I was able to “practice formally” with my client base growing as they witnessed my metamorphosis. The invaluable experience of consciously knowing what I had done to help myself and others, gave me the confidence to just do and discover more holistic healing modalities.

Each of the carefully chosen modalities that I studied, used the analogy “peeling off of layers to reveal what needed to be healed - like an onion”. I experienced the healing as cupboard doors bursting open with the trauma that had been shoved inside, tumbling out at my feet like black bags whose contents needed to be disposed of.

As I grew within myself, these peeling layers presented like stacked boxes whose contents needed to be reconsidered.

My method of making healthy and positive choices became a refined tool. I learnt that the risks had to be evaluated with the rewards as every decision had positive and negative consequences. I learnt that if there was no clear answer, that waiting for more information was the best approach. There was no need to ever make a decision to keep the peace or please others.

I learnt to trust myself and make decisions that felt right and that I could change the decision for a better outcome as I went along. I was less triggered by old wounds, unmet needs and less likely to default to unhealthy behaviours.

By trusting in myself, came the awareness of conserving my energy when engaging so that I stayed centred, the value of boundaries and the reward of saying no. I listened to my intuition. I felt bulletproof. These new tools became the foundation of my therapeutic practice.

Another foundation tool that I learnt was tolerance. Trying to be patient made me anxious and untrusting of the time that the process took, while being tolerant allowed the process to unfold without fear or judgement.

Tolerance of myself meant safely going through the emotions while assessing the factual evidence of how I had got to this point in my life. It gave me clarity of the consequences of decisions I had made and action I had taken. It gave me the courage to assess the decisions I needed to make and action that should be taken. It gave me the opportunity to review the long list of faults that I had been given by those who had participated in my life and to see the strengths hidden in these perceived faults. It gave me the skill to listen to the noise inside my head, identify whose voices were loudest and why I should listen to my own voice.

At the time I began my journey, South Africa was in the midst of transition. Holistic healing and spirituality were new concepts. People were sceptical and religion was used as an evaluating tool. The internet had just been established and information was limited.

In my exploration, I chose courses to study based on my personal experience of the modality. I keenly observed the therapists and researched where possible before and after each session. Whilst I gathered fascinating information, I was struck most by the realisation that kindness was not necessarily shown when going through a therapeutic process.

I also learnt that therapists were so focused on fixing me within an allocated period, that they did not have time to listen or engage with me as a person. My commitment to my healing was often not regarded as a contribution to the process.

From my years of practising, I have observed that each therapist attracts clients that will benefit from the therapist’s life experience as well as the therapist’s personal interests and areas of expertise. The elements of sincerity and practical value in the advice given by the therapist have to register within the client’s core essence.

What people come for.

Margaret on the areas where most of her clients need support.

I am aware that the bulk of my clients need support in:

  • Self confidence

  • School and academic issues

  • Work place situations

  • Relationship healing

  • Death of a loved one

Self confidence, school and academic issues

My lack of self confidence was rooted in disfluency, shyness and a lack of direction. I stuttered very badly as a child and as a young adult struggled to speak when stressed. I was bright enough to do most things well but was judged on how I did them. Today I would have been diagnosed as ADD. My perceived learning challenges resulted in underachievement and conflict with teachers.

When working with clients who struggle in these areas, I am able to use my experience to identify what they may not able to express for various reasons.

Understanding how my brain “blocked” and discussing what the client experiences in learning situations, we problem solve and trace back to the initial sensitising (root) cause and the subsequent traumas.

Together we find a reason to go to school, an other way to learn, achieve better results and cope with the expectations of the educators.

Work place situations

Most of the clients I see who are experiencing work place stress feel trapped, under valued and directionless.

For some work is a replication of a school environment. For others, they have not had the opportunity to achieve their full potential due to circumstances beyond their control. The need for a guaranteed salary numbed their dreams and trapped their souls. My work life experience was initially driven by a need to have a qualification then a need to survive followed by what to do with the increasing frustration and boredom until I finally found a combination that satisfied all aspects of my inner yearnings.

It took me years to get to this point so during client sessions, we break down the problems into specific areas and strategise a workable plan of action along the key words of why, what, how, when …

Some clients find positive solutions within their current company while most grow beyond and find new opportunities that make their hearts sing once more.

Healing of Relationships

Inter-personal relationships are complex interactions at the best of times and come in different forms - every relationship wants a happy story with no tears

  • Dating

  • Engaged to be married

  • Marriage

  • Parents with children

  • Consensual sex after meeting through dating apps

  • Separation and divorce recovery

  • Partners with ex-es , most often with children from previous relationships

  • Adult children and their parents/parents in-law

When working with relationships, it important to understand how the involved parties came together, the reasons why they came together and the reasons for its survival or dissolution.

My personal relationships have taught me that it is critical to analyse very situation that caused discomfort within the relationship. At times my Gemini brain needed an Excel spreadsheet to help me with the overwhelming data.

In finding a workable solution for a healthy relationship, all factors need to be considered, negative emotions neutralised and expectations analysed. Each situation requires a unique plan that requires tolerance, commitment and a desire for a solution that works for all concerned long term.

The word Love is used in relationships for reasons beyond its actual definition. The basis of Love is mutual respect - without mutual respect there can be no love of any kind. People perceive the chemistry of attraction or desire as love but without mutual respect there will be no sustainable companionship that allows growth and longevity within the relationship as the individuals grow.

The words “I love you” are most often code for ; I need you for financial or cultural security/status upgrade/to escape my current situation/I decided to settle as this may be my last chance for happiness …..and many other reasons.

All relationships have good periods and struggle periods no matter how much work goes into to maintaining their health. It is not possible to agree on everything and respect for the difference of opinions is important. It is not losing and it is not compromise. It is mutual respect.

Conflict in relationship stems from base insecurities - unmet expectations, old wounds, poor communications, lack of trust which then trigger competitive and controlling behaviours.

When there is financial disparity within the relationship with poor communication, the conflict easily becomes abusive. Money is perceived as a powerful tool in most spheres of life. In relationships, it may be used as a weapon. Whilst it is critical that both parties maintain financial independence, a respectful solution has to be agreed over shared expenses. A pre-nuptial or co-habitation agreement may govern the financial health of the relationship, but an Anti Nuptial Contact merely lays down the guidelines of how it will end.

While, it is important to understand why the relationship ended, during separation and divorce recovery, the focus needs to be on how self sufficiency and renewed confidence can be achieved while facing the future alone without repeating old mistakes and defaulting to unhealthy behaviours. The healing process is about rediscovering yourself and embracing the full spectrum of your being.

Death of a loved one, personal loss and miscarriage

Death and loss are frequent occurrences in our lives and even when/if we are prepared on some level, the finality of the end is received uniquely by those experiencing the reality.

Grief is a long and complex journey that needs to be walked through with every possible means of support available. Listening and sincerity are the most important skills required by those supporting the Grieving. Each loss we experience is different and yet the emotions we experience are an accumulation of prior loss.

No loss is less than or comparative - the biggest challenge those grieving have to face is the thoughtless support from those around them who mean to be kind …

No grief process has a time limit. It is deeply personal as the process requires reflection from all aspects. Making major decisions during the first year of loss will have major repercussions long term.

It can take 2-5 years to come to terms with the gap left behind, however the loss is to infinity. There is no replacement or substitute just acceptance of what is for now.

I recently lost my younger brother and my elderly dog within a short span of each other. The pain triggered an existential crisis within that took me across the length and breadth of my full and busy 62 years.

The quote “with death comes healing” resounded throughout my being. I revisited the legacy I would like to leave behind and with deeper wisdom recommitted to my practice ethics.

- Margaret

A menu of ways to work.

Margaret is trained in a range of modalities and chooses from them for each person.

I am a Holistic Therapist who does integrated body processing using the following modalities that are incorporated in my treatments:

Ethno-Medicine

Covers conventional and traditional healing methods. It requires the study of a wide range of subjects that include basic clinical sciences, basic pathology, anatomy and physiology, fundamental pharma-cology, african traditional herbology, ethics, first aid levels 1&2, counselling and communication skills, SA health care systems, nutrition and nutritional medicine, basic psychology, basic immunology

Hypnotherapy (Ethno-Psychology)

Covers the medically recognised methods of hypnosis and the treatment of various issues using hypnosis. Hypnosis occurs when the critical facility between the conscious and subconscious minds drops and information may be reframed to facilitate the objective use of the information. An Ethno-Psychologist also accepts the existence of the spirit world and the influences it may have positively or negatively on the patient.

Body Alignment

This modality recognises past lives and the soul influence on the patients. The corrections range from physiological to spiritual techniques, sacred geometry and energetic supplementation (similar to Homeopathy). The facilitator is required to have a working knowledge of the sciences Anatomy and Physiology. Muscle testing or a pendulum is used to identify the body imbalances and appropriate corrections to achieve balance.

Vibro-Harmonising Technique (VHT)

This modality is derived from the modality known as Bowen Technique. The healing techniques are physical tissue releases performed on the body to facilitate the release of trapped toxins, body fluids, nerves and muscles. It stimulates the nervous system and muscle layers back to the correct postural positioning required for healthy physical functioning.

Tibetan Healing

Incorporates the use of meridian therapy, sound therapy crystals, alternating temperatures, acupuncture or acupressure and herbs in the healing techniques. Each person has their own unique frequency and the use of various sounds, colour and crystals enables the patient to resonate to their correct frequency and thus achieve a harmonious existence. Colours and Crystals have unique frequencies. These frequencies link into the hypothalamus gland and thus into the “switchboard” network of the nervous system.

Elementary Traditional Chinese Medicine

Facilitates healing through the 12 main meridians and their specific points using acupressure, sound and the stimulation or sedation of the five body elements;

  • Fire
  • Earth
  • Water
  • Metal
  • Wood

It incorporates nutritional, mineral and herbal supplementation.

Colour Therapy

Each colour has a unique frequency and by using knowledge of these frequencies, the appropriate colour can be used to correct mental, emotional and physical imbalances.

Oriental Diagnostics

This is an ancient holistic system that uses a diagnostic interpretation of what is visible to detect physical imbalances. The practitioner looks at the patient’s

  • Eyes and Ears
  • Mouth, teeth and nose
  • Hands and feet
  • Hair, cheeks and skin
Angel Therapy

A spiritual based modality that invokes the energies of the angelic realms to support the patient in their healing path.

Munkay Ki Shamanic Principles

This Andean modality acknowledges our service to the greater good of all. It encompasses the universal systems, plants, animals, water and mankind for the harmonious existence of all beings, seen and unseen on planet Earth.

How a session works.

In Margaret’s words.

Each therapy session is two hours so that the patients and I have time to talk and work.

During the first hour the patient talks about their issues and receive counselling and coaching advice. During the second hour, the patient lies down on my therapy bed and using muscle testing, I identify the areas of imbalance and identify the most appropriate correction from a “menu option” of corrections available from the various modalities I am trained in.

The impact of positive thinking on the body's physical healing process

The human body has a self-fulfilling prophecy built into it. The body will do and respond to whatever the person within it tells it to do. The percentage to which we heal anything is governed by the desire and willingness to which we want to change our lives. If you desire 10%, that is all you will get despite the committed efforts of the doctors and therapists that you see and pay.

For some people being sick or unwell has a benefit as they get undivided attention even if they have to pay for it as they go from doctor to doctor, therapist to therapist.

In a nut shell, thinking activates genes, our brains are shaped by our reactions and thinking changes our DNA. The research showed that 5-16 minutes a day of focused meditative capturing of thoughts shifts the frontal brain states.

I use the muscle testing/bio-feed back technique which enables the facilitator to ask the body questions based on a yes/no response. This means that you can ask the body anything provided the question allows a yes/no reply and the questions asked are based on the factual experience of the person whose body you are asking the questions of.

I am constantly researching and reading as well as doing courses which allows me to add and grow the modalities available to me for my clients facilitation and healing.

Using this appropriate correction, I then neutralise the negative charges attached to the imbalance. The healing process may simply be explained as a problem solving process. The body works on a triangle comprised of mental, emotional and physical components.

Each directly impacts on each other i.e.: a physical injury may not heal fully if there is an emotional or mental aspect attached to the injury/incident.

A number of Johannesburg and Pretoria based doctors refer patients to me for the healing of various physical injuries based on this awareness by the medical profession. This truly is complementary to other treatments and can be seen as a support to rather than a replacement for traditional approaches.

The facts of the circumstances contributing to the imbalances can not be changed but the negative emotional and mental charges attached to these aspects can be neutralised.

Once the mental and emotional aspects have been identified and the charges have been neutralised, the physical healing occurs.

The body has an innate ability to heal itself and desires to be whole, healed and healthy.

Once physically healed, the patient tends to adopt positive mental and emotional attitudes.

How muscle testing assists in patient's healing

Muscle testing, enables the therapist to identify the areas of imbalance in the patient’s body and identify the most appropriate corrections from a “menu option” of corrections available from the various modalities that I am trained in.

When working on a patient, I look at their entire life from conception through to present time. In some cases it is necessary to investigate the period prior to their conception as the soul observes and chooses its parents 2-3 years prior to the conception.

Each imbalance is explored in the time frames of “past, present and future” (usually 3 months in advance). The patient’s perception of their past, present and future is critical to their well being as their perception is their reality.

In neutralising the imbalance, it is also critical to ascertain the time of day and whether the patient’s eyes were open or closed at the time of the trauma. Smells, sounds, visual images and other environmental factors also contribute to the hypnotic factors affecting the way the trauma has been filed in the body.

The muscle testing helps identify where the body has stored the accumulative trauma and which organs and meridians are compromised.

Through the problem solving exercise of asking the body questions, the therapist is able to establish more relevant information than the conscious memory recall and thus able to access further suppressed files within the subconscious mind/memory.

Client testimonials

In clients’ own words, shown in full as they wrote them. These are personal experiences, not promises of any outcome.

I met Margaret about 10 years ago at a friend’s birthday function. I asked her what she did and she told me. I said “well I think I need to come see you …” little did I know how much…

Anonymous

Read the full story from Anonymous

I met Margaret about 10 years ago at a friend’s birthday function.

I asked her what she did and she told me. I said “well I think I need to come see you …” little did I know how much my life would change for the better. Little did I know that there was a better way to live, and little did I know how much hurt, anger and dysfunction I was carrying. At that point I lived a pretty good life, but everything was a struggle, and there was always some form of drama or calamity in my life. Always something catastrophic which needed to be sorted out, and which conveniently kept my focus away from myself and honouring ME. I carried so much anger always, not even realising how self-destroying it was, and how much energy my anger took from me. I was constantly in survival mode – it became a way of life.

My healing journey started with Margaret, one visit at a time, small steps, small realisations, and slowly seeing how dysfunctional patterns and childhood traumas affected so many areas of my life and being. And slowly we began sorting through years of barriers, defenses, undealt trauma and issues. I had lots of unlearning to do. Through her various techniques and healing methods Margaret started rebuilding, healing, bettering and correcting my being. A single session with her achieved more than any doctor or therapist could do in weeks. She works on so many levels at once and manages to cut right down to the root of the problem as she is guided. Always gentle, always loving and caring.

If I look back at photos of 10 years ago, I can hardly recognise the scared, insecure, fragile version of me. On this new path I’ve learned to put myself first, honouring me and my purpose, putting out boundaries, saying NO confidently (and calmly), expressing myself and managing conflict. As a family we learned that there can be disagreement and expression of opinions and feelings without the drama. It took some time but the anger that was always present has made space for love, for calmness, for understanding. My journey and learnings are far from over, and we all have some triggers and areas which need healing, but through my sessions with Margaret I have also learned to recognise my triggers and insecure areas.

By now Margaret knows my ins and outs, my family, history, relationships, work and life challenges – all very intimately. With her help I have been able to navigate my way through it. I don’t make any major life decisions or changes before seeing her and receiving her guidance in my life. I would not be where I am today, in work, relationships, personal goals and achievements, and financially without Margaret.

Once we start healing the past, dealing with its effects, breaking generational patterns of trauma, abuse, hurt, and survival, we can start receiving all the abundance life and the universe has for us and step into our purpose with confidence. Everyone needs Margaret, and I lovingly encourage you to make an appointment and take the 1st step on your healing journey with her.

My story – the high level version

The focus of our sessions remains on what we can do to make it better, look towards the future while acknowledging the present situation with all the emotions linked to it.

Gloria

Read the full story from Gloria

My story starts long after most of the events that shaped my life took place. It starts with reaching rock bottom and a realization that something in my life had to change.

At this time, I was working for an organisation that did not see and appreciate all the skills and experience that I had to offer. I was over-worked, underpaid, over-stressed and in fact completely burnt out. I felt that I was undeserving of my awesome, loving husband who was the only one keeping me standing.

It was only when I was sitting in a corner of the bathroom, unable to get myself off the floor, crying so much and so long that I couldn’t breathe anymore that I realized how low I was.

A friend of mine introduced me to her kinesiologist (Margaret) and I thought – “what the hell, I have nothing to lose”. I made an appointment for this treatment that I knew absolutely nothing about and started a journey that would completely transform my life.

During the past decade, with Margaret walking besides me, I’ve faced historical family trauma (rejection, physical and emotional abuse), the death of beloved pets and family members, break-ins at our house, car accidents, job changes and starting my own business. I’ve learnt skills to cope with my limiting beliefs of not being good enough and having to do everything perfect to be loved, accepted, and appreciated.

I believe that the holistic therapy offered by Margaret has been the change I needed. There is not just a focus on exploring how bad your childhood was or how bad your current situation is. The focus of our sessions remains on what we can do to make it better, look towards the future while acknowledging the present situation with all the emotions linked to it. Having someone who sees everything from a different angle, from outside of the situation really makes it all work.

I have realized that my sessions every 4-6 weeks are not a luxury, it is absolutely necessary to help me focus on what I can change and to remind me that I am an awesome, strong, beautiful woman who can do anything that I put my mind to.

My 21-year healing journey with Margaret

Margaret is an inspiration and the best way to describe the feeling I have in her presence is like being cocooned in a warm, safe blanket while she guides you through your deepest fears and heavy feelings without judgement.

Charlie

Read the full story from Charlie

Faced with writing down my story initially left me spinning because how do I put into words this healing journey that started in the Summer of 2001 and remains the cornerstone of my life to this day.

I was referred to Margaret at the lowest point in my life, having faced the breakup of a long-term relationship 3 months prior and relocating to a new town, I was lonely, despondent about the future and desperate to ‘fix’ me as I couldn’t bear the thought of another failed relationship.

What transpired after that first session was a revelation and the journey of transformation and re-connection with the girl I lost along the way.

Margaret is an inspiration and the best way to describe the feeling I have in her presence is like being cocooned in a warm, safe blanket while she guides you through your deepest fears and heavy feelings without judgement. Her advice is tailored to meet the needs of your inner wisdom and for your highest good.

She has become my beacon of hope as I have navigated the deep waters grieving the loss of my parents, emigration, career change and roller coaster of parenthood and marriage over the past 20 years. She is my safe harbour for all the challenges life has brought my way and remains the person I trust the most to guide me honestly and safely when triggered and emotional to process and heal in a calm and rational way.

Healing is a messy and difficult journey and I know 1000 times over that I would never have found the strength to change what I could, accept what I couldn’t and live my life with the purpose and clarity that I do today without the love and support of Margaret.

I wish you all the best on your healing journey as you trust Margaret to guide YOU to find YOU again and live your best life on your terms.

In light and love

My Healing Journey with the help of Margaret Schwanzer

I started seeking assistance after ending a traumatic relationship, followed by having to have my eggs retrieved via IVF and then being operated on to remove stage 4 endometriosis from my body. Understandably, my body and my mind were in…

Stephanie

Read the full story from Stephanie

I started seeking assistance after ending a traumatic relationship, followed by having to have my eggs retrieved via IVF and then being operated on to remove stage 4 endometriosis from my body. Understandably, my body and my mind were in crisis, and I knew a normal doctor/GP wasn’t enough in this situation, because after everything I went through, for all intents and purposes, I was “healthy” and somehow I was led to Margaret Schwanzer.

Being a more spiritual-based person finding Margaret was a godsend for me because I was able to share my experiences and my need to heal my mind and body from the trauma openly and freely with her. I have also always felt safe to share with her whatever was on my mind, which is important in my healing journey, no matter how ashamed or sad I may have felt over/because of something.

To this day I don’t know how I found Margaret, it could only be through some divine intervention that I was led to her and I have stayed working with her since December 2016 (nearly 6 years at the time of writing this). For me, this makes having Margaret a part of my healing journey even more special.

Once we had worked on my immediate trauma and healed it I started working on trauma from my childhood and then my day-to-day life, such as work and family etc. We have also worked on building a better future for myself, working on being the best version of myself today. Nearly 6 years later you can imagine we have covered and explored many areas of my life that I wanted to heal and transform with her help and I am a far cry from the person I was when I first met Margaret.

I am so grateful for all that she has helped me to heal and achieve on my journey.

Thank you, Margaret.

My Journey

Nevertheless, I was willing to give it a try as I was desperate for help.

Suzi

Read the full story from Suzi

I came to Margaret Schwanzer some twenty two years ago purely by default. The animal behaviourist we consulted with, for our two new pups suggested Margaret do a session to get some info from the one pup who suddenly started having frequent seizures. Wendy, the behaviourist would be the surrogate. All they needed was a photo of our cutie pie and a snip of her hair in an envelope, untouched by human hands! I was a very practical person, meaning I had to be able to see, hear and touch things. I had virtually no understanding of the spiritual world and alternate medicine and healing was completely foreign to me! Nevertheless, I was willing to give it a try as I was desperate for help. My late husband, on the other hand, was not at all keen and paid no credence to what he called “this uger buger stuff”…..until the process started!

After the first session, Wendy reported back to us with some very interesting and accurate information that neither she nor Margaret could have known. And so my journey with Margaret began, as did my spiritual journey. After the third session that Wendy acted as the surrogate, it came out that each appointment was 2 hours long. I had no idea and then felt that it was not right for us to keep imposing on her. My husband, Nate and I decided to continue the process, travelling quite a distance once a month to help heal our precious pup. We were guided to a homeopathic vet who managed to get the seizures under control and so there was no need for us to continue with the appointments at Margaret.

Some six years later, out of the blue, I received an email from Margaret in which she said that I’d been in her thoughts and asked if I was ok? How could she know that just a couple of months earlier my dear Nate, the one and only love of my life had passed away? I’d waited twelve years for him until the time was right for us to marry. And just like that, in a blink of an eye, not even ten years later, he was snatched from me. I was a broken person! Shattered! Unable to function! But, I had to! So, I didn’t allow myself to feel and began operating in survival mode. Margaret, compassionately offered to help me, even knowing I was struggling financially.

Most of the beginning of my healing is a blur. However, over the years, I do remember Margaret using a variety of techniques as I made progress. I do remember always feeling safe and calm whenever I visited her. And, so the time went on. I started to feel less desperate and slowly, slowly more able to manage my life.

Margaret has seen me through the loss of my darling mother, just a few months after Nate left me. She has seen me through the loss of four of my precious fur babies, two of them at the exact same time. Without judgment, she has worked through silly relationships with me. She has assisted me when all my family emigrated, leaving me completely on my own! Margaret has assisted me in changing jobs – one of them causing me extreme stress and unhappiness. She has helped me build my confidence and self worth over the years and continues to do so each time I see her.

Margaret is now guiding me in dealing with staff as I have recently been promoted to a management position.

It is 10 years on, and I still visit Margaret, albeit less frequently. Why? Because now we also laugh together!

My journey with Margaret

She listened, properly. There was no judgement, no rushing me and no feeling that I was another problem that needed fixing.

Gabriella, London, United Kingdom

Read the full story from Gabriella

The Jade Tree

I was 26 when I moved from South Africa to England in 2024. About a week before I was due to leave, I had a complete meltdown. My mum and brother were already in England, and I had so much to look forward to, but I was absolutely terrified. I remember feeling like a rather broken little girl who was somehow expected to pull herself together, get on a plane and start a new life.

I’d spent years seeing psychologists and therapists. Some had been wonderful, particularly the last psychologist I’d seen, but I’d also had some really difficult experiences and been given advice that had done more harm than good. I was exhausted by the thought of telling my story all over again. I certainly wasn’t prepared to relive everything I’d spent years trying to work through.

A close friend of my aunt’s, who knew Margaret and her work, suggested I give her a call. I remember asking what on earth kinesiology was, because I hadn’t the faintest idea. I was sceptical, to say the least, and very clear that I wasn’t interested in hypnosis or anything that involved revisiting painful memories.

But I was also at a point where I knew something had to change. I desperately wanted this to be the last time I looked in the mirror and had to tell myself to pick up the pieces.

And then I met Margaret.

From the moment I walked into her rooms, she somehow made it possible to tell a story that was incredibly difficult for me to say out loud. She listened, properly. There was no judgement, no rushing me and no feeling that I was another problem that needed fixing. She was warm, wonderfully direct and somehow even managed to make me laugh.

Within a week, I got on that plane.

It sounds like such a small thing, but at the time it was enormous. I genuinely don’t know how I would have managed it without her.

More than two years later, I’m still in England, and Margaret and I still speak every week. We’ve navigated exams, jobs, relationships, family, difficult decisions, wonderful moments and a fair amount of life’s general chaos. She’s been there through all of it.

What continues to amaze me is how well she works virtually. I was convinced that kinesiology couldn’t possibly have the same effect when I was thousands of miles away and no longer lying on her treatment bed. Yet here I am, having my sessions over WhatsApp and still experiencing the benefits of her work. I can’t pretend to understand exactly how it all works, but I know the difference I’ve felt over the years.

Margaret calls herself a dustbin cleaner, which always makes me laugh, but it’s actually a rather brilliant description of what she does.

She helps you clear out the rubbish you’ve been carrying around, sometimes for years without even realising it. But what I find particularly incredible is that she also seems to recognise when there’s simply too much to deal with at once. She’ll help you shovel up the mess life has thrown at you, put some of it aside and work through it with you when you’re ready.

And that’s probably what I admire most about her. Her patience.

I’ll have one of those moments in a session when something suddenly clicks and I’ll think, “Oh my word, I’ve finally got it!” Only to realise Margaret has probably understood it for months. She’s just been quietly helping me get there myself.

She never forces a realisation or pushes me somewhere I’m not ready to go. She knows when to challenge me, when to ask another question, when to leave something alone and when I simply need a little more time.

The patience that must take is extraordinary. Especially with me!

It’s also why I find it difficult to explain what Margaret does as just kinesiology or just talking. For me, it’s the combination that makes such a difference. She has this wonderful ability to understand what’s really going on beneath the surface, even when I’m convinced the problem is something entirely different.

Sometimes I’ll arrive completely overwhelmed by one thing and leave having discovered that something else was bothering me all along. And so often, I walk away feeling lighter, clearer and more like myself.

That’s not to say the work is always easy. It isn’t. You have to be willing to look at yourself, be honest and keep doing the work between sessions. Margaret doesn’t wave a magic wand and make life’s difficulties disappear. She helps you find the understanding and strength to deal with them yourself.

And I think that’s what makes her so special.

Perhaps the simplest way I can explain the difference is that I spent years dreading therapy appointments. Even when I knew they might help, I’d find myself looking for reasons not to go.

With Margaret, I genuinely look forward to our sessions. Every single week.

Not because there’s always something wrong, but because even when life is going well, I come away having learnt something about myself. I enjoy our conversations, I trust her judgement and I know she cares.

And then there’s Margaret herself.

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who gives quite so much of herself to the people she works with. Her kindness, loyalty, humour and sheer determination to help are unlike anything I’ve experienced. She remembers the little things, celebrates the victories and is there when life gets messy.

Knowing a little of Margaret’s own story, and what she’s been through, makes me admire her even more. She’s taken so much of what life has taught her and used it to help other people. There really are angels walking among us, and I feel incredibly lucky that I found one of them.

She’s become like a second mother to me. I love her dearly, and I don’t think she’ll ever quite understand how much she’s meant to me.

When I think about the frightened girl who walked into her rooms just days before leaving South Africa, and the person I’m becoming today, the difference is enormous.

I’m not suggesting my life is now perfect. Far from it. I’ve made mistakes, had setbacks, questioned myself and had plenty of moments when I’ve wondered what on earth I’m doing.

But I handle those moments differently now.

I’m learning to understand myself, recognise patterns I once missed, trust my own judgement and be a little kinder to myself along the way. I have a much stronger sense of who I am, and I’m no longer quite so frightened of the difficult things life inevitably brings.

Margaret didn’t get on that plane for me. She helped me believe I could. And she’s spent the years since helping me realise I can do far more than I ever gave myself credit for.

If you’re considering seeing Margaret, whether for yourself, your child or someone you love, I couldn’t encourage you more. Particularly if, like me, you’ve tried other things and feel exhausted by the idea of starting again.

You don’t need to understand kinesiology before you go. I certainly didn’t. You do need to be open to the process and willing to do your part.

I can only speak from my own experience, but meeting Margaret genuinely changed my life.

It’s an honour to be her client, an even greater privilege to know her, and one of the greatest comforts to have her in my corner.

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