James Hands Awaken Therapy

Celebrating our deeper spiritual essence at Christmas

On Christmas Day, I take a moment to reflect on the deeper meaning of this special time. Beyond the beautiful celebration of Jesus' birth 2000 years ago, Christmas speaks to something universal—the birth of the Christ child within each of us. This Christ child represents our deepest spiritual essence, the bridge between our humanity and divinity. It’s a reminder that no matter our background, we are all connected to something greater.

When we nurture this connection regularly—through stillness, reflection, and being present—we allow it to flourish. 

May this Christmas remind us of our divine nature and inspire us to nurture that light within, allowing it to shine brightly in the world. 
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I'm James Hands, Holistic Psychologist and Spiritual Hypnotherapist, and creator of Awaken Therapy. I have trained in and developed various powerful modalities to make your childhood trauma healing journey as safe and manageable as possible. I know the courage and persistence required for profound change, so I offer patient, caring support in all my connections.

I believe you deserve to have access to powerful, effective tools, techniques and supports in timely and affordable ways.

Alongside individual sessions, I have committed myself to providing you with a variety of affordable tools and courses. Each course is filled with practical education, powerful tools and accessible aids you can begin to use right away.

I am also in the process of writing a book - From Trauma Survivor to Soul Warrior due to be published September 2025

Disclaimer: this episode is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice and the information contained may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support from a qualified health professional.

Turning childhood trauma into love, light and service

Have you turned your challenges into service? Maybe you've faced unimaginable struggles—childhood trauma, neglect, or abuse—and yet here you are, not just surviving but thriving. You've found the courage to heal, to grow, and to take those hard-earned lessons and extend them to others. Perhaps you've become the parent, teacher, carer, or healer you once needed, offering empathy, love, and understanding in ways you never received. Maybe you've taken on the brave work of helping others heal—as a therapist, a yoga teacher, a spiritual guide, or even through small, meaningful acts of connection.

Every step you've taken to transmute darkness into light and love is profound service. You've made the world a better place by turning your pain into purpose, your wounds into wisdom, and your story into hope. As you share these gifts, you not only bring healing to others but also to yourself, recognising the soul warrior you are. The world thanks you, the spiritual realms thank you, and I thank you—for your courage, your light, and your extraordinary service.
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I'm James Hands, Holistic Psychologist and Spiritual Hypnotherapist, and creator of Awaken Therapy. I have trained in and developed various powerful modalities to make your childhood trauma healing journey as safe and manageable as possible. I know the courage and persistence required for profound change, so I offer patient, caring support in all my connections.

I believe you deserve to have access to powerful, effective tools, techniques and supports in timely and affordable ways.

Alongside individual sessions, I have committed myself to providing you with a variety of affordable tools and courses. Each course is filled with practical education, powerful tools and accessible aids you can begin to use right away.

I am also in the process of writing a book - From Trauma Survivor to Soul Warrior due to be published September 2025

Disclaimer: this episode is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice and the information contained may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support from a qualified health professional.

Our journey out of soul state into the earth

I wanted to talk with you today about our journey out of soul state and into the earth. You’ve probably worked out by now that I’m more your holistic psychologist, and my passion is bridging the gap between the psychological and the spiritual.

There’s an invisible ceiling I’ve seen people hit in their healing — especially when working through deep trauma like childhood abuse or neglect. If we don’t have any spiritual life happening, we can get stuck in survivor mode. But when we expand our mind, our consciousness, we remember who we really are — beyond time and space, beyond body, brain and personality. We remember we are beloved children of the Divine, eternal souls, love beings.

That’s where we start to make sense of what we’ve been through. We see the reasons, the gifts that come out of these incredible challenges. It’s not easy to be here. It takes so much courage to take on a human incarnation. It’s a dense, polar place with extremes of beauty and darkness.
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I'm James Hands, Holistic Psychologist and Spiritual Hypnotherapist, and creator of Awaken Therapy. I have trained in and developed various powerful modalities to make your childhood trauma healing journey as safe and manageable as possible. I know the courage and persistence required for profound change, so I offer patient, caring support in all my connections.

I believe you deserve to have access to powerful, effective tools, techniques and supports in timely and affordable ways.

Alongside individual sessions, I have committed myself to providing you with a variety of affordable tools and courses. Each course is filled with practical education, powerful tools and accessible aids you can begin to use right away.

I am also in the process of writing a book - From Trauma Survivor to Soul Warrior due to be published September 2025

Disclaimer: this episode is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice and the information contained may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support from a qualified health professional.

Trauma survivor? Even on your worst day, you're a superhero

Do you think too little of yourself?

If you’ve been through significant trauma—whether in childhood or as an adult—it’s pretty obvious why you might come out of those experiences with low self-esteem, low self-worth, and thinking in a small way about yourself.

The truth is, you survived. Even if your self-concept feels battered or broken, you’re still here, and that’s your superpower.

So I invite you to write down three things you like about yourself. Even if it feels small, seeing it on a page helps. Bring those parts of yourself to the inner child who felt unworthy and remind them: you were never the problem.

Healing takes time, but it’s possible.
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I'm James Hands, Holistic Psychologist and Spiritual Hypnotherapist, and creator of Awaken Therapy. I have trained in and developed various powerful modalities to make your childhood trauma healing journey as safe and manageable as possible. I know the courage and persistence required for profound change, so I offer patient, caring support in all my connections.

I believe you deserve to have access to powerful, effective tools, techniques and supports in timely and affordable ways.

Alongside individual sessions, I have committed myself to providing you with a variety of affordable tools and courses. Each course is filled with practical education, powerful tools and accessible aids you can begin to use right away.

I am also in the process of writing a book - From Trauma Survivor to Soul Warrior due to be published September 2025

Disclaimer: this episode is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice and the information contained may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support from a qualified health professional.

From Trauma Survivor to Soul Warrior

What does it mean to move from trauma survivor to soul warrior? In this video, I delve into the concept of the soul warrior and explore how we can transcend the survival mode often created by trauma. Through my work over the past 30 years, I’ve seen the incredible strength and resilience people develop through life’s challenges. But healing isn’t just about addressing the psychological effects of trauma—it’s about breaking through the ceiling of survival and opening ourselves to the deeper, spiritual dimensions of our experience.

A soul warrior is someone who recognises that their challenges were not meaningless but part of a greater purpose—an opportunity for growth, wisdom, and the development of unique gifts. By reframing trauma in this way, we find liberation, forgiveness, and a deeper sense of self.

If you’re ready to explore the journey beyond survival and into soul-level awareness, this video is for you. Follow along as I share insights that will form part of my upcoming book, From Trauma Survivor to Soul Warrior. 
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I'm James Hands, Holistic Psychologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist, and creator of Awaken Therapy. I have trained in and developed various powerful modalities to make your childhood trauma healing journey as safe and manageable as possible. I know the courage and persistence required for profound change, so I offer patient, caring support in all my connections.

I believe you deserve to have access to powerful, effective tools, techniques and supports in timely and affordable ways.

Alongside individual sessions, I have committed myself to providing you with a variety of affordable tools and courses. Each course is filled with practical education, powerful tools and accessible aids you can begin to use right away.

Disclaimer: this episode is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice and the information contained may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support from a qualified health professional.

Diving into wisdom—the deep knowing forged through adversity

✨Online self-paced courses to help you heal ✨ 
https://www.awakentherapy.com.au/learning-with-james

In today’s Soul Warrior Qualities video, we’re diving into wisdom—the deep knowing forged through adversity.

Wisdom isn’t just theory; it’s the profound truth carved out by suffering. Trauma gifts us with qualities like strength, courage, and empathy, but wisdom stands out as a rich awareness of what aligns with love and what doesn’t.

As we heal, we create space for truth, reconnect with our soul, and carry this wisdom forever as part of our soul character. Honour the wisdom you’ve gained—it’s your soul warrior attribute.
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I'm James Hands, Holistic Psychologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist, and creator of Awaken Therapy. I have trained in and developed various powerful modalities to make your childhood trauma healing journey as safe and manageable as possible. I know the courage and persistence required for profound change, so I offer patient, caring support in all my connections.

I believe you deserve to have access to powerful, effective tools, techniques and supports in timely and affordable ways.

Alongside individual sessions, I have committed myself to providing you with a variety of affordable tools and courses. Each course is filled with practical education, powerful tools and accessible aids you can begin to use right away.

Disclaimer: this episode is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice and the information contained may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support from a qualified health professional.

Using your own trauma experience to help others

✨Online self-paced courses to help you heal ✨ 
https://www.awakentherapy.com.au/learning-with-james

In recent episodes, I’ve been exploring the qualities that emerge from facing deep challenges and trauma, especially in childhood. Today, I’m reflecting on empathy—the ability to attune to others, feel into their experiences, and connect on a deeper emotional level.

For those of us who’ve been through profound suffering, this capacity grows from navigating dark, intense emotions and turning those experiences into strength. Personally, I’ve catalysed my own journey through trauma—growing up with an alcoholic father, losing him to suicide at 13, and enduring years of terror—into a passion for helping others.

Over the past 30 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of people, many of whom have faced unimaginable pain. That shared understanding has allowed me to transmute my own suffering into service, supporting others out of dark, stuck places and helping to shift their energy toward healing.

If you’re still feeling weighed down by your past, know that it’s possible to work through it and uncover the qualities of a soul warrior within you. Empathy, compassion, and the strength to heal are incredible gifts—and they can make the world a better place.

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I'm James Hands, Holistic Psychologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist, and creator of Awaken Therapy. I have trained in and developed various powerful modalities to make your childhood trauma healing journey as safe and manageable as possible. I know the courage and persistence required for profound change, so I offer patient, caring support in all my connections.

I believe you deserve to have access to powerful, effective tools, techniques and supports in timely and affordable ways.

Alongside individual sessions, I have committed myself to providing you with a variety of affordable tools and courses. Each course is filled with practical education, powerful tools and accessible aids you can begin to use right away.

Disclaimer: this episode is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice and the information contained may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support from a qualified health professional.

Survived childhood trauma? Let’s honour your strength and determination.

✨Online self-paced courses to help you heal ✨ 
https://www.awakentherapy.com.au/learning-with-james

If you're here listening to this, you've already shown incredible strength just by showing up and seeking help. Whether it’s been overcoming trauma, childhood adversity, or difficult life patterns, the qualities you've developed in the flames of these experiences are yours forever. 

This strength, determination, and willpower are part of your soul’s character, forged by facing challenges day by day. Yes, the journey is messy and layered, but every step you take, every time you turn up for yourself, that’s courage. 

Honour that resilience and join me as we keep exploring the qualities of the soul warrior.
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I'm James Hands, Holistic Psychologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist, and creator of Awaken Therapy. I have trained in and developed various powerful modalities to make your childhood trauma healing journey as safe and manageable as possible. I know the courage and persistence required for profound change, so I offer patient, caring support in all my connections.

I believe you deserve to have access to powerful, effective tools, techniques and supports in timely and affordable ways.

Alongside individual sessions, I have committed myself to providing you with a variety of affordable tools and courses. Each course is filled with practical education, powerful tools and accessible aids you can begin to use right away.

Disclaimer: this episode is for education and information purposes only. It does not constitute individual advice and the information contained may not be applicable or appropriate for everyone. If you need support, consider seeking individualised support from a qualified health professional.