Hayley Louise
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Chest Pains, Anxiety
“Shaheen’s wealth of experience in the holistic approach to healing, her kind heart and caring nature are just some of the reasons why I am now a regular client in her clinic. Since the onset of Pleurisy in December 2018, I developed symptoms which were unexplained and I was often called a ‘medical mystery’ as my symptoms were not presenting towards medical diagnosis. In February 2019, I contacted Shaheen to discuss alternatives therapies which is when she introduced me to the world of TMS. Although it was a minefield at first, the concept of TMS and how the brain protects itself is absolutely fascinating.
During our sessions, her reassurance and guidance through different activities and techniques is so soothing and comforting to know that there is an answer to what is causing my symptoms. Over a period of six months, we worked through the programme and now, I can confidently say that I use the SIRPA techniques to support my daily life. Yes, life throws me curve balls which is where my reflexology sessions come in nicely but I am now taking control of my symptoms. Thank you, Shaheen. 😊100% recommend this lovely lady for any type of holistic treatment, from reflexology to SIRPA counselling.”
Stephanie Wearden
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Head pain, Anxiety
I have just finished my 5th Mind Body Pain Free session with Shaheen and can only say I'm so thankful for coming across her programme. After countless visits with various Doctors who didn't really understand the symptoms I was experiencing, after one visit with Shaheen I had improved. I was initially bed bound and after 2 sessions I was able to go downstairs for the first time in a long while. I highly highly recommend to anyone for stress management or any chronic pain and would happily speak to anyone considering this. I now have my life back and I'm able to be a mum again.
Chris Hawkridge
Various Persistent Pain Throughout The Body
I saw Shaheen recently (2021) for the mind body program due to chronic pain which started following a stressful period in 2012. There are not many places in my body where I haven’t experienced pain at some point. Some of the pain lasted for years!
I saw many different specialists previously, including physios, pain clinics, doctors, without much success. Shaheen is knowledgable, helpful and very supportive. Shaheen provided many different tools I can use to help ease and get rid of the pain which has helped massively. I would recommend Shaheen to anyone who is going through a similar situation.
Sobia Rashid
Migraines
I had never suffered from migraines before. My pain came on one evening quite mildly which I ignored. The next day I woke up and the pain was alot worse to the extent I was feeling sick and retching. The pain got so bad that the back of my kneck started to hurt too and I couldn't lift my head up. I felt paralysed as the pain was so severe I couldn't do anything. I had to lean on my husband to walk around the house. I wasn't able to take my children to school, or do any of the everyday stuff that I would normally do.
My GP sent me to the hospital because the pain was so bad. The hospital did 2 CT scans, a lumber puncture, blood tests, eyes tests, but ALL WAS NORMAL. BUT... I was still in so much pain. It was quite bizarre because every painkiller/different type of medication that was prescribed made me feel worse and the pain was still there. My husband was reduced to tears because he couldn't understand what the pain was - where it was coming from and why? He felt helpless and hated seeing me suffer like this.
After 2 weeks of torture, no relief from the meds, and being practically bed bound, I was advised to do the Pain Free Programme with Shaheen. I was so desperate I was willing to do anything. This involved various minimum daily tasks that I could manage. I was asked to implement strategies from mind body medicine which I had never heard of before. It made me realize all the stress I had been going through but ignoring and how it had led to me reaching burn out and suffering so much ill health. I realized how I had suppressed so many emotions like anger/grief/worry for years and years and I guess it had finally caught up with me. I started doing the ‘work’ and after a few days I saw a difference to my head/neck pain and I had stopped all painkillers! I was astounded!! At first the pain would go and then return but Shaheen explained why this can happen so I continued. I tried the Programme for 4 weeks and it ACTUALLY WORKED!!! It was amazing, and yes it does take up between 15-30mins of your day but it actually works wonders!!! I couldn’t believe it when I woke up finally one morning with no migraine! I had been having them daily for weeks.
The hospital prescribed me so many different tablets, one after the other, but they never actually got rid of the pain. By taking the medication I would suffer more from the side effects. So eventually I stopped the medication and fully concentrated on the Pain Free Programme. By following the steps/tasks in the programme and being fully committed the pain actually COMPLETELY WENT!
Shaheen was so helpful. We did the sessions on zoom and she emailed me the ‘homework’ and was so supportive. She really was passionate about me getting better. She would send me various literature to read and always encouraged me and that really helped. She is very professional, and a unique person. I am now 5 weeks in and getting better everyday. I feel like I have my life back and can be a mother again to my children.:-)
Update: It’s been 6 weeks now and I have had no pain and feel completely well. I rate the programme 10 out of 10 and would strongly advise people (suffering from migraines or other chronic pain) to do this!
Helen Drake
Chronic Insomnia and Stress
I had suffered from insomnia for nearly five years, I could only manage seven to eight hours sleep every two or three nights, the rest of the time I’d manage around three hours sleep. I felt like a walking zombie and I was always terrified I’d get ‘found out’ at work because some days I would find myself staring blankly at my screen unable to make sense of anything at all.
I had a number of GP appointments but no-one was able to get to the bottom of it, I was given generic advice about sleep hygiene e.g. caffeine intake, exercise, use of mobile phones in the evening etc - nothing worked long term. I was referred to an online anxiety programme but it didn’t resonate, the advice was generic and nothing I hadn’t tried before.
I went to Shaheen Jaffary initially for reflexology. After that first treatment it was the first time I slept for seven days in a row! My treatment was just before the second lockdown, so it was six months before I was able to go back again. I had a few more sessions of reflexology and each time Shaheen gently suggested that she had a mind and body coaching course that could help me. She told me all about the SIRPA programme and sent me some information to read in my own time so I could think about it and see how it could work for me. I trusted her because she genuinely seemed to care and want the best for me every time I had a reflexology appointment.
I completed a course of five sessions, where I learned mind and body strategies to empower me to get rid of the tension my body had been holding on to following a sequence of stressful events that had triggered the initial insomnia. The course helped me let all of that go and take back the power of my own emotions. I learned how to deal with everyday stresses during the day, instead of overthinking them at night.
Shaheen taught me about the role of fear in perpetuating the insomnia, I had never made the connection. Once I understood that I could counter it through affirmations and other strategies, I was amazed at how quickly I saw positive change. I was amazed at how simple it all was to put into practise with Shaheen’s support and it made a huge difference to the way I viewed insomnia.
We broke the steps down bit by bit so it was easy to implement the advice and strategies, one session at a time. I was able to see the progress and manage self-induced pressures by making small positive changes to my life. By working directly with Shaheen on a one to one basis, she made me realise how journaling, meditation, affirmations and many other techniques worked for me and my specific circumstances.
By the third session I was sleeping much better, and by the end of the programme I was able to sleep almost every night!
I notice the difference – if I miss a day or two of journaling, meditating or reflecting on the day in a positive way then night waking and overthinking creeps back in.
I am so glad I found Shaheen and I would recommend her insomnia programme to anyone suffering as I was, I have taken back control of my life and I feel able to cope with the stresses of daily life once again.
Mohneen Jaffrey
Neck Pain
I woke up one morning and I couldn’t move my neck, I was crippled with pain. I was completely baffled by this pain as there had been no symptoms prior to this. After visiting the Doctor I was simply told to rest and take painkillers. After almost a week there was barely any relief. I knew about the mind body medicine programme with SIRPA so I decided to give it a try. I contacted Shaheen at SIRPA and had a detailed Initial Consultation (all done via Skype by the way and email) I started to follow the mind body programme which involved implementing some cognitive and behavioural strategies to help target the underlying cause of the pain to get rid of it. These involved journaling and meditation, amongst other things. Shaheen explained in detail how sometimes pain can be caused due to repressed emotions and stress, but never would I have believed it could cause this much pain and restriction of movement in my neck! Really scary! Amazingly, after a week I started seeing improvement without taking any medicine! I worked with Shaheen over a few weeks and can honestly say I was as good as 99% healed, if not 100%! There are many reasons why I would highly recommend Shaheen. Apart from the fact that she is very knowledgeable and seems to genuinely care and listens carefully which makes her a truly amazing therapist, she has taught me strategies and helped me to implement small lifestyle changes to help me with any other pain, such as headaches. I now really believe in the power of Mind Body Medicine as I have experienced it myself and I just want to tell everyone about it!
From my heart Shaheen, I thank you.🌷
Shazia Mamoon
Back Pain and Carpel Tunnel Syndrome
“I never thought I would get my life back after living with chronic back pain, flare up of rhinitis and severe carpal tunnel syndrome. After numerous visits to my GP and referrals to different specialists and an extremely painful experience with steroid injections for my carpal tunnel syndrome, I was at the end of my tether when I was still with no relief! I was unable to carry out everyday simple tasks without assistance from my family members due to the pain and inability to grip properly; tasks such as getting dressed, brushing my teeth, turning taps on and off, writing, carrying my shopping etc. I had given up on just about everything and felt I was entangled in a never ending web of pain, fear and agony. This affected my personal life significantly so that it became the most challenging personal battle and the hardest fight not just physically but emotionally and mentally.
I felt I had literally tried everything available to me (acupuncture, yoga, medication, steroid injections and lots more) and had given up hope when I stumbled across Shaheen's Pain Free Programme. I was a little sceptical and nervous initially, however this settled as soon as I started seeing Shaheen, who I have to say is the most amazingly patient person I have ever met! She persevered with me through my whole journey and never gave up hope that I could recover. I started my journey by reading Georgie's book alongside both mind body coaching and Reflexology treatment from Shaheen, trying my best to persevere with the strategies and tasks Shaheen gave me. Slowly and gradually I began to notice a difference. In particular the level of pain I was in. I started to notice that the pain in my wrist and thumb began to ease off slowly and on my good days I was totally pain free! My mid back area had always suffered from stiffness and I noticed how gradually that eased too.
I invested in books recommended by the programme and as I read through them I was astonished at how I could easily relate to everything. Eventually the pain became very infrequent but would come back from time to time. Shaheen continued to support me and provided me with the right tools and techniques to continue the SIRPA programme and not give up. This was the first time in years and after trying everything available to me that I had seen relief in my symptoms so I was determined to continue and not be disillusioned at any re-occurrence of pain.
Shaheen had explained to me that TMS/ Mind Body Syndrome pain recovery is not a linear journey due to the workings of the mind so I was prepared for this. And I am glad I persevered! All in all it took me about 8 weeks to become pain free, both in my back and in my wrist and thumb, which was quite astounding given how much pain I had suffered on and off for years.
I am living proof that TMS is a real thing and that doctors do not know everything; especially because they only look for a structural problem from where your pain is coming from. I am now totally pain free and cannot thank Shaheen enough! I have changed my lifestyle around and still use the tools and strategies I learned from the programme to help me manage any day to day challenges/stress. I would recommend anyone living with chronic pain to keep an open mind and try the programme as there is light at the end of the tunnel. Do not suffer in silence as I did for years!
Shaheen is a very personable and truly amazing. She never lost focus and even through my challenging days she persisted and encouraged me to keep going and gave me my life back. I owe it to Shaheen and the programme for the pain free life I have now”.
Owen Brinley
Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Anxiety, Knee Pain, Throat Issues.
Shaheen has been an amazing help and I highly recommend her Pain Free Programme for sufferers of what many call TMS/Mindbody Syndrome/PPD - essentially stress illness. She can really help with any symptoms that come as a result of this and is a pleasure to deal with.
Shafeen Javed
Shoulder and Neck Pain, Migraines.
I have been visiting Shaheen for nearly 3 months now for treatment for my severe shoulder and neck pain and migraines. I had been living with pain for 6 months when I went to visit Shaheen and just taking painkillers everyday. Shaheen has been amazing! I have been treated with Reflexology and Massage and also advice from Mind Body medicine which I have been following and am now so happy to say I am 80% better ! I highly recommend Shaheen , especially in her pain practitioner role as she listens carefully, is caring and skilled and very knowledgeable. Thank you Shaheen for all your help. Shafeen. x