Our Daughter Can Now Go To Sleep At Night

1st September 2014

Mr. Owen Connolly,

For years we have had a lot of trouble with our eldest daughter Sarah getting to sleep at night. She would always worry about where we were and it got to such a point that going out at night became a huge issue. Whenever she was left with a baby sitter even a family member it always resulted in a lot of anxiety for Sarah. This resulted in home life becoming very difficult and the night time routine was very stressful. As a parent you blame yourself with questions such as where did we go wrong. Having read many books on the subject and even attending a parenting course all proved fruitless. It also got to the stage where even when we were at home she was still distressed and would engage in somewhat obsessional night time routine which included checking plugs and shouting down from bed to see where we were .

As the problem was getting steadily worse we consulted with Sarah’s G.P who suggested a session of play therapy with a play therapist she recommended. However after a course of this therapy there was absolutely no improvement in her distress at night .It was very upsetting for us to witness her distress and no amount of reassurance or bribery at night.

Then we finally had a breakthrough when Mr Owen Connolly was recommended to us. Even after one session with him and Sarah we could finally get some answers. Owen first of all reassured us that there was nothing wrong with Sarah as such which came as an immense relief to us both. Owen then taught our daughter a very simple breathing technique to help her relax in herself which would ultimately help her to fall asleep naturally. By attaching her to the relevant computer programme Sarah was actually able to visualise how her deep breathing could relax her and reset her alarm as such in her head. Owen was able to show Sarah how her alarm was on constant high alert which meant she was quite stressed at bed time and could not drop off to sleep. Also because it took her so long to get asleep often not dropping off till 1 o clock in the morning .This resulted in her being exhausted and grumpy the next morning which affected the atmosphere in the whole family. Sarah is an extremely intelligent and sensitive child and by being able to actually visualise on a screen how effectively she could regulate her anxiety made it very real to her . This self belief in the method enabled her to practice it and slowly but surely we began to see a gradual and steady improvement in her night time routine. She developed a great trust in Owen and a respect and he really listened to her. She found it easy to relate to him and this was also of great importance. It was great to see her being able to go off to bed and how when she practiced her breathing routine she was able to drift off to sleep. The constant shouting down to us in need of reassurance also abated and she has gradually been shortening her obsessional checking to a minimum before she goes up to bed.

Owen has helped to give Sarah a life long skill to relax and a belief in herself that she can help herself and for this we are eternally grateful. It has made home life in our household so much more relaxed and for our other two daughters as well.

We would both like to thank you Owen most sincerely for all your help and advice over the past few months and wish you the very best.

Kind regards