Hi I’m Debs Bamford
and I’ve been known as ‘Aunty Debs’ since I was a teenager myself. I was the kid that everyone came to for advice as even at that age I would listen and give a variety of options for my friends to mull over. I was rubbish at gaining perspective for myself though and would get stuck in a loop of negativity as I had little self-worth.
The first time I felt totally confident in myself was being a counsellor at Camp Walden, Michigan in my 20’s. I learnt how to communicate with teenagers on their level through fun activities and living in a cabin for 8 weeks with 14 of them. I loved it so much I went back a 2nd year! The Walden Way is the philosophy I have adopted within Confidence Camp. Kids feel safe and cared for, they develop independence and gain skills and techniques with help them build their self esteem and feed their self confidence.
It was a game changer as far as teaching was concerned. From the moment I started my first teaching post 24 years ago, lessons were times for fun based learning and breaks became a thing of the past. My office was a safe zone where judgements were left at the door and students could chat ‘stuff’ with me.
Fast forward a few years; travelling the world, finding personal development, running a business then hitting a brick wall of depression, made me take stock of my life. I’d read an NLP book a few years earlier and decided I wanted to learn it so I had tangible techniques to use so I could really help people who were still entrusting me with their problems.
My experience of being a Master Practitioner of NLP, Coaching, Time Line Therapy® and Hypnosis has had a profound effect on my life, students I teach and the friends who still call me Aunty Debs. So once I’d completed Trainers Training in NLP, I decided to adapt the techniques to suit Educators, Teenagers and Parents.
My purpose is to help teenagers, it always has been. So by training parents and teachers in specific skills and techniques which are slightly different from traditional methods, I wish for all parties involved to become the best versions of themselves that they can be, become emotionally resilient and ultimately confident.
