How Exposure, Creativity, And Compassion Rewire Anxiety with Jonny Baker

Send us Fan MailThe gap between fear and freedom is often smaller than it feels. We sit down with therapist and coach Jonny Baker to unpack how integrative hypnotherapy, NLP, guided meditation, and psychotherapy principles combine to help people move from spirals of anxiety into steadier, more connected lives. Johnny’s route from art school to hypnosis shaped a practice that prizes imagination, pacing, and relationship over rigid protocols, and his approach shows why creativity is not a luxury in therapy—it is a lever for change.We dig into health anxiety and death anxiety, two themes that quietly dominate many lives, and explore how graded exposure can be applied not just to spiders or lifts, but to intrusive thoughts, bodily sensations, and long-held fears. Jonny explains how to titrate discomfort, expand tolerance without white-knuckling, and keep agency with the client at every step. Working fully online from Milan, he highlights the surprising strengths of video therapy, the role of meditations in between sessions, and the practical realities of growing a practice when geography blurs.The conversation zooms out to the wider wellness landscape: social media stress, algorithmic polarisation, and why so many minds feel overclocked. Johnny references Ian McGilchrist’s hemispheric model to argue for a shift toward right-brain leadership—connection, nuance, and process—so goals live alongside presence. We also get candid about the business: how to niche without narrowing your humanity, why simple messages beat clever ones, and how periodic case analysis can sharpen clinical craft. If you’re navigating anxiety, building a therapy practice, or just craving a more whole-brain way to live, this one offers practical steps and a calmer frame to think within.If the conversation resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs it today, and leave a review to help more people find thoughtful mental health conversations.👤 Guest BiographyJonny Baker is an integrative therapist and coach who runs Change Feels Good, a practice blending hypnotherapy, NLP, coaching, and meditation. With a creative background and nearly two decades of clinical experience, Jonny helps clients rewire anxiety through a practical, compassionate approach grounded in neuroscience and behavioural change. He works primarily online with adults seeking transformation through emotional clarity, exposure work, and deep therapeutic connection.Social Media Handles:Website: https://changefeelsgood.comLinked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonnybaker/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/change.feels.good/Insight Timer: Jonny Baker on Insight TimerSubscribe on SubstackVoices in Health and Wellness is published on Substack, as part of The Diagnostician. Every episode lands there with written notes and reflections you won't find in the podcast feed. Free to subscribe.👉 https://thediagnostician.substack.com/s/voices-in-health-and-wellnessAbout the podcastVoices in Health and Wellness features conversations at the intersection of medicine, lifestyle, and human potential, with clinicians, scientists, and thinkers shaping the future of care.About Dr Andrew GreenlandUK-based medical doctor and founder of Greenland Medical, specialising in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Trained in both conventional and root-cause approaches, Andrew helps people optimise health, performance, and longevity, with a focus on cognitive resilience and healthy ageing.