Time Out Drum Therapy

I was suffering greatly with my mental health and reached out for help and when I began working with Peter I was amazed and impressed what a great, relatable and professional guy he was! !. He helped me overcome so much. I learned a massive amount and improved as a human being. Opened up new avenues and possibilities and taught me in a way that was very enjoyable and beneficial to my personality. He worked in a way that was pragmatic and flowed perfectly. My mindset was turned around and is now unrecognisable and I owe it in majority to peters help. Massively recommended!! More...

I had Sessions with him for a 18 months and it was the best experience possible he is such a understanding person and has changed my life for the better would recommend 100%

I went into my CBT sessions with Peter not completely sure what to expect or what I wanted to get out of it, and even with a small degree of cynicism about how helpful it could really be, but I found him to be very easy to speak to, and good at probing and asking the right questions to make me open up and find the direction I wanted to take my life in, and then give me the right encouragement to start on that path. It took a bit of time for me to open up properly, but he was very patient with me and the sessions have genuinely been life-changing for me. I couldn't recommend him highly enough. More...

Working with Time Out Drum Therapy was a pleasant experience. They take their time to work at a pace comfortable for you and take feedback between sessions really well. They are also great for scheduling and ensuring that at the end of a session you always feel better than when you started. More...

I found the CBT I undertook with Peter really benefited me as it opened my eyes to any potential toxic behaviours or patterns I had been avoiding to tackle in my life and taught me to accept that I don't have to be defined by what has been but also to take responsibility for my past actions, as well as being able to spot signs of when my mental health is dipping.
Due to the course I had taken with Peter, my self awareness of how my behavioural patterns in the past were really damaging my life are now essentially eradicated and I am benefiting so much more and I feel so much more positive and in control of what my destiny is for myself.
I fully advise anyone who has to seek any help with their mental health to go to Time out drum therapy as it helped me cut out toxic behaviours and taught me to love myself and be more positive in my day to day life.
Thank you Peter.
You really helped me out, Jason More...

My favourite hour of learning. I cannot recommend Peter highly enough. He is smart, perceptive, compassionate and has worked hard for his profession which is something that comes through so clearly on our sessions when we speak - he explains everything very clearly but in a way that prompts you to arrive to conclusions by yourself. He never wants to speak for you but with you. And this is empowering. I like it when people are dedicated to helping others in the most respectful way, being professionals, listening and challenging, showing how to start thinking everything through different lens and angles. I thought I started counselling because I wanted to have control over my thoughts and emotions, but, in reality all I wanted was someone to support me while I was letting go. Peter, I will always be grateful. More...

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

This was the first time I had undertaken any kind of therapy, so I was quite wary to begin with. However, Peter completely put me at ease right from the start. He is very understanding and easy to talk to. I thought any kind of therapy would be all serious and gloomy, but Peter has a good sense of humour, which I really appreciated. He is very encouraging and positive, and no matter how I felt at the start of each session, I always felt better about myself at the end.
Thank you Peter for your support and encouragement over the last few months. More...

I would definitely recommend Peter to any of my friends or family , he is very person centred and very flexible . Over our 6 months or so of working together, I've had other things crop up that have impacted my mental health and wellbeing and Peter has been happy to let me discuss this with him at the time rather than me needing to stick to a set agenda.
Since working with Peter intensively for the past 6 months or so with a 1 hour session every week, I have gained in confidence and self belief and has helped me both personally and professionally.
Thank you so much for everything you have done for me over the last few months I really do appreciate it More...

Helped my daughter enormously, she is now in a much better mindset & is ready to cope with what the world throws at her. The sessions gave her a positive outlook & the tools to cope with any negativity in the future. More...

Peter was so reassuring right from 1st session I feel able to totally open up to him. He let me guide to conversation and asked me thought provoking questions to allow me see things from a more positive perspective. It was a huge contribution to my journey back to mental well-being More...

Peter is very professional non judgemental, easy to talk to and very very motivating. At the start of my counselling, I was very anxious and apprehensive but within minutes of my first video counselling session I was put at ease with his calm approach and polite manner. Peter has been so helpful and respectful of my journey and with his expert guidance, insight and support, has helped me get my life and relationships back on track. I can’t thank Peter enough and would without doubt recommend his professional services. More...

Excellent engagement process and a company that “gets it”.

Thank you.

Absolutely fantastic! What I have learnt from Peter and how I have implemented changes have changed my life, I cannot recommend enough. Thank you for everything over these last 6 months! More...

Peter at Time Out Drum Therapy has been working with my 10 year old son over the last 5 months.
We have found Peter to be very warm and friendly and he made both my son and I feel completely at ease.
It has been a very positive experience for us, with fantastic results.
Harmony has been restored in our family and we can’t thank Peter enough for all his help.
We have both thoroughly enjoyed working with Peter and will really miss our fortnightly meetings. More...

Peter from Time Out Drum Therapy has been working with our children on a weekly basis for approximately four years, offering a first class service. During this time he has supported a number of students who require additional support for a number of reasons. He is dedicated to providing a first class service specific to the individual needs of each child, building positive relationships that the children look forward to each week.
The work that Peter has carried out has had a lasting impact on the student. As no two children deal with emotions in the same way he has tailored the support to the individual child, working with children who are experiencing anger management issues, explaining self-regulation, supporting those experiencing anxiety and depression, to name but a few.
I am thankful for his time spent with the children and the life-long experiences he has provided.
I would definitely recommend his counselling and therapy sessions.

Berni Wynne
SENDCO More...

I would definitely recommend using this service.

After being apprehensive due to lack of experience with psychotherapy/counselling, Peter immediately put me at ease with a very welcoming style. Over the course of our sessions he was very quick in identifying issues and providing solutions, which have helped me immensely over the course of our sessions.

Overall, I would 100% recommend using this service to anyone considering it. Thank you very much to Peter for an uplifting experience, which has left me in a much healthier place than I was before. More...

Winterton Community Academy is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in North Lincolnshire and providing education and learning to over 500 pupils aged between 11 and 16 years.

Peter uses counselling and psychotherapy skills, with and without the use of drums to provide therapy to those pupils referred to his service. The students referred require additional support for a variety of reasons, this at times may relate to the students school or home life.

Peter, has been supporting our students at Winterton Community Academy with great commitment and professionalism. Students feel at ease and within a safe environment with Peter and enjoy the dedication that he shows towards the them during the designated sessions. Sessions are varied times lengths as no two pupils are the same. Peter shows care, compassion, understanding and empathy and supports each student uniquely according to their identified need. Peter is committed to helping each student and gives time, understanding and sensitivity to enable each individual to build a positive relationship. This serves to allow and empower free talk time and time to play the drums as part of the therapeutic sessions.

Alison Burman
Inclusion and Safeguarding Officer
Winterton Community Academy More...

Peter at Time Out Drum Therapy has been working with one of our Children in Care students on a weekly basis from October 2019 and is dedicated to offering a first class service to his students.

Peter is such a likeable person who is very caring and passionate about his work that he carries out with his students. I personally feel that you have to be a type of person for a vulnerable young student to feel comfortable and relaxed in their surroundings and Peter definitely offers this.

The work that Peter has carried out so far has had amazing benefits for our student which has allowed him to deal with his anger issues through different techniques that Peter has discussed with the student. This has allowed the student to deal with situations more calmly and think about the impact that negative behaviour may cause to his own self esteem and in turn giving him more confidence to deal with every day life.

This is a valuable service that Peter offers to a wide variety of clients and one we look forward to starting again, hopefully very soon. More...

“Drum Therapy? Errrr What”??

I have never done anything like this before and didn’t know what to expect.
I had been asked if I would like to take part in a session with Pete and was told that I could play some drums and just chat to a guy about whatever was on my mind but that I didn’t have to if I felt uncomfortable.

When I met Pete I didn’t really know what to say so was abit quiet.
Pete told me who he was and told me about what he does.
I could see some drums and drumsticks but that was about it.
To start with I didn’t really say much but Pete talked to me and asked me questions about me and my life and family.
He would tell jokes and make weird faces and that made me feel better.
Pete always listened to what I was saying and talked to me about my problems with anger and behaviour.

Me and Pete would talk for abit and then we would play drums on a bongo drum that he brought with him. He had an electric drum too which makes loads of noises and I could play with sticks.
I hadn’t played drums before and was abit shy but after a few goes it was easy and I could play along with songs I like.
Me and Pete would play games with the drums and have races with our hands.
Sometimes we played drums first and sometimes we talked first but we always did both. Sometimes I didn’t want to talk so we played drums more but we still talked to each other.

Pete made me feel comfortable and safe in the room and when I did talk Pete would listen and ask me questions. We talked about ways to deal with my anger and he drew a circle and we put things inside it like what makes me angry, what happens when I get angry and how I feel when I am angry.
We talked about this a lot and who my behaviour affected.
We also talked about other feelings like happiness, sadness, depression, anxiety, confidence and mindset. When I spoke to Pete he said we needed to build up my confidence and that the drums would help but I didn’t believe him.
I did realise though that I became more confident at playing drums.
I used to look at the floor when Pete asked me questions and didn’t feel confident about looking up. Now, Pete has made me feel confident about myself and I don’t have to look somewhere else when I am talking to anyone’. 

Since starting with Pete I have been in less trouble, I get on with my work and ignore people that bother me.
I feel a lot happier and feel more confident about myself.
I love my drum sessions and I look forward to them so much that I get there early.

Thank you Pete. More...

Peter Oak

A review from St Hugh’s School, a state special school for young people aged between 11 and 19 years. The school provides education and learning for those students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Moderate Learning Difficulty, Physical Disability and issues around Speech, Language and Communication needs. Within these, a range of behaviour is presented by students, particularly around emotional distress and challenging behaviour from anger and conflict, anxiety and depression, attachment and identity issues, relationship problems, lack of self-confidence and self-esteem, poor motivation, negative thoughts and other issues.

Peter provided a dual approach to therapy with our students with the use of counselling skills and with and without the use of drums.

In terms of the counselling skills perspective of Peter’s work, he was able to ‘connect’ and communicate effectively and with compassion with the students with the use of his skills in listening, summarising and clarifying what had been said, focusing on the issues being talked about, reflecting feelings back to the students (particularly with those who had difficulty in understanding their own feelings and emotions), supportive questions to help the student to clarify an experience of a feeling, and allowing silence to give time to think as well as talk, building levels of trust and safety, in order to feel comfortable with the experience.

Initially Peter made a link with school via our Music department in 2014 and worked in partnership with our school until 2019. The students had enjoyed the drum sessions so much that the school was keen to investigate further projects that Time Out Drum Therapy could facilitate. We were not disappointed when Peter agreed to complete some drumming therapy sessions with some of our youngsters experiencing challenges in their everyday life. The sessions were so beneficial to the students in supporting their emotional wellbeing that we broadened the remit from taking students 1:1, to small group work, lunchtime clubs and working with some of our more complex students. It was very evident that Peter had a passion for drumming and this in turn changed the lives of many of our students who became very proficient at drumming, showcasing their skills in assemblies and talent shows, not only developing a talent / hobby for life but also giving them a channel, to calm and regulate their emotions. We are very grateful for the experience this provided for youngsters that otherwise may have been unavailable in their school experience.

Katrina Pawlyszyn
Assistant Head teacher
St Hugh’s School More...