Foundations of Calm Learning and Confidence – Exclusive Interview with AnneMarie Smellie

AnneMarie Smellie is a UK-based neurodevelopmental practitioner, kinesiologist, and hypnotherapist with over 20 years of clinical experience supporting children, adults, and families experiencing anxiety, learning differences, and emotional regulation challenges.

AnneMarie Smellie, Neurodevelopmental Practitioner, Kinesiologist, and Hypnotherapist

Who is AnneMarie Smellie?

I’m AnneMarie Smellie, the founder of Quester Therapies and I’ve spent over 20 years working with children and adults who are struggling with anxiety, learning challenges, emotional regulation and the complexities of neurodiversity.

My work is built on a simple belief: when we understand the foundations, everything else becomes easier. I specialise in identifying underlying factors that are often missed – such as retained primitive reflexes, auditory processing differences, nervous system regulation, nutritional and toxicity influences, and subconscious patterns that shape behaviour and emotional resilience.

I originally trained as a hypnotherapist, and over time, my work has evolved into a fully integrative, mind-body approach. Today, I blend neurodevelopmental programmes, kinesiology, auditory work, and mindset support to help the brain and body work together more efficiently and with less stress. I’m particularly passionate about making complex neuroscience and body-based concepts accessible and practical, so families and individuals feel empowered rather than overwhelmed.

I work extensively with neurodiverse children – including those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, anxiety, and sensory processing challenges – as well as adults who feel stuck, anxious, overloaded, or disconnected from their potential. My approach is never about “fixing” someone. It’s about understanding what the body is asking for and supporting it to function as it was designed to.

Alongside my clinical work, I’m a speaker, author and advocate for a more compassionate, whole-person approach to mental health, learning, and well-being. Through my writing, talks and programmes, my aim is to help people look beneath the symptoms and create meaningful, lasting change.

What inspired you to start Quester Therapies?

Quester Therapies was born from years of sitting with people who had been told that their struggles were “just the way things are” – children labelled as difficult or inattentive and adults carrying anxiety, overwhelm or self-doubt without ever being given a deeper explanation.

Early in my career as a hypnotherapist, I became fascinated by the gap between what people wanted to change and what their bodies seemed able to do. I saw time and again that insight alone wasn’t enough. When the nervous system is under pressure, when development hasn’t fully integrated or when the sensory world feels too loud or too fast, willpower and positive thinking simply don’t stick.

As my training expanded into neurodevelopmental work, kinesiology, auditory processing and nutritional influences, the picture became clearer. Many challenges – from anxiety and behavioural outbursts to learning difficulties and emotional shutdown – weren’t signs of failure or weakness. They were signals that the foundations weren’t fully in place.

Quester Therapies grew from a desire to create a space where those foundations could be explored properly and compassionately. A place where we don’t rush to label or medicate, but instead ask better questions: What is the body struggling to process? What is the nervous system trying to protect? What does this person actually need to feel safe and capable?

At its heart, Quester Therapies is about curiosity rather than judgement. The name reflects that – a quest to understand what’s really going on beneath the surface and to support lasting change by working with the body and brain, not against them.

What makes your holistic approach different from conventional therapy?

What makes my holistic approach different is that I don’t start with the assumption that a person’s difficulties are purely psychological or behavioural. I start with the body and the nervous system – because no amount of talking or cognitive strategies can override a system that feels unsafe, overwhelmed, or underdeveloped.

Conventional therapy often focuses on managing symptoms: coping strategies, behaviour plans, or re-framing thoughts. Those can be helpful, but in my experience, they only go so far if the foundations aren’t in place. I look at why a child or adult is struggling – whether that’s retained primitive reflexes affecting regulation and learning, auditory processing differences making the world feel too loud or unpredictable, nutritional or toxicity burdens impacting brain function, or subconscious stress patterns held in the body.

My work is integrative and practical. I combine neurodevelopmental movement, auditory work, kinesiology, mindset support, and nervous system regulation so the brain and body can work together more efficiently. Rather than asking someone to push through or “try harder,” I focus on removing the obstacles that are getting in the way of natural regulation, focus, and resilience.

Another key difference is that I don’t see people as broken or disordered. Behaviours, anxiety, and learning challenges are information signals that something underneath needs support. When those signals are listened to and the foundations are strengthened, change often happens more quickly and more sustainably than people expect.

Ultimately, my approach isn’t about fixing symptoms. It’s about creating the conditions in which the body and brain can do what they were designed to do – with less stress, more capacity, and a greater sense of ease.

How do you identify the root causes behind learning or behavioural challenges?

I start by slowing everything down and looking at the whole picture, not just the presenting problem. Learning and behavioural challenges rarely have a single cause, so I’m always asking, what is driving this from underneath?

I begin with a detailed history – early development, birth factors, milestones, emotional patterns, sensory sensitivities, sleep, nutrition, stress, and environment. These details often hold important clues about how the nervous system has developed and what it’s currently coping with.

From there, I assess foundational areas that are frequently overlooked. This includes checking for retained primitive reflexes that can interfere with regulation, attention, posture and learning; exploring auditory processing to understand how someone is taking in and filtering sound; and looking at nutritional, biochemical and toxicity influences that may be affecting brain function and emotional resilience.

I also pay close attention to how the nervous system responds in real time. Through kinesiology and observational assessment, I can see where the body is under stress and what it is prioritising. This helps me distinguish between behaviours that are emotional in origin and those that are protective responses to overload or unmet developmental needs.

What’s important to me is that nothing is viewed in isolation. A child’s behaviour, or an adult’s anxiety, is never “the problem” – it’s a signal. When you understand what the body and brain are reacting to, the path forward becomes much clearer, and support can be tailored in a way that feels respectful, targeted, and achievable.

Can you explain how your programmes help children with ADHD, dyslexia, or sensory issues?

My programmes help children with ADHD, dyslexia, and sensory processing challenges by strengthening the foundations that learning, focus, and emotional regulation depend on.

Many of these children are bright and capable, but their brains and bodies are working overtime just to cope. When the nervous system is under constant pressure, skills like attention, working memory, reading, writing, and emotional control become far harder than they need to be. Rather than focusing on symptoms, I work on what’s driving that overload.

A core part of my approach is supporting nervous system regulation and integrating retained primitive reflexes. When these early reflexes haven’t fully integrated, they can interfere with posture, coordination, eye tracking, auditory processing, and attention – all of which are essential for learning. By addressing these foundations, children often find that concentrating, sitting still, and processing information takes far less effort.

For children with dyslexia or sensory sensitivities, I also look closely at how they are processing sound, movement, and visual information. If sensory input is distorted or overwhelming, the brain is constantly compensating, which leads to fatigue, frustration, and anxiety. Supporting sensory and auditory processing can make a noticeable difference to focus, comprehension, and emotional resilience.

The programmes are practical, child-friendly, and tailored to each individual. They’re not about asking children to try harder or masking their difficulties, but about removing the obstacles that are getting in the way. When the foundations are supported, confidence builds naturally – and learning starts to feel achievable rather than exhausting.

What role does nutrition and nervous system balance play in overall development?

Nutrition and nervous system balance play a foundational role in overall development because the brain and body cannot function optimally without the right support at a physiological level.

The nervous system is responsible for how we regulate emotions, process information, respond to stress, and engage with learning. If it’s constantly in a heightened state – driven by stress, sensory overload, or unmet developmental needs – a child may appear anxious, inattentive, reactive, or shut down. In that state, learning and emotional resilience are significantly compromised.

Nutrition is deeply intertwined with this. The brain is one of the most nutritionally demanding organs in the body, and imbalances in key nutrients can affect attention, mood, energy levels, and cognitive processing. I often see children and adults who are doing their best, but their systems are under-fuelled or struggling to detoxify effectively, which places additional strain on the nervous system.

Rather than focusing on perfection or restrictive diets, my approach is about understanding what that individual needs. When nutritional support is aligned with nervous system regulation – alongside movement, sensory support, and emotional safety – the body has a far greater capacity to develop, adapt, and cope.

When these foundations are in place, improvements in focus, behaviour, emotional regulation, and confidence often follow naturally. Development isn’t about pushing harder; it’s about creating the internal conditions that allow growth to happen with greater ease.

How do your neuro-developmental and auditory programmes support better learning and focus?

My neuro-developmental and auditory programmes support better learning and focus by helping the brain and body process information more efficiently and with less stress.

Learning depends on the brain being able to organise movement, posture, sensory input, and attention at the same time. When neuro-developmental foundations haven’t fully matured, children may struggle to sit still, track words on a page, follow instructions, or hold information in working memory – not because they’re not trying, but because their systems are working too hard.

Through specific movement-based activities, I support the integration of early developmental reflexes and strengthen the pathways that underpin attention, coordination, and emotional regulation. As these foundations improve, many children find that focus and stamina increase naturally, without needing to force concentration.

The auditory programmes focus on how the brain processes sound. If certain frequencies are over- or under-processed, the brain has to compensate constantly, which can affect attention, comprehension, language, and emotional regulation. By gently supporting auditory processing, the brain can filter and interpret sound more accurately, reducing cognitive fatigue and sensory overload.

When neuro-developmental and auditory systems are better organised, learning requires less effort. Children often become calmer, more engaged, and more able to sustain attention – not because they’ve been trained to behave differently, but because their brains are finally getting the input they need in a way they can manage.

What results have families seen after working with you?

Families often come to me feeling exhausted and unsure of what else to try. What they typically notice first is a shift in regulation – children becoming calmer, less reactive, and more settled within themselves. That change alone can make daily life feel more manageable.

Over time, many families report improvements in focus, emotional regulation, confidence, and resilience. Children who previously found school overwhelming may find it easier to concentrate, follow instructions, and cope with sensory input. Parents often tell me that learning requires less effort, homework becomes less of a battle, and emotional outbursts reduce in both intensity and frequency.

For some children, progress shows up academically – improved reading fluency, better working memory, or increased stamina in the classroom. For others, it’s more subtle but just as important: better sleep, reduced anxiety, improved self-esteem, or a child who is happier and more engaged with the world around them.

What I’m always clear about is that every child is different, and results aren’t about quick fixes. The most meaningful feedback I receive is when parents say they feel they finally understand their child, and their child feels more capable rather than constantly under pressure. When the foundations are supported, progress tends to be steadier, more sustainable, and deeply reassuring for the whole family.

Why is addressing mindset and emotional well-being important alongside physical symptoms?

Addressing mindset and emotional well-being alongside physical symptoms is essential because the body and mind are not separate systems – they constantly influence each other.

I often work with children and adults whose bodies are doing their best to cope, but whose internal dialogue is shaped by years of frustration, anxiety, or feeling “not good enough.” Even when physical foundations begin to improve, those emotional patterns can continue to hold someone in a state of stress or self-doubt if they’re not gently addressed.

Emotions are closely linked to the nervous system. When someone feels unsafe, overwhelmed, or under constant pressure, the body remains in a heightened state, which can limit learning, focus, and resilience. Supporting emotional well-being helps the nervous system settle, allowing the physical work – whether that’s neuro-developmental, sensory or nutritional – to have a far greater impact.

Mindset work isn’t about forcing positivity or ignoring real challenges. It’s about helping individuals understand their responses, build emotional awareness, and develop a sense of safety and self-trust. When people feel emotionally supported as well as physically regulated, they’re far more able to engage, adapt, and move forward.

True progress happens when physical support and emotional understanding work together. Addressing one without the other often leads to short-term change; addressing both creates the conditions for lasting growth and confidence.

How do you tailor your treatment plans to fit each individual’s needs?

I tailor every treatment plan by starting with the individual rather than a diagnosis. Two people can present with the same label and have completely different underlying needs, so my focus is always on understanding how this person’s system is functioning right now.

I begin with a detailed history and assessment, looking at development, learning patterns, sensory sensitivities, emotional responses, lifestyle, and stressors. I also observe how the nervous system responds in real time, which helps me identify where the body is under pressure and what it is prioritising.

From there, I create a programme that targets the most relevant foundations – whether that’s nervous system regulation, neuro-developmental movement, auditory processing, nutritional support, or mindset and emotional well

being. The work is layered and responsive rather than fixed. As the body and brain change, the programme adapts.

Importantly, I keep the plans practical and achievable. Families and individuals need strategies that fit into real life, not rigid protocols that add more stress. I regularly review progress and adjust the focus, so support remains aligned with what the person needs at each stage.

Tailoring isn’t about doing more – it’s about doing what’s most effective. When support is matched to the individual, change tends to feel more natural, sustainable, and empowering.

What advice would you give a parent who’s unsure if therapy is the right next step?

My advice would be to trust your instincts and slow the process down. If something in your child’s learning, behaviour, or emotional well-being doesn’t feel quite right, that curiosity is worth listening to – even if you’re not sure what the next step should be.

Therapy doesn’t have to mean that something is “wrong” or that you’re committing to a long, intensive process. Sometimes it’s simply about gaining clarity. Understanding why your child is struggling can be deeply reassuring and can help you make informed choices, whether that leads to therapy or not.

That’s why I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation. It gives parents the opportunity to talk through what’s been happening, ask questions, and get a sense of whether I feel I may be able to help. It’s also a chance for me to understand what’s going on for their child before any decisions are made.

I also encourage parents to look beyond surface behaviours. Anxiety, resistance, emotional outbursts, or difficulties with focus are often signs that a child’s system is under pressure, not that they’re being difficult. Support is most effective when it feels respectful and developmentally appropriate, rather than corrective or punitive.

Finally, choose support that feels aligned with your child and your values. A good therapeutic relationship should leave you feeling understood, not judged or rushed. When parents feel supported and informed, they’re far better placed to help their child thrive – regardless of what path they decide to take next.

What’s the first thing someone should do if they want to start working with you?

The first step is a free phone consultation. This gives us both the opportunity to talk things through and see whether I feel I’m the right person to help.

During the call, parents or individuals can briefly share what’s been going on, what their main concerns are, and what they’re hoping for. It allows me to get an initial sense of what might be happening beneath the surface and whether my approach is likely to be a good fit.

There’s no obligation and no pressure to move forward. If I feel I can help, I’ll explain what the next steps might look like. If I don’t think I’m the right fit, I’ll always be honest and, where possible, point them in a more appropriate direction.

Starting with a conversation creates clarity and reassurance. It means people feel informed and supported from the outset, rather than jumping into something without understanding what’s involved.

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