How does your nervous system affect your decisions at work and in your personal life? Is it true that the body decides first, followed by the brain? Using a neuroscience-based approach, psychologist Alta Rens clarifies our nervous system prediction & response network, and what influences it. She explains how BWRT interrupts and rewrites reflex patterns, enabling us to achieve calm, coherent and sustainable states.
Alta at Guildhall - see the congratulatory note below
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In episode 263 of the weekly podcast series Calm, Clear & Helpful, counselling psychologist, team leader, leadership development consultant & trauma-informed practitioner Alta Rens considers
the nervous system: the ‘internal architecture’ that drives a person’s leadership state
the central nervous system, including the amygdala, cerebellum, basal ganglia, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, insula, and striatum
the peripheral nervous system, including the autonomic and somatic branches
the autonomic nervous system, carrying the sympathetic and parasympathetic components
therapy and learning to detect our internal signals
our focus levels becoming narrower when we’ve been triggered, instead of us calming down and revising our threat predictions
how regulation, including breath work and grounding, serves us when we’re reacting to triggers
Antonio Demasio’ somatic marker hypothesis: decision-making begins with bio-regulatory signals at cellular level
BWRT as an approach which interrupts and rewrites pre-emotional, preconscious patterns
what’s expected from leaders, including psychological safety
achieving calm, coherent and sustainable leadership
Alta’s challenge to listeners.
In this episode, Alta mentions the book “Descartes’ error” by the neuroscientist Antonio Demasio, and Benjamin Libet’s findings - applied by Terence Watts, the creator of BrainWorking Recursive Therapy.
Scroll down for more information on Alta, including her contact details.
Congratulations to Alta, who has just been granted the Freedom of the City of London! (October 2026)
Read Alta’s replies to 8 personal questions.
You can also listen to Alta’s advice on how business founders can dissolve subconscious conflicts.
About Alta
Alta Rens is a counselling psychologist, team leader, leadership development consultant, trauma-informed practitioner and Freeman of the City of London, based in Suffolk, England. Her career spans more than 30 years. She works privately, and online, with business founders who find that building something great costs them more than they let on. Issues may include financial anxiety and the psychology of risk, identity and self-worth under pressure, decision fatigue and cognitive overload, and team conflict and trust breakdown.
Alta’s work is not coaching but psychologically deep, neurologically informed work that goes beneath the surface, addressing what's actually driving the pattern, the block, or the burnout.
Website http://www.rebootpractice.com/
Email alta@rebootpractice.com
LinkedIn: Alta Rens
Instagram: rebootwithalta
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About the host: Mariette Snyman is an award-winning South African journalist and host of the Calm, Clear & Helpful podcast. Learn more: https://www.mariettesnyman.co.za/llm
Original music by Mart-Marie Snyman, feat. James Robb and Matinino
Thumbnail image: Unsplash
Photographs of Alta Rens: supplied