About Us

Dedicated to nurturing the bond between animals and humans
and the trust that connects us all.

“Together, we pioneer the Trust Technique a mindful way of connecting animals and people, bringing trust, healing, and understanding to both.
Our mission is to share this authentic gift simply and widely, giving hope to individuals and communities alike.
With a deep love for nurturing change, we combine vision, therapeutic care, and gentle coordination, so that every animal, person, and family touched by this work feels supported, connected, and empowered.”

See our jouney so far

Our journey is your invitation too. May our story inspire you to discover the peace, trust, and understanding that’s possible for you and your animals.

2023
TEDx Talk Bologna Italy

On the 30th of September 2023, James and Shelley were invited to speak at TEDx Bologna Italy.

James is used to speaking all day long so condensing his talk to 17 mins was a little bit of a challenge 🙂

Click the link to see the video and please do like, comment and share as it will help deliver an important message of …

In 2021, we launched English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian subtitles for the Messages of Trust and the Trust Technique Video Course making it easier for people around the world to connect with this work.

This step is part of our commitment to help more animals and people everywhere build trust and understanding, no matter where they live or what language they speak.

2021
Subtitles And Video Course Development

2023
New Courses and updates

2020 bought the brand new video workshop of our Animal Communication course. In addition to the Audio Set, you can now watch one of our live workshops, filmed as if you were sitting there and enjoying the day yourself! It’s interactive too, which means you can practise your communication with other animals via our Forum.

In 2020, we also spent the time developing a brand new and updated layout for the Practitioner Diploma course!
It included a new way of accessing files and coursework and working on them wherever you have an internet connection. We also made aesthetic improvements, functional changes and developed our connection points with practitioners including webinars, Q&A’s and support forums.

The Messages Of Trust was an idea to create a short video series to share the essence of the Trust Technique as an introduction for those beginning their journey with us.
It’s the perfect introduction to the Trust Technique delivering practical, spiritual and inspirational insights to help both you and your animals.

2019
The Messages Of Trust Video Series

2017
Trust Technique Practitioner Is A Regulated Qualification

we created the online Level 3 Diploma, regulated by Ofqual, to guide people step by step to become fully qualified Trust Technique® Practitioners able to help both animals and people build confidence and trust through mindful connection.

This qualification enables Practitioners to hold a gentle, supportive space for people to work with the animals in their care. Clients learn how to bring mindfulness into their daily lives, share the present moment with their animals, and deepen their bond.

Through this practical, therapeutic approach, clients can overcome challenges and create real change for themselves and their animals one peaceful moment at a time.

2016 was a time of travel as we shared the teaching with the development of the I Have A Dream Day which we have taught in USA, Vietnam, Bali, Australia, Europe and the UK. A one day workshop clearly showing all the aspects of the Trust Technique.

2016
The Launch Of The I Have A Dream Workshop

2016
Therapeutic Practice

We began exploring the therapeutic side of the Trust Technique®. At its heart, the Trust Technique® is a mindful practice shared between people and their animals a simple sharing of peace of mind, which is the opposite of overthinking. This connection builds a deep bond of trust and confidence that can grow into other areas of life.

Seeing how this shared peace could help people shift from fear to trust and from over-reaction to instinctive learning we created a pilot programme with Mane Chance to support children’s mental health. It was clear how powerful this could be, not just for children but for anyone experiencing emotional or physical pain.

This understanding shaped our Trust Technique® clinics too, where people could experience this shared healing with horses and discover its real potential for changing lives

Facebook delivered this small video with a big message. Now is the time to treat animals with mindful regard. The video has a direct link where people can have a free day on the video course.
The response was overwhelming. We have now given free training to over 120,000 people and have planted a seed of hope and direction worldwide to animal care.

2015
The I Have A Dream Video

2013
Trust Technique Practitioner

The Trust Technique Practitioner course was the natural progression for the advancement of the technique. If the method is to have an impact on how people teach animals then more people need to be involved on this deeper level. This cutting edge programme of animal care works with relationship building, healing, animal assisted healing and advanced communication.
This next step of teaching practitioners charts new territory and the technique is being explored and applied in a huge arena. Practitioners support environments where animal intelligence can be seen felt and interacted with, changing human perception of animals. The courses were held in person and it soon became apparent that we could not teach the numbers who were on our waitlists, another approach was needed.

Both James and Shelley offered their services to set up the ground systems from the horses perspective of a very new sanctuary. The plan was that it was only going to be for 3 months to help their friend Jenny Seagrove. James was the interim manager for the first few months and then moved his attention to teaching. Shelley took over as the manager running the site and working with the children who visit the farm. Little did they know at the time what a special place this was to become by combining rescued horses, the Trust Technique and setting up a unique healing centre for animals and humans. This turned out to be a four and a half year project, a little more than the predicted 3 months.

2012
Helping Mane Chance Sanctuary

2009
Trust Technique Foundation Video Course

James and Shelley have dedicated their time freely to help rescue centres around the world. Working with staff and animals who have often come from lives of abuse or fear. By teaching the Trust Technique® to rescue centre teams and documenting these real-life sessions, they created an ever growing video course that now helps thousands of people build trust and connection with their own animals.

This video course includes over 250 inspiring examples from horses, dogs and cats to lions and bears alongside private consultations and detailed tutorials.

The principle is simple: we help rescue centres for free, the video course shares this knowledge with the wider public, and each purchase helps more animals and people in need. It’s a circle of trust supporting animals, people, and the vital work of rescue centres everywhere.

Originally the Trust Technique was called Practical Animal Communication. It was designed as an easy to use but highly effective therapy for both animals and people. Created from the understanding of healing and communication, its roots were an amalgamation of all the disciplines that James had learned. This date saw the first ever Trust Technique Clinic which was focused on dogs. The Trust Technique works with all animals and is a simple solution for people to help animals and help themselves. The combination of healing and communication based on regard for animals opinions is a shift in perception where people could be given simple exercises that moved the focus from animal domination to consideration.

2007
The Trust Technique

2005
Animal Communication Practitioners

After recognising that a purposeful demand existed, James and Shelley created the ACT2 Practitioners course. People could learn these skills and go on to become independent, insured animal communicators. As a stand alone or combined therapy, Animal Communication Training has been paramount in the development and standardisation of much of the animal communication learning in the UK.

James was very fortunate to study his mastership with the lineage bearer of Reiki Phyllis Lei Furumoto and was initiated in Hawaii in the old residence of Hawayo Takata. After this five year study and initiation, James started teaching First and Second degree Reiki. It was this self-healing process that started to build the bridge between what James experienced as deep relationships with animals and the communication needed to highlight the need for more compassion in working with animals.

2004
Reiki Mastreship

2000
Shelley and James

James was starting his healing path when he met Shelley. Together they dreamed of a life of helping people and their animals. Shelley helps James to go further down the Reiki path and took the bold steps of leaving her work to join him.

After finding Reiki Healing and applying this into his horse work a new understanding was opened. It was the feeling that most closely related back to the pure relationship with animals he had experienced as a child. James placed Reiki directly into his horsemanship with a profound effect. James started working with many people and animals needing healing. From children with cancer to dogs with aggression. It was at this time that he realised that to truly help an animal you must also help the people. This bigger healing picture of the relationship and how animals and people interact with each other became the central part of his work.

1999
Reiki Healing

1990
The Horse World

James trained horses for jumping and was asked to join the British Juniors Jumping Team. He also trained polo ponies and was sent around the world by Kerry Packer, working for one of the top 10 goal players in the world Gonzalo Tanoira. While in Argentina he worked bringing on young horses.
As much as this was a learning experience and great fun for a 20-year-old it was not the path that his heart had mapped out for him. He returned to backing young horses and adopted horse whispering techniques. But this was still not enough, he sensed that there was a better way. It was time to find the pure connection that he had with his childhood animal friendships. There was an obvious gap between what he understood as the relationship with an animal and what he was seeing in the horse industry.

Even at the early age of 14, James was being sent horses to work with. After rehabilitating his own rescued ponies, other people asked James to help their ponies and horses. This included the backing of young horses and was to become a passion and the start of a unique journey.

1984
Working with horses

1970
James was born in HongKong

After a tragic incident in Hong Kong where James’ sister died in a boat accident, his parents came back to the UK 1972.
They moved to a farm in Surrey where they had dogs, horses and cats. The huge loss had put a great strain on the relationship between James’ parents.