The celebrity therapist is marking four decades of changing people’s lives

For more than three decades, Marisa Peer has built a global reputation as one of the world’s most sought-after therapists, working with everyone from Olympic athletes and CEOs to royalty and rockstars. Voted Britain’s best therapist and recognised internationally for her pioneering work, she is the founder of Rapid Transformational Therapy® (RTT®), a therapeutic method that blends hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, NLP, CBT and neuroscience to address the root causes of emotional and behavioural challenges. Today, through both her one-to-one client work and the RTT® School, she has trained thousands of practitioners across more than 100 countries, helping individuals unlock lasting change and reshape the beliefs that define their lives.

Marisa recently brought her live experience, Upgrade Your Life, to Dubai, a city she now calls home. “I think every city has its own energy, and Dubai, which has been my home for the past four years, is just electric,” she explains. “There’s this incredible mix of curiosity, ambition, and a real hunger to grow - not just in business or careers, but in life. People here want more than success; they want fulfilment.”

Yet beneath that ambition, she observes, many individuals are placing immense pressure on themselves to succeed. “I have also noticed just how much pressure many people here put on themselves to reach their dreams, and that’s exactly why hosting Upgrade Your Life in Dubai felt so meaningful.” The response from attendees was immediate. “The audience was open, willing, and ready to really change, and I loved seeing them leave the event buzzing with clarity, ready to take bold steps and rewrite the stories they’d been carrying for years.”

This year marks four decades of Marisa’s career, and her enduring fascination with the human mind has not waned. “After forty years as a therapist, what still amazes me is just how many people are being held back by an old belief system that is running or ruining their lives without them even realizing,” she says. “But change is possible, as the brain is so adaptable.”

Rapid Transformational Therapy was developed in response to what she saw as a critical gap within traditional approaches. “Traditional therapy often takes far too long and still leaves many people feeling stuck,” she explains. “Many therapies focus on talking about problems and treating the surface symptoms, without addressing the root cause.” RTT, on the other hand, works at a subconscious level to identify and reframe deeply embedded beliefs. “RTT does this by going straight to the root cause of a problem, reframing it, and then rewiring and recoding the mind at a subconscious level so people can step into freedom.”

Much of Marisa’s work centers on the narratives we form early in life, particularly those carried by high-achieving women. “For high-achieving women, one story pops up again and again: ‘I must do more to be enough.’ It’s almost universal,” she notes. These women, she says, are often brilliant and accomplished, yet exhausted by the need to prove themselves. Other recurring beliefs include “I am responsible for everyone else’s happiness” or “If I’m not perfect, I will fail.

As we approach International Women’s Day, her message remains clear. “You are enough. You were born enough. Society has spent centuries telling women they have to do more, be more, achieve more to be worthy - but worth is inherent. It’s not earned; it’s always been inside you.” When women begin to internalise this belief, she says, the impact extends across every area of their lives. “When you truly believe in your own worth, life gets easier - relationships improve, work becomes more fulfilling, and you finally feel free to show up as yourself.”

For women balancing leadership roles, family life and personal growth, the shift often begins with abandoning perfectionism. “Perfection isn’t the goal - progress is. Embrace your flaws - they’re what make you uniquely you. I like to call it being ‘flawsome!’” Equally important is the move from external to internal validation. “If you tie your worth to external achievements, burnout is inevitable, but when you live by ‘I am enough regardless of my output’, your energy becomes sustainable, and your leadership more authentic.”

Confidence, one of the biggest worries of women, is something she works on regularly with her clients. As she emphasises, it is not innate but learned. “The biggest misconception is that confidence is something you’re born with. Some people think you either have it or you don’t, but that’s just not true. Confidence is a skill - and like any skill, it can be taught, practised, and strengthened.” By consciously replacing negative internal dialogue with empowering beliefs, individuals can begin to reshape how they think, act and present themselves.

Even outward success can mask unresolved beliefs. “Society, family, and even schools subtly teach us that we have to achieve, please, or perform to be worthy,” she says. “Success can even reinforce it.” Without addressing these subconscious programmes, she notes, the pressure to maintain achievement can intensify rather than diminish.

Emotional conditioning also plays a critical role in shaping women’s professional trajectories. “Many women are taught early on to avoid conflict, please others, or hide their emotions to be accepted,” she explains. These learned responses can later influence decision-making, negotiation, and leadership style. Awareness, however, can be transformative. “When women become aware of these patterns and consciously choose new ways of responding, everything changes.”

For those seeking to begin their own journey of transformation, Marisa recommends starting with awareness. “Start by noticing your thoughts. Every belief starts as thoughts, which are repeated over time - some are helpful; many are old programs from childhood.” From there, consciously replacing limiting beliefs with empowering alternatives can initiate meaningful change.

Ultimately, her guiding principle remains both simple and profound: “You are enough. You were born enough - and everything you need to create the life you want is already inside you.” When individuals stop seeking validation externally, she adds, “you reclaim your power, joy, and freedom and start making decisions from clarity rather than fear.”