Surprise, surprise In the process of writing and researching my book on Feng Shui, which spans my 30-year career, I made an intriguing discovery. I am not who I say I am. At least I am, but only in part.
I’ve been uncomfortable calling myself a Feng Shui consultant, knowing full well that my Western Feng Shui training informs only a part of how I do what I do – helping people to expand and strengthen their relationship with their environment to thrive and prosper even more.
All these years of waving the Feng Shui flag, has at times met with resistance or a vacant expression because Feng Shui appears to be a Chinese phenomenon with little relevance to the Western home.
As for the intangible life-force energy (Ch’i) at the heart of Feng Shui that shouldn’t be taken too seriously either. After all you can’t see it.
Managing to shift perceptions sufficiently to convey the power and potential of this embodied, environmental practice, has been challenging.
I hope this blog broadens your understanding of how significant your being at peace with the home and workplace environment is to your health, happiness and well-being.
Enter Environmental Psychology
The body of knowledge which I believe better describes my approach to the ‘feng shui’ task is Environmental Psychology.
An Environmental Psychotherapist is one who evaluates the physical, mental and emotional effect our living spaces have and recommends ways to change the relationship for our betterment.
Environmental Psychotherapy is multi-disciplinary, drawing on the fields of Feng Shui, Psychology, Ecology, Architecture, and Design.
I came to it through Social Anthropology (BA), Western Feng Shui, Somatic Arts Psychotherapy (MA), and Reiki Healing (Master) – and it is the blending of these that has informed what I do and how I do it. This awareness aligns beautifully with the book I am currently writing, which extends beyond the remit of Feng Shui alone and yet gives more credence to it.
Statistics in favour
My eyes popped out of my head when I came across these staggering statistics, which highlight the need for Environmental Psychotherapy big time.
The Good Home Report (2019) says that satisfaction with the home contributes about 15% to our overall sense of happiness, putting it on a par with health and fitness, and above the influence of both income and career factors. However, only 73% of people are happy with their home and 27% aren’t. That means over a quarter of the people in the UK are likely to be held back and weigh down by their relationship to home but not aware this is the cause of their unhappiness.
IKEA, in their Life at Home Report (2025), ran an extensive survey of over 38,000 people across 39 countries, looking at how people live and what makes their home a happy place. Of those surveyed in the UK, a staggering 1 in 3 people do not ‘experience enough joy at home’ – and yet the solution is right in front of them. It requires is a greater understanding of where their relationship with the home is adrift and what they can do to fix it.
All the while a whopping 33% of people in the UK return home to a place they are not in love with or makes their heart sing. As an Environmental Psychotherapist, this is not only a travesty, considering how important the home is in keeping us alive, it’s a cause for deep concern too for its wider implications:
“If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world”.
The interconnectedness of all things is expressed beautifully in this ancient Chinese proverb and so easily overlooked.
If it hasn’t begun to sink in what a significant part the environment plays in the way you respond to – and create – your life, this is an exciting moment. The potential for change is in your hands.
As one client said to me recently:
“I thank you Mary for your ability to empower and enable me to change my environment for my greater good.” Amanda, Surrey
John Russell of Dog World had never experienced Feng Shui before and was persuaded to try it to stimulate his business. Here is his down-to-earth account of the experience and how it raised his awareness.
“I believe in Feng Shui when its presented in its simplest form and not commercialised to become mystical. As I see it, it is good business practice is to arrange a commercial space to promote harmony and balance and Mary’s recommendations were like those of a super-sensitive, super-charged mystery shopper!
“I highly recommend Mary’s services and value her thoughtful comments and advice. Some of the finer points raised in her report of how the general public may feel about their visit to our venue, I’d already considered. However, hearing it from someone not connected to our day-to-day operations really brought these points home to me, motivating us to make further improvements. Other points mentioned in her vision for the site gave us new ideas that I totally agreed with and really appreciated receiving.
“On a personal level, I found Mary to be a very pleasant professional person to work with, who is intelligent, perceptive, and a very good listener.”
If you’d like me to evaluate all or a part of home in terms of how it can fulfil your goals and aspirations more effectively, do send me an email and let’s set up a Zoom call to explore.