Michelle Cooney, 31, from London, tried the Hoffman Process at the start of this year

You’re only supposed to do the process once, so I contemplated it for a whole year before committing. Things got quite rough in my job in media, so I was desperate for some meaningful change.

The work starts before the week begins, with coursework that covers your upbringing and current issues. I took it along to Dunford House, in West Sussex, in January this year when I arrived for the week-long residential course. I was told I was sharing a room with another girl and met a room full of men and women, aged 24 to 65. Everyone had a mix of stuff to deal with from depression to addictions to just feeling they weren’t turning up to life.

The Hoffman Process uncovers the patterns formed by your parents. You’re not supposed to reveal what goes on as there’s meant to be an element of surprise. But using a plastic bat and cushion to hit your negative patterns as a kind of bioenergetic therapy is a part of it. It helps move you from anger to resolve and then relief. Other times you work in small groups, do some writing or spend time outdoors. You have nowhere to go and you just keep working through it.

As Sienna said, it does feel like 10 years of therapy in one week. The intensity with no distractions was what made the change for me. It can be very upsetting at times, but I also found it very cathartic. The week broke me down, showed me the patterns that were preventing me from being truly happy, and helped me uncover my authentic self.

It is expensive – almost £3,000 – but it’s an investment. I’ve done so much since doing the process, like quitting my job in the media and starting work with young people, when before I’d restricted myself from achieving those things.