What is Hypnotherapy? - How Does it Work?
Will it Work For Me?
My Hypnotherapy treats you as an individual, not as a symptom or condition. Everyone is different, no two people have the same symptoms for the same issue. I have a huge range of techniques and proven interventions, but different people react in different ways to exactly the same techniques. Finding what works for you is always my goal, it's the value I deliver.
There is a lot of nonsense talked about Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy often in sensational stories that feature celebrities in the popular press. That's been the case since ever since Hypnotists began appearing in travelling circuses and music halls.
Hypnotherapy is best defined as "Having someone's attention completely so that they cannot think of anything else".
Hypnotherapists call this state 'trance'. Trance is best described as being deeply relaxed, allowing the therapist to speak directly to the unconscious mind.
Your conscious and unconscious minds often disagree; Hypnotherapy helps them reach agreement.
That's why no Hypnotherapist can make you do something you don't want to do
My Hypnotherapy is Evidence Based - I measure progress using standard mental state metrics before every session and I may ask you to practice a technique between sessions, to reinforce the work we have done in the session and help you make the changes you want to make.
No magic wands are involved, My Hypnotherapy is about as far away from stage hypnosis as you can get!
Every intervention and technique I use is one I've experienced myself and seen working to resolve a client's issue.
Common Questions and Myths
Some of the questions I get asked most often
Hypnotherapy Questions and Answers
Absolutely not! During a session you will be completely in control and fully aware of what is happening, even when you are 'in trance'. I talk to your unconscious mind whilst you are in a relaxed state, so you may feel a bit like you are daydreaming, but are in control and will be able to open your eyes at all times.
Being in trance is something we all experience every day without realising it. Have you ever driven a familiar route and got to your destination without remembering the actual journey,? That's being in a driving trance. Can you get so immersed in a book, the TV, a game etc. that you are unaware of what's going in in the world around you? That's being in trance. When you are 'doing' your problem or issue you are in trance. My role is to de-hypnotise you from your issue or problem trance, so you can get on with living the life that you want.
No, because ethically I cannot do this, I would be promising something that I can't guarantee to deliver. Neither I, nor any other Hypnotherapist, can make you do what you don't want to do.
What I can do is to promise that I will use my skills and experience to help you achieve your desired outcome.
Your unconscious mind constantly argues with your conscious mind over any change and, while I can help you to get both to agree on whether you give up smoking or stop biting your nails, I can't take over your decision making and force you to do something - if any part of you doesn't want to change, the change won't happen until you 100% absolutely want to do this.
My job is helping and persuading, not bullying and telling.
I don't offer packages - I've had smokers with 30 years of addiction quit in just one session - selling them a package deal of X sessions would be a waste of money for every session after they quit.
I can usually estimate how many sessions will be needed after the first full session with a client, but I've had alcoholics who I have been pretty convinced would need 10 or more sessions because they still were not really sure about their decision to give up or because they were at the wrong stage in their lives who have become sober after 4 sessions.
That's where, in my view, the ethical practice line is drawn. I always undertake to let you know whether I think I can help you in our initial consultation. If I don't believe you want to make the change you say you want to make, then I will tell you this - there and then - because if you don't want to make the change I can't make you.
I will never accept a referral from a partner or spouse because they want you to change something - I need to speak with you. I always need to be convinced that you want the same or, in all honesty, you'd be wasting your money and my time.
What I can do is to give you all the tools you need to make that change - providing you make the effort.
There is a lot of mindset and behaviour changes that are needed before you can realistically achieve long term and long lasting results - getting there involves effort from all concerned.
Can I Book For My Partner/Spouse/Friend
Not directly. I never accept a booking for any paid consultation without speaking to the client. I'm happy to have general discussions with anyone concerned enough to suggest therapy for someone they care about. I can explain a lot of the background to most conditions and get a good understanding of the issue that concerns them. A lot of the time people say they want to change something just for a bit of domestic peace but, if My Hypnotherapy is to work, the decision to change has to be their own.
I can never accept a referral from a partner or spouse because they want you to change something - I need to speak with you too. I always need to be convinced that you want the same or, in all honesty, you'd be wasting your money and my time.
How can you be confident that you can help my child?
Until I have spoken with parents or guardians and with the child or young person - I can't.
I've had years of successful Hypnotherapy practice on top of years of professional nursing experience with a very large number of children and their parents.
I've worked successfully with clients who had all manner of mental health, behavioural and physical issues, both diagnosed and undiagnosed.
What matters is can I engage with the potential client? Can I communicate with them and understand their responses and the language they use?
Some pre-existing conditions can complicate anyone's potential for treatment. Children all develop at different rates in terms of language, cognitive and social skills - I'm helping individuals, I'm not offering therapy to generic types. It's always the individual that I assess and I will not take on any client where I have the slightest doubt over the potential for My Hypnotherapy to resolve their issue.
