What is hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool to help you discover more about yourself.

This discovery can reveal how you became the person you are and gives you space to create the person you want to become.

A hypnosis session, combined with counselling and other techniques from me as a  trained therapist, guides you firmly and supportively to a place where you can truly change the way you think, feel and experience life for the better.

One of the most useful ways to explain hypnotherapy is to think about it as a "means of developing powerful personal resources that can be purposefully directed towards achieving therapeutic goals."

And isn't that what we all want from therapy and to really enhance our mental health?

Support and guidance to be the person that can resolve our inner struggles and think, feel and behave differently in a new chapter that we can write for ourselves?

Being guided to be in touch with your own ‘powerful personal resources’, in a relatively quick and efficient process makes hypnotherapy a safe and effective therapy.

Add in the element of support from myself in order to deeply embody these resources and experiences for real change and you have a very powerful therapeutic treatment.

I always record your hypnotherapy session and share it with you so it is easy to replay. This also further enhances your openness to the effectiveness of hypnotherapy and deepens your response to positive suggestions.

Understanding clinical hypnosis therapy

When you think of hypnosis, you may imagine what you’ve seen on TV during stage hypnosis or in a movie. Clinical hypnosis is very different and it doesn't make you fall asleep, or it cannot make you lose control or do anything that you don’t want to do.

When you’re in hypnosis, this deep state is called a "trance".

The deeply relaxed state of a trance is very similar to deep meditation.

In a trance your whole body feels relaxed yet your mind is focused. In this relaxed state we are working with your unconscious mind and unconscious processes - those deeper parts of yourself that are sometimes not immediately apparent to your conscious mind.

Over 90% of your mind is subconscious and this is where our most deep-seated beliefs and values are stored. By accessing this part of ourselves, we create pathways toward significant changes.

Sometimes this is to help to release emotions and past traumas so that you can heal and move forward and sometimes it is about shifting old habits and behaviours that are not helpful.

Change experienced through hypnosis treatment is sustainable offering significant improvements to your mental health and lifestyle.

How hypnotherapy works

Utilising the hypnotic state is a focusing technique, a way of focused attention on the kinds of thoughts or images that can prepare you mentally and physically for accomplishing whatever you're striving to accomplish. It's all about being in the right frame of mind to reach your goals.

When you undergo hypnosis you are engaging in a process of building a frame of mind. Whether it's a frame of mind to take better care of yourself, perform better on a task of some sort, learn relaxation techniques for your anxiety or the frame of mind to sleep well. This positive frame of mind supports managing your mindset and health conditions effectively.

What can I expect during a hypnotherapy session?

My initial sessions begin with me learning more about you and what you'd like to work on using hypnotherapy.

We want to create an environment where you feel safe and secure and able to share your issues and your comfort before, during and after your session is paramount. 

In the initial session, I will explain how I work with hypnotherapy; explore your understanding of hypnotherapy, including the myths and provide the opportunity for questions. It is very important that you understand that you are fully in control of the hypnotherapy process and I am facilitating a process that adapts to your own personal needs and goals. 

During the initial 90-minute session, we spend a lot of time guiding you into a relaxed state. This is called an induction which is a systematic progressive relaxation, with additional suggestions, given by this hypnotherapist such as ‘going deeper and deeper into a very relaxed state’; ‘nothing will bother or disturb you’; ‘feeling very safe and secure’; and ‘as the sounds around you fade into the background so you can go deeper and deeper into relaxation’. 

I will spend time deepening this trance-like state by accessing your creative imagination and guiding you to a place in your mind where you feel safe, secure and deeply relaxed. Often you might be guided to descend a set of ten stairs in your mind with every step adding to the depth of your trance. At every stage, you are encouraged and guided to be in a place where you feel completely comfortable, with suggestions to use your senses to imagine a place of safety, security, protection and deep relaxation. This is called deepening the trance.

Following the deepening, I will guide you in a unique process designed to assist you around your therapeutic goals.

You will leave your appointment with a recording of the hypnosis session to listen to at night so you can continue to consistently retrain your mind and your neural pathways.

People who are capable of concentrating and focusing, are generally able to achieve a very good level of trance in hypnotherapy, but really, the relaxed yet focused state of hypnosis is natural and available to all of us.

Hypnotherapy can help to facilitate some profound changes in your body. Patients that benefit the most are those that have identified that they have some habits, behaviours or thought processes that are not healthy - and they want to make a change.

How many sessions will I need?

Most of my people have one session and walk away feeling lighter and with a profound shift in a positive direction. 

It is rare to completely resolve a long-term issue in one hypnosis session but it is likely that you will feel relaxed, and have some more clarity and a deeper connection with yourself.

Often people choose to continue this progress in  subsequent sessions to continue to address the root cause of some core issues that have seen you seek support.

Best results are achieved when you are an active participant in your therapy, and

open-minded, motivated and allow yourself to get clear about your goals.

How will I feel after my session?

The majority of my clients report feeling lighter with a sense of calm, a sense of hope or a sense of elation and energy.

This is the power of momentum we want to harness so you can allow yourself to take the actions to achieve your goals.

Some people might feel emotional and "stirred up" at first. This can be an outpouring of emotion, or perhaps feeling the need to retreat and recover. This is completely normal. Often when we start on this journey of self-realisation we become aware of parts of our past behaviours that are confronting and sometimes overwhelming. 

Sometimes people don't feel much different at all. There may be a sense that as nothing has changed, it must not be "working", or they are not able to respond. This is completely normal too and usually means that we need some time. It might be that we need to practice our new tools and desired behaviours and allow ourselves to create new habits and rituals in our lives that inspire change. Sometimes the shifts are subtle.

No matter where you are placed in your healing journey, my hypnotherapy sessions offer understanding and insights.

How do Virtual Sessions Work?

Often people wonder if online is as effective as in-person, and I would have to say I believe it is. Sometimes it can be even better as I feel people can be more relaxed and comfortable in their own home. We simply need to be able to hear each other's voices, and I need to be able to see your eyes.

You will need to be able to put your laptop or phone next to you on the bed, or lounge. Headphones are helpful too.

If it is appropriate, a recording of your hypnosis will be sent afterwards.

Confused by all the titles of people offering therapy?

You might be wondering what’s the difference in approach, training and most importantly what suits you and your unique issues. 

This is something I get asked a lot, and it is confusing! 

I go by at least three myself

The main thing to understand is that all these ways of working in therapy are here to support you, stand with you, understand how you experience life, cheer you on and ultimately, help you have a different relationship with yourself. 

It’s all about providing a safe space for change.

Counselling, Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy:

 Let’s look at these different titles and what it means for you.

Counselling:

My first piece of post-graduate training was to become a Registered Counsellor. Here you are trained to support people through all the issues you would expect from depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, unhealthy relationships and to work through how this manifests in your life and offer support. 

Counselling generally refers to short-term consultation. You might visit a counsellor to work with a strong emotion such as grief or anger.

A Counsellor will help you deal with immediate causes and help provide techniques to better control them.

Psychotherapy:

Typically refers to longer-term treatment. In general, counselling is more concerned with practical or immediate issues and outcomes and while psychotherapy delves deeper to help you understand your life in a profound and reflective manner.

The crucial difference in these talk therapies is  that psychotherapy delves deeper to heal psychic pain and requires looking at aspects of your past. Engaging in psychotherapy ultimately is a longer process that evolves over time and aims to support you to look at long standing thoughts, attitudes, behaviours that have been negatively affecting you and your relationships. 

It can go much deeper to uncover the root causes of problems, which can often result in a more dramatic change in how you perceive yourself and aspects of your personality.  

In terms of training required My association PACFA requires members to undergo a minimum of 350 hours of training and 50 hours of supervision over a minimum of 3 years.

It’s definitely a commitment but oh so worthwhile.

About Clinical Hypnotherapy:

When you think of hypnosis, you may imagine what you’ve seen on TV during stage hypnosis or in a movie. Clinical hypnosis is very different and it doesn't make you fall asleep, or it cannot make you lose control or do anything that you don’t want to do.

When you’re in hypnosis, this deep state is called a "trance".

The deeply relaxed state of a trance is very similar to deep meditation.

In a trance your whole body feels relaxed yet your mind is focused.  In this relaxed state we are working with your unconscious mind and unconscious processes - those deeper parts of yourself that are sometimes not immediately apparent to your conscious mind.

Over 90% of your mind is subconscious and this is where our most deep-seated beliefs and values are stored. By accessing this part of ourselves, we create pathways toward significant changes.

Sometimes this is to help to release emotions and past traumas so that you can heal and move forward and sometimes it is about shifting old habits and behaviours that are not helpful.

This is why I call myself a Clinical Hypnotherapist - I have studied to be a therapist and also trained in using hypnosis.

Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy is so powerful because I can effectively tap into what is going on for you - both on a conscious and unconscious level. This means, together, we fast-track positive change that works well both for the short and long term.

It also allows for the deeper therapeutic relationship where over a period of time we unpack the myriad and marvellous aspects of you. From your childhood, your relationships with your family, your difficult times and your times of great courage. 

My training and my commitment to self-development continually fuels my passion for helping people unhook from past patterns and co-creating new exciting chapters in their lives.

Every-time I confront an issue or an ingrained pattern and embody a new way of seeing myself in the world, I can then teach you from my own experience and wisdom. My extensive training allows me to be qualified to deliver this guidance safely and ethically.