General Guide & Frequently Asked Questions

Initial conversation: Our initial chat will be over the telephone. It is important to form a relationship of trust and a working alliance, I will ask you questions and likewise encourage you to do the same. Once I understand the problem we will form a hypothesis and discuss the way forward. The good thing about this is that collaboratively you and I decide on a realistic and achievable treatment plan. Where appropriate I will use Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), combined with hypnosis and mindfulness, all are effective in developing positive thinking leading to change in behaviour and feelings. If our thought process automatically delivered positive, optimistic and enlightening thoughts, anxiety would be unable to feed our subconscious and subsequently our conscious minds.

Hypnosis: is a relaxed state that reaches your subconscious helping you to use the power of your mind and imagination. You may already be using a version of hypnosis, albeit a negative one, I can help you change the negativity into a positive thought process, a thought process you will master and take with you as you move forward. 

Suggestion Hypnotherapy: Suggestion is the common technique used during hypnosis, it has been shown through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that when we are in a hypnotic state our subconscious is more open to messages. Positive and healing suggestions are offered by the hypnotherapist during this state to help alter thought patterns. The journal, ‘Scientific American’ conducted an experiment showing that imaging data indicated that hypnotizable subjects showed reduced brain activity in both visual areas and the anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in conflict monitoring. Thus, the authors conclude, the results "illuminate how suggestion affects cognitive control by modulating activity in specific brain areas." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scans-show-how-hypnosis-a/ 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that helps you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. It is most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression but can be used for phobias, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It helps break down insurmountable problems into constituent parts, you are then shown how to change negativity to improve your wellbeing and the way you feel. CBT deals with the here and now and looks for ways to improve your thought process and behaviour, changing the negative to the positive.

Mindfulness: can help us learn how to live with the stresses and strains of daily living. It teaches us to pay attention to our mind patterns, habits and the workings of our body. We learn to access warning signs early, enabling us to respond to stress and consequently depression before they overwhelm us. To benefit fully, mindfulness can and should be part of our daily lives including practising regular meditation. Followed rigorously the technique is ideal for changing negative habits, overcoming anxiety and reducing stress.

Have patience with all things, but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You’re perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist. And no amount of triumphs and tribulations can ever change that. Unconditional self-acceptance is the core of a peaceful mind.

Hypno CBT is a form of complementary therapy that uses positive suggestion to access the subconscious and change our feelings, thoughts and behaviour. The process relaxes our body and mind, heightens our state of consciousness while stimulating our subconscious to receive positive suggestions and affirmations. I use a broad specific evidence-base model to explain issues such as anxiety, frequently drawing on psychological research to understand the correlation between hypnosis and suggestion.

Hypnosis does work for the majority, but some are more suggestible and susceptible than others. You must want to change and have an open and positive mind. You should also put your trust in the hypnotherapist’s ability to help.

Everyone is different some say they feel as if they are floating, others that their body is heavy. You will be aware of everything that is happening, you may be so deeply relaxed that you drift in and out of sleep and levels of awareness. However, your subconscious mind is active and that is what we are working with.

Yes and no, if the memory is painful I can help you disassociate yourself by remembering the experience not the emotion. We can also change our perspective of a situation, subsequently turning us into a stronger and more confident person. Positive suggestions given during hypnosis will resurface later in your conscious mind, helping to change how we think and how we behave.

Being registered or accredited with a professional body means that a hypnotherapist has achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved and recognised by their professional body.

Hypnotherapy for children and young people is considered highly effective and is completely safe. Children tend to respond very well to hypnosis as they are naturally quite imaginative and use their subconscious minds a great deal more than adults do. Hypnotherapy can help to address a number of issues commonly experienced in childhood, including exam nerves, sleep problems, bet-wetting, imagined fears, eating disorders and low self esteem.

CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy focuses on the here and now, I can help you agree goals for therapy and develop a treatment plan. Questionnaires will be filled in & often tasks to accomplish in between sessions will be set, you will quickly learn to change your thinking and behaviour. Integrating hypnotherapy with CBT can increase effectiveness for clients by 70-90%. Throughout CBT’s history studies have empirically concluded that hypnosis enhances cognitive and behavioural interventions by raising response expectations, facilitating autonomic responses and relaxation, improving imaginal responsiveness: “ We believe on the basis of our clinical experience that when behaviour therapy and hypnosis are used together, a synergistic effect results.” (Kroger & Fezler, 1976: 74).

Treatment time can vary depending on the problem and the individual however, normally 4 – 8 sessions will be sufficient. Habit breaking treatments can be quick taking just one session, but others are longer, it is a personal thing. You have the advantage of listening to recordings outside of your therapy sessions, and by practising newly learnt techniques regularly your goal and wishes can be achieved.