What is Hypnosis?
So, what is hypnosis and perhaps more importantly how does a hypnotherapist use hypnosis? If you were to research hypnosis you would probably find many conflicting opinions but as with all subjects, there can only ever be one correct answer. I’ve seen explanations that are as long as your arm that just seem to waffle on and on. Here’s how simple it is to explain hypnosis, hypnosis is being able to put the conscious mind to one side in order to gain access to the subconscious mind. This enables a person to accept new more positive ideas for a change in behaviour or remove the impact that past experiences have on them.
Is hypnotherapy effective?
It’s the skill of the hypnotherapist that makes hypnosis so effective and it’s knowing how to manage the many different states of hypnosis with each client that makes all the difference. I consider myself an expert at matching the correct state of hypnosis to each client. It’s important to understand how a hypnotherapist puts people into hypnosis and the correct induction method must be chosen wisely. (induction is the name given to a technique of putting people into hypnosis). The induction must match the needs of the client as well as their personality. It’s these skills that make sure every client of mine gets real hypnotherapy.
Can I be hypnotised?
I’m often asked can anybody be hypnotised. A resounding yes is the answer! While the answer is yes this only means that you can only be hypnotised if you want to be. Hypnosis is not man made but has been in existence as long as humans have been around. A hypnotherapist can only hypnotise people as long as they want to be hypnotised and it’s very easy as long as the client is motivated to make changes in the quality of their life.
What does being hypnotised feel like?
You may be wondering what being hypnotised feels like and it’s important to understand that this depends on the state of hypnosis a person is in. It’s always pleasant and enjoyable and it may surprise you to know that when people are in hypnosis they are not out of it and unaware of everything. Quite the opposite is true you are hundreds of times more focused.
Should I use Hypnosis?
I believe that hypnosis has been given to us all to use in order to keep us all happy and free from life’s challenges. If I were to explain what a hypnotherapist does I would say that we are able to reprogram your subconscious mind just like a computer programmer programs a computer. Therefore, you can see that everybody should use hypnosis if they want to free themselves from their problems.
Is hypnosis harmful?
No not at all, quite the opposite. I believe that hypnosis has been given to us all so we can tap into the subconscious mind and make tremendous positive changes in the quality of our lives. It takes great skill from a hypnotherapist to get a new positive change into a person’s subconscious mind; I would say it’s impossible to get anything other than a positive idea into any person’s subconscious mind.
What should I expect from my hypnotherapy session?
The way I work with hypnotherapy is to give clients a sense of certainty they’ve been searching for. My approach is to explain hypnosis to every client so they have a full understanding of how to make their session 100% effective. I think it’s very important that as soon as a client enters my office that they have a feeling that they’ve come to the right place to have their issues resolved completely. Clients inform me that it’s the approach I take that fills them with that all important sense of certainty they’ve been searching for. Here’s what a typical client will experience during their session.
1. Consultation, of course, this is to establish what your issue(s) are and the approach needed.
2. Hypnosis explained, this will give you a full understanding of hypnosis and how to respond to hypnosis.
3. The induction, the correct induction will be chosen for you and your issue. The induction is the process used to allow a client to enter into the correct state of hypnosis. Once any client has gone into hypnosis it will be tested for and demonstrated to them that they are in the correct state of hypnosis.
4. The treatment, this is the change work and of course, it will be demonstrated to you that the changes that you’ve come to see me for can take place. This is essential and all good hypnotherapists will know how to test for this.
5. Post-treatment interview, this will explain to any client what to expect from now on and how the changes will affect them.
Does hypnotherapy work?
What I’m about to say may surprise some of you, your therapy starts as soon as you start to think about making changes in your life. What does this mean exactly? We can all sometimes put things off or have too high a threshold for tolerating challenging situations, this may include the way we are feeling, not functioning at our best, the inability to make decisions due to lack of confidence or we are being guided by our emotions rather than rational thinking. You may feel stuck in a certain situation, maybe your job, a relationship or you’re just going along to get along. You hope things will just get better, somehow, but they never do, do they? You end up more and more frustrated because you know it’s not your lack of intelligence, willingness or ambition that’s holding you back but the way you feel about yourself. Perhaps, you don’t initiate change because you fear the added pressure changes would put you under. Life gives us challenges all the time and these test us at the best of times but with the added burden of low self-esteem, anxiety, phobias etc which puts a tremendous strain on our ability to cope. It’s only when you’ve had enough that you will feel motivated to make changes in the way you are feeling. People have different levels of tolerance, what I mean is you will have a gauge were at the top end you can take only so much negativity before you do something about it or the bottom end where you allow yourself to sink only so far down before doing something about it. Once you decide to do something about the way you are feeling, you will start to feel better immediately. To decide means to cut off from any other possibility and once you do this you start the process of momentum towards a positive outcome. Once you decide to contact me for advice or maybe make an appointment you will feel better, it’s you making decisions that will give you a feeling of being back in control.
What does a hypnotherapist do?
Once a person has gone into hypnosis it’s then time for me to start to communicate with their subconscious mind and put forward our (mine and yours) case for change. I usually close down old limiting behaviours, what could be easier than getting your subconscious mind to do nothing?
Then replace with a new more productive program. You see, you will be fully aware of everything I’m saying, it may even sound a bit strange (to your conscious mind) the way I’m communicating with your subconscious mind. During the session it will feel as though nothing is happening, it does not matter! All that matters is your enthusiasm for change and what a positive outcome would mean to you.
Has hypnotherapy been effective?
Immediately after the session you may feel as though nothing has happened although you may notice how relaxed you are. This does not mean that there have been no changes though. All the changes will have taken place in your subconscious mind but then it’s down to your circumstances when you notice these changes. I usually advise every client not to go looking for changes but rather just carry on as normal. You will sooner or later be faced with a situation where you used to feel challenged and it’s in these situations that you will feel different. These changes can be subtle were you perhaps would not even put the positive change down to hypnotherapy or they may be very noticeable were you will feel completely different, in yourself. These changes may make you feel a little strange at first but you will later accept them and trust that you will not revert back to your old ways. You see, it’s your conscious mind that has intelligence and your subconscious mind has no intelligence. It’s because your conscious mind has intelligence that it expects to be able to make changes in you and it cannot understand how changes can come about without it taking part. It’s your conscious mind that is guided by evidence of past experiences and it takes a little while for your conscious mind to accept hypnotherapy as a success.
What is a suggestion?
A suggestion is anything that a hypnotherapist says to a client’s subconscious mind once they have gone into hypnosis. The way a hypnotherapist uses language is of the greatest importance and a thorough understanding of the rules of the mind is needed by the hypnotherapist.
How many sessions will I need?
How many sessions will I need is the number one question I get asked. Hypnotherapy is a two-way therapy, meaning that it’s my job to put you into hypnosis and present a case for change to the subconscious mind. However, it’s also the client’s job to want the changes to happen. Most of my consultation is spent on educating clients on how to make their session 100% effective. To answer the question more accurately I would say that one problem requires one session as long the client has followed my instructions.
What if I have more than one issue?
I only ever treat one problem within a single session, however, if a client has for example anxiety and depression I would expect to see some improvement in their depression by treating the anxiety. It’s important to understand that within a single session of hypnotherapy you can’t mix and match different treatments. I don’t have a set amount of time between each different treatment it’s as and when the client is ready
Is hypnosis harmful?
No not at all, quite the opposite. I believe that hypnosis has been given to us all so we can tap into the subconscious mind and make tremendous positive changes in the quality of our lives. It takes great skill from a hypnotherapist to get a new positive change into a person’s subconscious mind; I would say it’s impossible to get anything other than a positive idea into any person’s subconscious mind.
What is an induction?
An induction is the name given to the process of putting a person into hypnosis and there are hundreds of them. It’s the skill of the hypnotherapist that matches the induction to each client.
What can hypnotherapy treat?
The real answer is anything that you can’t change via your conscious mind. This means that via hypnotherapy we can adjust, change, and remove any habit, emotional response, feeling, experience, memory so they no longer affect you. You may be looking for a more specific answer but the list of issues that hypnotherapy can resolve is endless.
How much does hypnotherapy cost?
I like to think that ultimately any hypnotherapy that a client receives from me does not cost them anything in the end. The way I see it is, if a smoker, for instance, uses hypnotherapy to stop smoking by the end of the second week of being smoke-free they will be better off financially as well as physically for the rest of their life. The same would also apply if a client who wants to be free from alcohol, cocaine, gambling etc. It’s fairly obvious in these examples but the same also applies for gaining more confidence or self-esteem, do you think you would stay in the same job if you had more confidence or would you move on to a more rewarding better-paid job? All sessions are priced differently depending on the nature of the problem.