Hypnotherapy is a recognised and safe therapy. It is often classified as a form of complementary medicine, but is perhaps better viewed as a branch of psychotherapy. It is designed to work at the subconscious level to facilitate a process in which individuals can release negative patterns and create positive associations. In so doing, it activates the subconscious mind’s amazing, and natural capacity, to "Heal itself" (i.e. resolve issues) and create profound changes from within.

Hypnotherapy is widely endorsed as a treatment for habit breaking, stress-related issues, and for a range of long-term conditions. These include but are not limited to: Stress, anxiety, panic, phobias, trauma, insomnia, unwanted habits, negative behavioral patterns, lack of confidence and low self-esteem, fear of examinations or public speaking, and more.

The subconscious mind is a huge sensory vehicle that allows us to experience the world through senses: sounds, smells, tastes, visuals or pictures, and/or feelings. In trying to understand the way it functions, it helps to compare it to a computer - a vast storage space for memories, learnt emotional responses and behavioral patterns. In computers, faulty wiring, incompatible programs, or viruses can lead to a system’s failure, or losing data that was needed to improve usability (such as reasons for quitting smoking).

The human mind works in much the same. Over time, learnt behaviors, thoughts and physical sensations are ‘encrypted’, forming strong neural pathways that can be difficult to update, or consciously rewire. To reboot the brain’s capacity to learn new more adaptive behaviors and psychological responses (re-wire), we need to access the hard drive (the subconscious mind), to be sure that any changes made will be successful and last the test of time.

All psychological therapies aim to alleviate emotional and psychological pain, but just do so in different ways. By far the quickest route to our brain’s "control center" is via Hypnotherapy. The state of deep relaxation is the key to quieting the conscious mind‘s interfering or self-defeating thoughts, and allowing the therapist to access and communicate directly with the subconscious mind.

When we engage in some form of self-improvement, our instinctive go-to approach is to try to create change at the Conscious level, often through some form of will power, life-style shift, or positive affirmations (to name a few). However, real and long-term change for the better can only truly happen at the level where the problem or negative issue was created; and that is: The Subconscious. 

It is the patterns and beliefs, deeply rooted in the subconscious mind, that drive the decisions and behaviours that shape our lives. These include habits and attitudes that we develop as “coping mechanisms”. More often than not, these “coping mechanisms” can be more harmful than the event or belief we are trying to “manage”. Why? Because the two primary roles of the subconscious are to keep you safe, and to keep you happy, and invariably, it will always choose safety over happiness, even if that version of safety is in fact a negative pattern or habit.

First off, to dispel any fears or misconceptions: Hypnotherapy is NOT the same as Hypnosis, especially stage hypnosis where you may have seen a hypnotist make someone do something they had no control over.

In Hypnotherapy, you are NOT unconscious and will NOT be made to do anything against your will.

As a process, Hypnotherapy involves inducing a state of deep relaxation, similar to day-dreaming or being in deep meditation.

By relaxing the mind and body and focusing the attention on the subconscious, the hypnotherapist can guide you to discover the root of an issue, and access your internal resources to modify or eliminate the undesired behaviours or emotions.

Does Hypnotherapy work on everyone?

Yes, virtually anyone can be guided into a hypnotic state – but only if they want to be. When you enter this deeply relaxed state, you nonetheless retain complete control, and will not do or say anything against your own choice or volition. You are conscious and able to hear the hypnotherapist’s voice. You can also decide to end the experience at any time should you feel the need. The hypnotic state can only be maintained by mutual co-operation between the client and the therapist. It is important that you be committed to the process and feel that you can place your trust in your hypnotherapist to really benefit from it.

How will it feel?

Hypnotherapy guides you into a very pleasant, relaxed state, in which you are more aware of your internal experience than the world around you. It is similar to that day-dreaming feeling you get when you are driving or in the shower. People’s experiences of it may vary. Some find it deeply, physically relaxing; others feel they are in a serene dream-like state, and while some will feel quite conscious during the session others may slip into a light state of sleep. There is no right or wrong, but most people agree that hypnotherapy is one of the most deeply relaxing experiences imaginable.

can the Hypnotherapist control my thoughts & actions?

Only you can change your perceptions, beliefs and ultimately, your behavior. Hypnotherapy does involve the therapist making positive suggestions whilst you are is in a hypnotic state. However, these suggestions are entirely your own, and unique to you. A full assessment before treatment takes place  and is vital for the therapist to understand what you are looking to change, be it weight loss, anxiety, or avoidance due to a specific phobia. Behavioral change can only take place if you are willing to alter your thoughts about the problem. Therefore, the unhelpful and self-defeating thoughts maintaining the problem need to be overridden by more effective and productive thoughts.

Hypnotherapy is widely endorsed as an effective treatment for conditions such as:

Anxiety, Stress, & Fears

Anxiety, fear, and stress are some of the most common and uncomfortable emotions that we can experience at some point in our lives. Anxiety can be brought on by the fear of something that happened, or what we think happened, and the dread that it will again. While most people will experience a relatively mild form of anxiety when facing a particularly stressful situation (such as an exam or presentation), anxiety disorders are very different. They can disrupt the day-to-day life of an individual. They can lead to avoiding certain situations, especially if one fears it may be a trigger or even lead to panic attacks. This can negatively impact a person’s life even further, preventing them from achieving their potential, or even developing personal relationships.

Depression, Trauma & PTSD

Many individuals can experience symptoms associated with depression, and painful traumatic circumstances. Depression, hopelessness and debilitating anxiety are some of the emotions that can linger following traumatic events. Hypnotherapy has emerged as a credible and effective, evidence-based treatment option for sufferers of depression, trauma, PTSD, and countless other issues that originate in some type of trigger or locked away memory

Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is an increase in food intake in response to negative emotions. Attempts to lose weight will usually fail due to messages deeply embedded in the subconscious mind, and most often linked to underlying issues, such as anxiety, chronic stress, low self-esteem or a range of issues from a person’s past.

Hypnotherapy works to uncover the root of these negative emotions, and releases their hold on the individual. As confidence and self-esteem levels increase, negative patterns are more readily replaced with positive and healthy ones, which in turn provide a good support for the weight loss process.

Limiting Behavioural Patterns

(Insomnia, Anger, Procrastination, Low Self-Esteem...) Behavioural issues or patterns vary greatly, ranging from insomnia, fear of public speaking or nail biting, to lack of self-esteem or procrastination. These are but a few examples of difficulties one may struggle with. The root of most of these issues is fear, which, due to its irrational nature, can be difficult to overcome through analysis.

Hypnotherapy facilitates the access to hidden subconscious files (memories) so that they are available to work with. Through these buried memories we can uncover the cause of the limiting belief. Once revealed, we can change the way in which the mind feels about a negative memory and its varied associations (whether it is consciously remembered or not) so as to stop these feelings from negatively affecting future experiences.