FAQs

What does it feel like to be hypnotised?

There is nothing mysterious about hypnosis – the result of a series of well-understood, tried and tested psychological techniques. Hypnosis is 100% safe and can be profoundly relaxing. You don’t fall asleep or lose consciousness and you will be able to hear my voice at all times. You will be fully aware of everything that’s happening. Most important, you remain in full control!

This state of relaxation – together with suggestion and visualisation – secures positive changes in the way you feel, helping you move forward by banishing negative feelings and emotions and replacing them with more positive thoughts and beliefs.

Being hypnotised is just like daydreaming, or the feeling you experience before nodding off to sleep. Many people experience feelings of well-being and feel both mentally and physically calm, but again, fully aware what’s happening.

At the same time, your thoughts will be focused on suggestions that will help you move forward by letting go of negative feelings and emotions. As your focus increases, your mind will become open to new ideas. What happens during the session will be specific to your own needs, and whatever we talk about will remain confidential.

One of the most exciting things about hypnotherapy is the speed with which positive change can be achieved. Hypnosis often provides a short cut to recovery, which is one of the reasons why so many people benefit from it.

What happens in a hypnotherapy session?

Ninety per cent of hypnotherapy is… therapy – the hypnosis is just the way the therapy is delivered. The conversation we have at the beginning of the session will help me understand what you want to achieve. This can sometimes be time-consuming, but it’s important if I’m to help you move forward. Almost any issue can be overcome in a way that is entirely natural and comfortable. This is especially helpful with stress or anxiety related issues – as most are.

It might surprise you to know that the mind works more on imagination than it does on reality or logic. If our minds worked logically all the time, there wouldn’t be any need for therapists! Negative feelings and emotions reside in the imagination – but the imagination can also be a powerful resource which helps create a more healthy and optimistic sense of who you are, and what you can achieve.

Using hypnosis, we can change the way you think about things, and by doing that, we can change the way you feel about them, and also feel about yourself. Once you have control over that, you’ll soon forget about the things that used to bother you, because the change can be natural, easy and automatic. We will work on the things we talked about and this is when the real ‘change work’ takes place.

Hypnosis reinforces everything we’ve decided on in the discussion we have at the start of her session. This discussion is the beginning of change. In hypnosis you will be aware of a growing sense of confidence and positivity. Hypnotherapy sometimes involves some ‘mental gymnastics’ – Working together, we will find a solution. I will guide you, but you will be in the driving seat at all times. Even if challenges arise in the future, you will still have the tools and techniques to back on track.

How should I prepare for the session?

It’s best not to eat a large meal or drink strong coffee or alcohol before your session. I also advise wearing comfortable clothing. If you wear contact lenses, you might be more comfortable if you remove them. All you need is a comfortable chair to sit in. All that matters is that we are able to see and hear each other. 

How many sessions of hypnotherapy will I need?

It’s best not to eat a large meal or drink strong coffee or alcohol before your session. I also advise wearing comfortable clothing. If you wear contact lenses, you might be more comfortable if you remove them. All you need is a comfortable chair to sit in. All that matters is that we are able to see and hear each other. 

Is hypnotherapy suitable for children?

Hypnotherapy for children and young people is effective and safe. Children respond very well to hypnosis as they are naturally quite imaginative. I am willing to see children providing there is a responsible adult attending – usually a family member.

Hypnotherapy can be very useful for overcoming exam stress, improving concentration, and helping with low self-esteem. Also with confidence, perspective and anxiety in teenagers.

Is hypnosis real...?

This is a question I often get asked. The obvious answer is a resounding ‘yes’ because millions of people around the world who have been helped with hypnotherapy. In fact I would go one step further and say that for many people, hypnotherapy has proved life-changing.

Hypnotherapy employs a combination of proven and well understood psychological techniques which can be powerful tools for change – even a cure – for a host of issues, particularly for stress & anxiety related issues. Hypnosis has been subject to intense scientific research at hospitals and universities worldwide, and has significant academic and medical approval. The positive effects of hypnosis as a natural and effective tool are understood and accepted as a treatment for everything from weight loss to depression to pain management.

Hypnosis is now mainstream – no longer just a complimentary therapy, but a permanent solution to problems that were once though incurable! And… you don’t have to believe in hypnosis to benefit from the process!

The image of hypnosis that most people have is just plain wrong and based on the portrayal of Svengali-like characters in old black and white movies where someone appears ‘zapped out’ in some zombie-like state where they have no idea of what is happening, but then ‘awaken’ to commit some hideous crime, or find themselves a victim of crime. But nothing can be further from the truth, because all that happens when you’re hypnotised is that you simply feel very relaxed – there’s no trance and you don’t fall asleep. You remember everything the hypnotist says while you are hypnotised because it’s important you remember what the hypnotist says while you are in that state of relaxation. But that state of relaxation and focus of attention we call hypnosis allows the mind to process information in a different way, allowing the mind to absorb and accept new ideas which will change the way you think and feel about your problems, and more important, feel about yourself!

How does hypnotherapy work?

Clients have things they want to talk about and it’s important to listen. I believe that successful therapy is the idea of two people having a conversation in order to find a solution to a problem.

Although I take what I do very seriously, I have an informal approach to hypnotherapy. This is the result of years of practice and experience and studying the most effective treatments available. Some of my academic papers and books on the psychology of hypnosis and hypnotherapy are available to read on this website. My approach is all about understanding what a client wants and needs. I understand that every person is unique, so every hypnotherapy session has to be tailored to individual requirements and address the changes that enable you to function the way you want to… and regain ownership of your life in the process. Hypnotherapy can produce fast results because it gets directly to the root of the issue by breaking through that invisible barrier to emotional freedom.

Some hypnotherapists make the mistake of assuming they already know what the client should have, instead of delivering what the client needs and really wanted in the first place. So I listen to what the client wants. I take time to listen and understand – and not read from a one-size-fits-all generic script. Hypnotherapy is not a fast-food drive-through solution! But neither do I pussy-foot around because that doesn’t help the client either… which is why I never tell clients what they want to hear… Getting to the heart of the matter is why I always gets results… In fact clients are often surprised by what they have been able to achieve immediately after the session, even if the issue has been troubling them for years!

Humans are pre-programmed to react to negative thoughts and feelings and to be cautious, because those behaviours are all part of our age-old survival strategy. In psychological terms, this is called negativity bias. For example, criticism can have a greater impact than a compliment, and bad news more of an impact than good news. Negative events make more of an impression on our brains than positive ones. All these things can exert a powerful effect on the way we think and behave, on the decisions we make, on our relationships with others, and ultimately on our lives. But the balance can be restored!

Sometimes we find ourselves feeling lost and confused about the direction our life is taking. We struggle to overcome mental blocks and find ourselves reminiscing about less complicated times when things weren’t so hectic. It’s at times like these we are at our most vulnerable. Changing the way we think about things can change the way we feel about them. Once we’ve managed to do that, making even the most profound change is just one step away… and there’s always a solution!

Sometimes doubts and irrational fears prey on our minds. Sometimes they’re just fleeting, but sometimes it feels as if we’re stuck with all the negativity. Worse… it’s the physical feelings that accompany those doubts that make our lives so much more difficult. Hypnotherapy offers a quick and easy solution. If you’re struggling with negative habits or compulsions, then NOW is the time for change. Hypnotherapy provides an opportunity to regain control of yourself, to let go of negative and destructive beliefs, and create a permanent, powerful shift in your life! It can help you overcome all kinds of worries and anxieties by helping you deal with the debilitating impact of constant and unremitting stress – and it’s completely natural and medication-free!

How can hypnosis help me...?

No issue is too complex or deep rooted to reform because negative fears and feelings reside only in the imagination. No one is born stressed or anxious… these are things we learn… and it’s just as easy to ‘unlearn’ them. After all, there was a time when you weren’t stressed or anxious!

Again, none of us are born phobic… a phobia is something we learned… so now it’s time to ‘unlearn’ it! Hypnotherapy can help you overcome your deepest fears. Whether it’s claustrophobia, spiders, open spaces, fear of flying – even the most bizarre phobias – you can overcome it! I have dealt with some extreme phobias and changed lives in just one session.

Panic attacks can make you feel like the world is ending and your heart’s about to burst out of your chest. So what if I told you there was a way to put an end to them permanently? Hypnotherapy can do just that by teaching you how to manage your emotions in just one session.

How much more could you achieve in your life if you were just a little bit more confident? Hypnotherapy can rapidly make you a more confident version of yourself! Feeling calmer and more confident helps you think more clearly and feel better about yourself.

How would you like to feel proud of yourself? How would you like to feel confident, no matter what obstacles life throws at you? Regardless of whatever has happened in your life, you can be strong, powerful, compassionate, and in full control…

You can discover and learn to apply the strengths that will allow you to continue to learn and develop, and hypnotherapy can help you overcome the barriers to progress because hypnotherapy uses the power of your conscious mind and the latest discoveries in modern neuroscience for personal and professional development.

I aim to provide positive results, not coping strategies or ‘just slightly better than before.’ My client’s emotional welfare and wellbeing is my number one priority. My goal is get every client to achieve a greater sense of fulfilment, connectedness and confidence. Through the latest advances in Hypnotherapy, my clients are able to ‘take the lead’ and regain control of their lives, and overcome the doubts that have been holding them back.

My job is to help the client recognise what is important and what is trivial. In any event, I don’t believe in long therapy – my aim is the termination of therapy!

Today, mainstream psychotherapy is too narrow in its thinking about the human condition. Good psychotherapy has its foundations in the work of psychologist Carl Rogers, who recognised that it is the client who must decide these things, not the therapist. I can accomplish in ONE SESSION what can take weeks of psychotherapy or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). I disagree with the new fad of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) because that approach does not take into account the individual needs of the client. In any event, many leading psychologists do not believe that NLP works and that is a view I also hold. Hypnosis not only offers a tried and tested short cut, it also cements and reinforces what we decide so you can achieve rapid change and retake ownership of your life.

Many of my clients come from recommendation. Addressing emotional or psychological problems always involves examining and interpreting the way we understand ourselves and how we feel emotionally, including our thoughts, feelings, habits and behaviour.

Just one session of hypnosis can eliminate negative or limiting beliefs, change unhelpful behaviour patterns, and get you to move forward with your life in a more positive and productive way. Random negative thoughts can develop into a something that’s very limiting! Just as you trained your brain to think negatively, you can train your brain to think in a completely different way.

Does hypnosis work online?

An online hypnotherapy session is exactly the same as working face-to-face. You will be in the comfort and privacy of your own home, where you will feel more relaxed and less self-conscious. We will be able to see each other and you can use a laptop, a tablet, or even a phone. You will need to allow around 2 hours for the session.

Modern technology means that part of the session can be recorded and stored on your phone. This is just like having your therapist in your pocket, on call 24 hours a day! Listening to one short recording daily will help you achieve permanent change.