WHAT IS HYPNOTHERAPY

What is hypnotherapy and what can I expect if I come to see you

I want to put you at your ease if you have never experienced hypnotherapy before. Quite a few of my clients are a bit apprehensive when they first arrive, but there really is no need. Unlike many forms of therapy, this one is very pleasant. Nearly everyone who comes for a session of hypnotherapy goes away feeling much, much better. You are almost certain to leave feeling calmer and more relaxed and often you will experience a profound change in how you see life.  

So what happens in a hypnotherapy session? 

Well, that’s quite hard to say as everyone is different and I will always start by having a detailed talk with you to find out more about you, exactly what your problems are and how they arose. Everyone is unique, so each session is unique. 

 But that doesn’t really help you if you are a bit worried about coming to see me does it? So I will try to describe what might happen when you come to see me and what hypnosis might feel like for you.  

 You help yourself 

 After we have explored the issues and problems you face, we might agree that a hypnosis session would be good for you.  

 I will then help you to put yourself in the very relaxed, but very focused state which we call hypnosis.  

 You have experienced hypnosis already 

 The first thing to say, and this might even be a bit of a disappointment, is that hypnosis may seem very familiar to you. This is because the state of hypnosis is actually very similar to the state we call day-dreaming. It is also similar to those times when you are concentrating so hard on something that the rest of the world seems to fade away into the background. 

 We know that this state is a good place to be if you want to make changes in how you perceive things. To help you create that state, I will help you relax physically by using special techniques to help slow and calm your breathing, relax your muscles and let go of any tension. When your body is relaxed, I will then ask you to imagine certain things which we know can help you feel safe and calm. This will help your mind drift into hypnosis.  

 Because hypnosis is a natural state and one which we all slip in and out of all the time, it is easy to create. You need make no special effort, just as you make no special effort when you drift off in ordinary life. (Go on, admit it. When Auntie Flo’ was droning on about her hospital visit you were day dreaming about your next holiday weren’t you? You had hypnotised yourself, you just didn’t know it then). So you don’t have to do anything or make any effort, just go with the flow. 

 

Then when you are in this very pleasant state we can start working out how to solve those problems. But more of that in the next post. 

 Answering the Question: Can you guarantee a cure?

 You may have heard hypnosis is very effective; even that it can be a miracle cure, so you might want to ask if I can guarantee to cure you of whatever is concerning you.

I’m glad I cannot guarantee hypnotherapy

 I have to say that I cannot guarantee this, and I am very glad that I cannot.

 If I had a set of tools and techniques which I knew would work in all circumstances then it would be a funny world indeed. It would be as if we were all automatons or computers, ready to be programmed and set off on a mission.

 Your outlook my hypnotherapy skills

 In fact, we are all so much more interesting than this! I have my foibles and preferences and ways of working. I do not even know you yet, but I do know that you are unique, with an unique and individual outlook on life. You and I can explore your outlook and I have a set of skills which may well be able to help you change.

 Build on your motivation

So what does this really mean? Well, we can get off to a good start. Just by being here and reading this you are showing that you have a motivation to do something about what is bothering you. We can build on this.

 What I can guarantee

 I can’t guarantee I can cure you, but I can guarantee this:

 I will listen to you. I will accept your world view and treat your ideas with respect, even if they differ from mine. I will respect your dignity and privacy in every way.

 I will trust that you want to change and are prepared to make an effort to do this. I hope that, if we both start from this basis we can build up a mutual relationship of trust.

 Hypnotherapy which respects your money and your time

 Part of that trust will be a respect for your money and your time. I will work with you

to achieve the best possible results in the shortest possible time. I promise not to take money from you unnecessarily or to waste your time by keeping you in treatment longer than you need.

 I want to say goodbye to you as quickly as possible! I will spend all our time together showing and teaching you to help yourself. My aim is to make you independent of me, so you can live your life happily and successfully. I will show you

techniques to help you heal yourself and I will try to ensure that you will leave therapy

with all the resources you need to help you in your future life

 I will work with you as a team. I will listen to you and take your feedback seriously. If something I do does not work for you I will change it.

 If you want to know more than just give me a call.

  So what is hypnosis. If you have been looking around the web, then you have probably found a number of different definitions and you might have even been feeling a bit confused. Well the good news is that it is not that unusual. When we talk about hypnosis we are actually describing a very common state which we all experience every day.

Oh, you might be saying, thinking of everyone wondering about like zombies, or drifting about oblivious to the world around them.

The unconscious mind and hypnotherapy

Well, there is a little bit of truth in this. Hypnosis, or the trance state describes the state of mind where the logical conscious mind – the bit we are usually aware of, is bypassed and the more creative and instinctive part of the mind takes over. You may recognise this; we often call it day dreaming.

In that state we are very suggestible and can even notice physical changes caused by thoughts occurring naturally in our minds or which are suggested to us by a hypnotherapist.

Hypnotise yourself

Try this little test for yourself. Shut your eyes and imagine you are sucking a lemon. Notice how your mouth feels different, you may even be salivating. Just as if you were actually sucking a lemon. That is the power of the mind. If you can do that by thinking about a lemon imagine what if you had a plan, a professional hypnotist and a goal you really wanted to reach.  What could your mind do then?

 It is not a magic solution but it is a very powerful tool when it is directed to a goal which you really want. So, say you want to lose weight, then imagine what it would be like to eat and enjoy only healthy foods. Or say you are afraid of speaking in public, well imagine what it would be like if you were delivering a speech with smooth confidence. If these imaginings are happening when you are in that creative state with your unconscious mind in the driving seat then your whole being, your physical feelings, your mental state can be changed. And that can be the beginning of a new life for you.