Hypnotherapy

What is it?

Although Hypnotherapy is generally defined as the application of Hypnosis for therapeutic purposes this really only tells a small part of the story.

Apart from anything else the Hypnosis itself and the deep relaxation it produces, can be part of the therapy, particularly for problems that are rooted in anxiety or stress.

When combining Hypnosis with one or more therapeutic techniques the result can often be an effect which is much more powerful than the simple sum of the parts.

Many different treatment protocols may be used, often utilising elements from psychotherapy, NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and Behavioural Psychology.

The ways in which Hypnosis can be used in Hypnotherapy are as many and varied as the problems that it can help people to overcome.

What can it do?

The main use of Hypnotherapy is in helping people to change, in a positive way, some aspect of themselves, their lives or their beliefs about the world that give them problems in their daily lives. These are usually things which they find difficult to affect by force of will alone. These may manifest themselves as unwanted habit behaviours, phobias, emotional problems, depression, poor self esteem, or simply an inability to handle stress and anxiety in particular situations.

The list is almost endless and as well as psychological problems Hypnotherapy can also help people to deal with quitting smoking, weight control, chronic pain, sleep problems, lack of confidence, recovery from surgery, long term illness and even the pain and trauma of childbirth! (More information can be accessed by using the links in the 'contents menu' to the left of the page.)

Conscious or unconscious?

The reason that a good many of the problems we find difficult to either sort out or even sometimes just pin down, is that these problems are out of the reach of our normal conscious control and are in fact run by a part of the mind which is at a deeper level than our conscious minds and is called the unconscious mind (also known as the subconscious mind).

Hypnosis allows the individual to tap into the unconscious part of their mind and, with the help of the therapist, to initiate the desired change.

How long?

When successful Hypnotherapy usually gives fairly quick results and with some problems satisfactory results are obtained after one or two sessions. However, there is no set formula, and the number of sessions that any particular individual or problem will require will depend on that individual's needs and wishes. Remember that ultimately, it is the client that is in control.

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