What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a complimentary talking therapy. It has been around for many years and can be very effective in helping people to make positive changes to their lives.

Essentially hypnotherapy changes the way you thinking about something, so that negative thought patterns are replaced instead with positive ones which result in better desired behaviours.

How does it work?

First if you think of your mind as being made up of two parts; a conscious part and a subconscious part. The conscious mind is the part which is actively taking in all that is going on around you at any particular moment. From what you see, feel; touch, to creating speech, analysing information and making decisions. The subconscious mind is operating in the background, doing things automatically fur us.  Such as keeping our heart beating, making us breath, regulating our body temperature, repairing parts of our body that need healing etc.. All these functions and tasks are done without us consciously thinking about them, they just happen.

Also over our lifetimes, certain behaviours, thoughts and reactions, once repeatedly learned are also passed to the subconscious. Once there they become automatic patterns. For example a smoker may find that they take a cigarette out of a packet and light it up, without even really thinking about it.

It has been found that if we can quieten the conscious mind and talk directly to the subconscious mind, then we can make positive suggestions to it, so that the subconscious mind will then automatically accept and then act upon. As an analogy, think of a computer or a smartphone. You may be using a program such as Microsoft Word or an App on your phone and this can be likened to the conscious part of the mind. But in the background there is an operating system such as Windows 10, Android or IOS on a phone, which can be likened to the subconscious part, automatically performing background tasks and keeping the device running. If I were to access the operating system and make some background changes then the next time you switched on the computer or phone, it would perform differently.

The use of hypnotherapy simply encourages you to first quieten your conscious mind, through placing you to a very deep level of relaxation. Once this is achieved then positive suggestions can be made directly to the subconscious. The person in hypnosis will then find that on returning back to full consciousness that they will automatically act on those suggestions and make the positive changes that they want to their lives.

What To Expect

If you have never undergone hypnotherapy before, then it will probably not be quite how you envisioned it. After completing a standard consent form and taking payment, we will then spend some time getting to know you and the change that you want to make. We’ll explore why you want to make the change, what benefits it will bring to you and what has prevented you so far in making that change to your life.

We will then prepare you for hypnosis, by making sure you are sitting comfortably and that you are ready to start. The hypnotherapist will then through the use of their voice, talk and direct you into a state of deep relaxation. You will not be asleep during the period of hypnosis, in fact you will be conscious of what is going on throughout. You could if you wanted at any time bring yourself out of hypnosis, but this is unlikely to happen as most people find that they enjoy being in this deep relaxing state so much, that they prefer to stay there. It is during this period of deep relaxation that the hypnotherapist will make the positive suggestions to your subconscious mind, to make the life changes you require. The hypnotherapist will then gently bring you out of hypnosis. We will then discuss your experience and how feel, before you leave us to make your way home.

Initial therapy appointments usually last around 90 minutes, with further appointments around one hour. Normally at least two appointments are needed for the hypnotherapy (except Stop Smoking or Vaping, where one single session is all that is required) to be at its most effective.