What does a hypnotherapy session involve?

Hypnotherapy is a two way process of interaction between the client and therapist. It is a professional partnership.  The first stage will involve an informal chat and the therapist will ask questions to ascertain the nature of the issue and the necessary strategy to deal with it.
 
The next stage is hypnosis. To an onlooker it may seem as though you are falling asleep but in fact though you will normally feel very relaxed you will remain awake enough to be aware. Please remember that if at any time you feel uncomfortable and want to end the session you will be perfectly capable of doing so.

At the end of the session you may ask any questions you wish to.

Hypnosis & Irritable Bowel syndrome:

Hypnotherapy is an effective treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. IBS is not only physically painful it is difficult to treat.  Stress tends to upset the gut. The main theory behind the success of hypnosis for IBS is that relaxation improves blood flow to the gut and improves the guts movement.

Although IBS is a medical condition and you must always consult a doctor at first, once diagnosed, hypnosis is one of the best ways to treat the discomfort and triggers. 

Hypnotherapy routinely produces positive results in over 80% of the people who use it and should be the treatment of choice for IBS cases which have not responded to conventional therapy.

Hypnosis & Pain Management:

It is a little known fact that hypnosis is very effective in relieving and controlling pain. The cause of the pain should already be known and have been diagnosed by a medical practitioner as pain can sometimes be a symptom for a more serious condition. Once more serious causes of the pain have been eliminated hypnotherapy can be used to help. It is always better to reduce the pain than to take it away completely.
Pain can also result from a number of non medical or non physical issues. Sometimes it can be the weight of intolerable guilt from a real or imagined experience. In this case the objective is to help the client forgive themselves from real or imagined mistakes.

Hypnotherapy can be used in a variety of situations to treat pain.

Post operative pain: where traditional pain killers are not appropriate, perhaps because the patient is allergic to them or is afraid of needles.

Phantom limb pain: amputees sometimes experience pain from limbs that have been removed. Hypnotherapy has had impressive results in treating this kind of pain.

Hypnosis & weight loss:

Losing weight and keeping it off are much easier than you think. Often the healthiest way to loose weight is not the quickest way. Crash diets or drastic increase in exercise are not beneficial and may be dangerous. The reason why hypnosis is such a powerful tool for weight loss is its potential to help you build new healthy habits, which are ideal for easy, natural weight loss. 

Hypnosis can help you by allowing you to overcome unconscious obstacles which prevent you from losing weight and from keeping weight off.  Successful weight loss is as much about re-educating your unconscious mind as it is about dieting. Hypnosis is one of the most natural ways to lose weight. 

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy work on a subconscious level to help you achieve a state of mind where you can actually loose weight willingly. Until you are genuinely willing to make the change the goal seems unattainable.

Hypnosis & Stress:

Stress is an everyday fact of life. We may not realize it but we all manage stress in the course of our day to day lives. For example if after an argument you go for a walk to put it out of your head this is a form of stress management. Stress management techniques can be practiced everyday at home.
Hypnosis and hypnotherapy work on a sub conscious level to help you become less stressed.

Hypnosis & Sporting performance:

 Increasingly hypnotherapy is being used by people to improve their performance in sports. Golf is probably the most popular sport in which people use applied hypnosis techniques to help with performance, but it can be used with many other individual and team sports including football, rowing and cricket. Hypnotherapy can increase our inner beliefs and in sport belief is everything.

Hypnosis & Problems & Habits:

Many people find it difficult to deal with problems or habits as they are already too emotionally involved in their problem and have become used to it. It becomes an accepted habit.
Hypnosis can provide genuine help for many problems such as smoking, weigh management, nail biting, phobias, anxiety, panic attacks, irrational fears, stammering, blushing, asthma, migraine, lack of confidence and motivation. Hypnosis deals with the problem or habit at an unconscious level and identifies the triggers for the problem and helps new calm responses to take its place.

Hypnosis & Insomnia:

Insomnia or sleep problems are often caused by stress or anxiety. Since we  are all born with the natural ability to fall asleep easily, insomnia is usually a side effect of more general stress. Hypnotherapy can help by re-educating the mind to expect a good night’s sleep,  practicing new relaxation techniques, helping to calm a stressed mind and helping you to understand some of the causes of insomnia.

Stop smoking:

Quitting smoking should not be difficult. Nicotine is a difficult substance to go without for a few days but once it is out of your system stopping should be achievable. So why is it not this easy! Simply, because the psychological addiction of smoking has not been dealt with. Hypnotherapy is ideal for this. Using hypnosis you can deal with all the emotional and psychological aspects of giving up smoking. Hypnotherapy has enjoyed a high success rate with smoking cessation and stopping smoking is one of the most common reasons why people consult hypnotherapists.

Passing the Driving Test:

Many people fail their driving test not because of lack of technical ability or driving skills but because of anxiety or driving test nerves. Passing the test is as much about confidence and a relaxed and focused approach as anything else. Of course sufficient amount of driving lessons and know how are essential as well. Hypnosis is very much the extra advantage you need, which will help you to prepare mentally and to focus and relax ahead of the driving test.

Hypnosis & Exam nerves:

Hypnotherapy can help with memory enhancement and improvement as well as study motivation and the general stress and pressure of being a student. Exam success can often depend as much on your state of mind as academic knowledge. Hypnotherapy can help you achieve a calm, relaxed, confident and organised state of mind in order to achieve success in exams.

Fear of flying:

There are usually three types of fear about flying. The fear of crashing, the fear of not being in control and a fear related more to claustrophobia. Often fear of flying begins at a time when someone is going through other problems or traumas and the fear of flying almost becomes an extension. Some people may be mildly anxious about flying and find it gets worse over time and others develop a full blown phobia for no apparent reason. Hypnosis can be extremely helpful and often helps to eradicate the fear completely.

Success with Relationships:

Hypnotherapy can help you whether you want to deal with relationship problems or are interested in building successful new relationships. Hypnotherapy is a very good tool for empowerment. The first task therefore will be to develop a positive relationship with 'you'. Once you are feeling comfortable and happy with yourself others will start to feel comfortable with you. Hypnotherapy can help you with independence and insecurity in relationships, fear of commitment and getting over a relationship. Hypnosis has been successfully used to enhance, enrich and cultivate relationships.

 Self Confidence & Positive Thinking:

Self confidence is something we are all born with but sometimes we loose some of it along the way. Positive thinking becomes negative thinking and we forget how to be confident. Hypnosis is an ideal way to rediscover the ability to become more self confident. Hypnosis will help you deal with the reasons for lack of confidence and work on techniques for building self esteem and self confidence, helping you to become more assertive. Hypnotherapy will help you to internalise change and make it more real and believable.

Hypnotherapy can also be used to treat social phobias, sexual problems, depression, obsessions, shyness, public speaking and dental fears.