Hypnotherapy FAQs

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, and the Hypnotherapist only guides the client into the hypnotic state. The exceptions are: people who are educationally subnormal or suffering from senility, very young children, hard drug-addicts, and anybody under the influence of large amounts of alcohol.

We go in and out of hypnosis on a daily basis anyway; just before we wake up, just before we go to sleep, when we are driving, reading, watching television etc.

When we feel it is appropriate, we teach our clients how to practise self-hypnosis. It very much depends on the client and the problem we are working with. Self-hypnosis is an excellent skill to learn, as it can really help with many things including managing stress levels, increasing self-confidence, motivation and energy. Please let us know if you would like to be taught this valuable skill.

However, the most common is by Voice Induction, and this is the method that we prefer to use. Usually, we speak in a slow, soothing way in order to guide our client into hypnosis, so that we can work directly with their subconscious mind. We will often read from a script when we do this part of the session. There is no special way of speaking, no incantations or magical words.

You cannot actually make anybody do anything that they don't want to do when they are in hypnosis. Hypnosis holds no power over anybody, and cannot be used to control another person in any way whatsoever.

Some of the many things it can make profound improvement with are:

• Sporting performance.
• Career matters.
• Memory and concentration.
• Stage performance.
• Study.
• Driving.
• Exams and tests.
• Presentation/speaking skills.

All that can really be said, is that this truly amazing phenomenon allows us to bypass the conscious critical faculty, providing us with a 'gateway' to the subconscious mind.

This is why afterwards, most people insist that they simply did not 'go under', and can't have been hypnotised. Generally, people do find that they are far more alert and aware than usual and some start to become more relaxed, and their conscious mind starts to drift off in a pleasant sort of way. After a few sessions, people start to become aware of how the hypnotic state feels to them. Some people may notice that they feel excessively heavy or light, whilst others may experience a pleasant floating, whirling and/or spinning sensation. Most people always suffer some sort of time distortion, usually feeling that the session was much shorter than it actually was. The fact is that hypnosis is actually very safe and not that exciting!

During hypnosis, you are in a heightened state of mental awareness, therefore you are more alert and better able to focus.

However, more often than not, even these clients find that they actually start to feel more comfortable and learn to relax again as we progress through the therapy - much to their surprise! They also find they start to sleep better too. This has a knock on effect, making them feel more positive and confident in general.

The only similarity is that the hypnosis used is exactly the same, although most people find this fact hard to accept.

However, in our opinion (and that of most ethical, reputable Hypnotherapists) nobody can be made to do anything that they do not want to do. Yes, people do often do things that they would not normally do but this doesn't mean they didn't want to do them in the first place. Maybe they just didn't have the confidence! It is a fact that hypnosis lowers a person's inhibition. As for Stage Hypnosis, let's remember that the person did choose to be a volunteer - so he did have an idea that he may end up prancing around the stage, clucking like a chicken or doing some other type of harmless stunt to entertain the audience. He knows exactly what he is doing, he may just lead you to believe otherwise to save himself the embarrassment!

However, it is used by many Hypnotherapists, and technically, the hypnotised individual is in a trance. The individual is not aware of this state though, any more than he is when he is intently watching something on television or engrossed in a good book to the point that he doesn't hear someone talking to him.

Both of these examples are almost identical to the hypnotic trance state because the individual is only aware of the object of interest. It is most definitely not the trance you see on films and television, where people are glassy eyed with no idea of where they are or what they are doing. The depth of trance varies from one person to another, and it is often considered to be fairly unimportant from the therapy point of view. You remain totally conscious at all times.

It is a totally safe and natural state of mind that we go in and out of on a daily basis when reading, watching television, driving etc. Even if you had the misfortune to fall into the hands of a non-trained or poorly trained operator, nothing serious could happen to you.

It is generally thought that anybody suffering from epilepsy should not be hypnotised but there is no hard evidence to prove that hypnosis has ever triggered an epileptic fit. Care definitely needs to be taken with psychotic individuals, and Regression/Analytical Therapy should definitely not be used. This type of therapy is also best avoided with pregnant women and heart attack/stroke victims.

This is because the person has an enhanced ability to focus and concentrate, making it easier to achieve the hypnotic state. Remember though, you can only be hypnotised if you want to be, as all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The people who claim that they 'can't be hypnotised because their minds are too strong', are usually just frightened, and often make the best subjects of all. It isn't difficult to resist hypnosis but getting into the state does require mental work!

When a change is made to a flawed fundamental belief system, the results will be permanent and last a lifetime. However, if only superficial changes are made, the result may be short lived, and last only a few days or weeks. This can sometimes be the case when the wrong type of therapy is applied e.g. when Suggestion Therapy is used but Analytical Therapy would have been more appropriate. Analytical Therapy addresses the underlying cause(s) of the client's problem, and it is always better to find the root cause(s) before carrying out any type of suggestion work.

A responsible Therapist will soon detect when it is not going to work, and discharge that client so that he can seek the help he requires elsewhere. This is important, as it may just be that the 'client/therapist mix' is not as good as it could be, and another Hypnotherapist may be able to help the client achieve the desired results. This is also why the 'Free Initial Consultation' is so important, as this is the time when the client and therapist can decide if they will be able to work well together. If we feel that this isn't the case, then we will refer you on before you incur any costs.

It is also important to understand that the therapy will only be successful if the client genuinely wants to change. Hypnotherapists cannot create the commitment and motivation in their clients, as they do not have any power or control over them, and are only working with them to help them overcome their difficulties and achieve their goals.

Having said that, we will give you a rough idea at your 'Free Initial Consultation', once we have decided on the type of therapy we are going to use. Properly trained and experienced Therapists like us will not keep their clients in therapy for longer than is absolutely necessary.

Anyone can learn to be a Hypnotist. However, it has to be said that some people are better at practising 'the art' than others, just as with any other skill. The part which requires the real work is knowing how best to apply the skill with each individual client, and applying the relevant knowledge and expertise for the 'therapy' part of the equation.

This can be thousands of years earlier, or maybe only a short while back, just before the current life-span began. It is claimed that there is a therapeutic value in such experiences, in that they may account for certain psychological difficulties in an individual's current life. Numerous attempts have been made to prove the validity of various PLRs, but this has never been achieved - there has always been the possibility of the experience being nothing more than the recall of a long forgotten memory from childhood in THIS LIFE. Many experimenters go to great lengths to point out that they DO NOT CLAIM that a PLR is evidence of a previous existence for the individual concerned, only an awareness of a set of circumstances that occurred before that individual was born.