Frequently asked questions about hypnotherapy

What is hypnosis? 

Being in hypnosis simply means being in a ‘trance’ like state where you are paying more attention to what’s going on in your mind rather than your immediate environment, in this sense we drift in and out of mildly hypnotic states all the time  - when we watch television and become oblivious to the rest of the room, when we read books and become engrossed in the story, when we sit on trains and look out the window and also when we drift into our imagination and think about our past, our future and ourselves.

In popular culture there is often the misconception that hypnosis can be used to switch people into states where their behaviour can be controlled and they lose all self awareness. This is a myth of hypnosis. Hypnosis is not a mystical state, just a state of narrowed or focussed attention and a part of the drift of attention that occurs in normal waking consciousness.

Is hypnotherapy safe?

Yes hypnotherapy is very safe and is simply using your attention to focus on different aspects of your experience. Hypnotherapy can be used to create deep states of relaxation and also to work on the internal states that are important for creating our problems and our solutions. I have an extensive training in hypnotherapy and you are in safe hands.

 Will I lose control?

No, you’ll remain in control throughout all of therapy. Again, loss of control is a myth of hypnosis created by the illusion of stage hypnosis. All hypnosis is self hypnosis, you’re only hypnotised to the extent that you grant your attention to something, and you’ll have full control over yourself in our sessions.

Can you make me do something I don’t want to do?

No. And I wouldn’t want to make you do something you don’t want to do. Cognitive Hypnotherapy is about empowering you to be with your own experience with more comfort rather than follow any kind of instructions. At no point in therapy are you ever controlled by me and therapy is really about me helping you to help yourself.

What’s your background and your training in Hypnotherapy?

I have an extensive training in hypnotherapy, counselling as well as an 8 year training in Chinese Medicine and acupuncture.

My first hypnotherapy training was a diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy at the Institute of Clinical Hypnosis in London. I subsequently went on to complete a diploma in Cognitive Hypnotherapy at The Quest Institute. This training also included an NLP practitioner training and from there I went on to complete a 3 year diploma in Counselling at The Gestalt Centre London.

How much does Cognitive Hypnotherapy cost?

My fee is £70 per 1 hour session