Holistic Hypno-Therapy

CAN HYPNOTHERAPY HELP YOU?

Hypnotherapy is a safe, gentle way to connect with the unconscious mind and bring about changes in your life.

Hypnotherapy is very different to hypnotism which people have seen on television.

Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation, similar to day-dreaming or meditating, where your awareness becomes heightened and it is easier to focus on the positive changes you want to make.

In this state your busy conscious mind relaxes and allows the subconscious mind to come forward and receive the positive suggestions that you give it.

During hypnosis you are not asleep nor unconscious, and you are able to converse with the therapist. You remain aware and in control at all times and you will remember everything that is said and experienced during the session. You cannot be made to do anything that you would find morally or socially unacceptable, and you can only change things that you want or are motivated to change.

The subconscious mind is similar to a computer and it stores every feeling, thought and event you have ever experienced in your life. As we grow up we ‘learn’ to act in certain ways – some helpful, some not – and this becomes the programme in the subconscious mind. Some of these programmes or ‘ways of being’ are unhelpful to us when we become adults, for example shyness, and often they stop us from achieving our true potential.

It is important to discover the root cause of the problem so that it can be resolved. This is done by asking the subconscious mind to take you back to the start of the problem. Once that is brought into the conscious mind it is easy to make changes.

Many phobias are ‘learnt’. For example a parent has a fear of spiders and the child also learns to be afraid of spiders. Another example of this is public speaking. Many people will tell you that speaking in front of an audience is difficult, so you believe or learn this fear. These types of learned phobias are quickly dealt with in hypnotherapy.

The subconscious mind is non-judgemental and unable to reason and this means that sometimes it links things together which can then produce phobias or other problems.

An example of this is of a lady who had a great fear of cats but didn’t know why. In hypnosis it was discovered that when she was a baby she was woken by a loud clap of thunder overhead and as she opened her eyes in fright, a cat (also frightened by the noise) jumped over her cot. Her subconscious mind linked the two things together……… the fright from the thunder and the cat …… hence her phobia of cats. Again this type of problem can easily be rectified during hypnosis.

The wonderful thing about dealing with your phobia using hypnotherapy is that it is not necessary to come into contact with the cause of the phobia. Once the origin has been discovered and the connection has been changed, the phobia just disappears.

Another client was helped with her weight problem when it was discovered that it came from a sense of helplessness and fear when she was bullied at school. Eating had made her feel safe at the time but as she was an active growing girl she didn’t put on any weight. When she left school the bullying stopped as did the over-eating. However years later, when her marriage broke down and her husband began to bully her, she began to over-eat again in an unconscious attempt to feel safe, and this time the weight piled on. During hypnotherapy the feeling of being safe and over-eating was separated and she went back to normal eating habits.

Habits such as nail-biting and smoking can be very difficult to stop by yourself as they require will-power and determination, but by using hypnosis no will-power is needed. During hypnosis the subconscious mind is told that the habit is no longer required and the habit is broken. However this will only happen if you really, really want to stop. The ability to make choices can never be taken away, so just as you made the choice of starting to smoke in the past so you can decide to start again, this is why it is important to be clear in your conscious mind that you really do want to stop. If you are half-hearted about it, you may fail.

With the help of a trained hypnotherapist you will be able to find the root cause of any past problems or issues and safely resolve them, replacing them with positive thoughts and feelings. By freeing yourself from long held beliefs and patterns of behaviour it is possible to make great improvements to the quality of your life.

Research has found that the mind /body connection means that what we think and feel has a direct influence on our health so by using the positive effect of hypnosis we can bring about wonderful improvements in health and well-being.

Holistic Hypnotherapy is a powerful, safe, gentle, natural way to make these changes on all levels, Mind, Body Spirit. By releasing traumas and healing past problems you can quickly take control of your life and health, regaining your self-confidence and increasing your enjoyment of life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a state of altered awareness during which our subconscious mind is more open and receptive to suggestions that are given. We drift in and out of different levels of awareness many times a day, absorbing information on a subliminal level as well as consciously. Your Hypnotherapist will work with your imagination to help you to achieve your goals.

Q. How does it feel to by hypnotized?

Everyone is different. Some people say that their body feels like a lead weight, others say they feel as though they're floating away. Most people will agree that it's a lovely feeling because they are more relaxed than they have ever been before.

Q. How do I know if I can be hypnotized?

Anybody can experience and enjoy hypnosis unless they are unwilling to do so or are incapable of any degree of concentration whatsoever (either because they are young or through mental infirmity). If a person is reading this and they are willing to cooperate, it may be assumed that you can experience hypnosis.

Q. Can I be hypnotized against my will?

No, anyone can resist and it won't work. Hypnosis is cooperation between two people - your therapist will show you the way and you can choose if you want to go there or not.

Q. When I am 'under' will I be asleep?

You will be aware of everything that is happening and being said the whole time, however you will be so deeply relaxed that you may find yourself drifting into different levels of awareness. Remember, your subconscious mind is active throughout and it is this that your therapist is working with.

Q. Will I lose control?

Contrary to popular opinion the practitioner has no “special powers”, nor can they “control” the subject in any way that is foreign to their nature, ethics or will. The client is always in control and if they wanted could come out of the hypnotic state at any time. The practitioner's function is that of a guide within a shared experience.

Q. Will I give away any secrets whilst I am hypnotized?

There is often a fear that you will be “commanded” to say or do things you do not wish to. This does not occur in Advanced Hypnotherapy. Generally the unconscious mind is very protective and will allow only as much communication in a trance as can be dealt with by the mind. You will not say or do anything at all that you don't want to. If you were given suggestions that you didn't morally agree with you would come out of hypnosis.

Q. Do I have to remember things from my past in order to recover from my problem?

Not necessarily; different therapists have varied approaches, but if the cause of your problem is a repressed memory (one that you are unable to remember consciously), then bringing it back into conscious awareness can help you to view the problem from a different perspective and so feel differently about it.

Q. Will I remember everything afterwards?

That depends how deep in hypnosis you are, but generally most people do remember either everything or certain parts of the experience. You will find that suggestions which have been given to you in hypnosis will resurface in your conscious, thinking mind after your hypnosis and these will be the thoughts that produce changes in your behaviour or way of thinking and feeling.

Q. How do I know I will wake up from hypnosis?

It is quite impossible to become 'trapped' in hypnosis. Even if something were to happen to the hypnotherapist halfway through the session, you would still 'come out' of the trance state once rapport had been broken, with no ill effects.

Q. Are there any side effects from hypnosis?

The only side effects are the beneficial ones of feeling more relaxed afterwards and feeling more positive about whatever it was you sought hypnotherapy for. Hypnosis is a perfectly natural state.

Q. I went to a hypnotherapist once before and it didn't work. Does this mean I'm not able to be hypnotized?

The most common reason for failure to induce trance is lack of rapport. To overcome this problem, contact a few different therapists and choose one that you instinctively trust.

PAST LIFE REGRESSION

Reincarnation is one of the central tenets of many Eastern religions, a belief that we return time after time to take on a new physical form to experience and learn spiritual lessons, until we reach a stage of Nirvana and the endless round of birth and re-birth ceases.

The form one takes, it is believed, is determined by the law of Karma ….. that our form this life-time is due to our behaviour in the previous life or lives. There is also a belief that those specific lifetimes, holding emotional, mental, physical or spiritual 'unfinished business’, can create problems in this present life and prevent us from living peaceful lives.

These problems may present as obsessions, recurring relationship problems, nightmares, anger, depression, sadness, panic attacks and unexplained physical pains.

Past life regression works with experiences below the level of conscious awareness by accessing those physical and spiritual residues from our present or past lives which are at the root of our present problems.

For example, chronic lower back pain, knee problems or migraines may be from an old accident or wound and the issues surrounding them. A chronic sore throat may originate from choking, strangling or hanging. Unfounded feelings of guilt, loss and fear may come from events in earlier lives, such as uncaring behaviour, bereavement and persecution.

During PLR clients are able to connect, understand and resolve scenes, conflicts and patterns from the past that have been distorting their mental, emotional and physical well-being.

Past-life regression can help to heal the wounds suffered in a past life and many people have derived great benefits for the present life, enabling them to lead happier, more peaceful lives.

HYPNO-HEALING

Hypno-Healing is a powerful combination of Reiki and hypnosis.

Self-healing occurs naturally whilst we rest, meditate or sleep. Whenever we enter deep relaxation our body’s healing mechanism switches on. By combining the deep relaxation of hypnosis, visual imagery and Reiki in Hypno-Healing a powerful healing response can be experienced.

It is now widely recognised by the medical profession that any form of healing is not just a physical process but also a mental and emotional one and Hypno-Healing accelerates this recovery considerably.

Hypno-Healing is a non-intrusive, natural way to activate and restore balance within the body. It can be used prior to surgery or medical treatment (such as chemotherapy) to alleviate stress or possible side-effects, and after such procedures to encourage self-healing, boost the immune system and help with pain control.

HOLISTIC COUNSELLING

Each person is a holistic being and has a physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual body.

To remain healthy, one must have balance in all these areas and if this is not present ‘dis-ease’ may occur. Many illnesses are due to an imbalance between mind, body and spirit.

By looking at the whole person during an in-depth consultation and analysing any underlying personal problems, guidance can be given on the best action to take to resolve such problems.

Clients are helped to understand that they do have choices in their lives, that they can chose to change how things affect them. They are encouraged to look beyond the surface of the problem, into the metaphysics of it and thus attain a greater understanding of the situation. They are then able to consider different choices and their consequences with the support of the therapist.

Once the cause of the imbalance has been identified, various techniques such as NLP, EFT, hypnosis and/or Reiki can be used to lessen or resolve the impact of the past and present on their lives.

NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING (NLP)

NLP is about how people learn, communicate, change, and evolve themselves. It was originally developed by Dr John Grinder and Richard Bandler who studied patterns of communication and thinking used by highly successful people.

NLP examines the relationship between how we think (neuro), how we communicate both verbally and non-verbally (linguistic) and our patterns of behaviour and emotions (programmes).

NLP is used as a technique for creating change. This is done by detecting the conscious and unconscious thinking and behavioural patterns within us then using a set of NLP processes to provide specific “how to” skills to create beneficial change.

NLP is truly empowering, allowing you to become more resourceful and effective and helps you do whatever you do better!

EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE (EFT)

EFT was founded by an American Gary Craig who developed this energy therapy based on the core work of Dr Roger Callahan.

EFT is based on the Eastern philosophy that “the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system” and this disruption can then also cause physical and mental distress. By clearing, releasing and re-balancing these subtle energies which circulate throughout the body negative emotions, traumas and behaviours can be resolved.

EFT is therefore a form of “acupuncture without needles” which focuses on the emotional issues which we hold within us. By tapping with the fingertips to stimulate certain meridian energy points while the client is "tuned in" to the problem, emotional issues and in turn physical and mental problems can be healed.

The tapping may be done by the client or the therapist, and can be taught to the client to use at home.