How Does Hypnotherapy Work?

Hypnotherapy for therapy is nothing like the hypnosis you see in the movies and on stage. It is just a deep state of relaxation.  Have you ever been so focused on something that you don't really notice what is going on around you? If so, you have been in a hypnotic state. 

Our brain works on two levels so we can function to the best of our ability. Our conscious mind makes the decisions we are aware of: driving, cooking, taking part in discussions and so forth. Our subconscious mind controls all the things we don’t need to be consciously thinking about, such as breathing and reacting to experiences.

Our subconscious mind (or inner mind) is a wonderful thing; it filters and stores all our memories as well as controlling everything we do. However, the main role of our subconscious mind is to keep us safe, so it is constantly on the look-out for potential & learnt risks so it can prepare us. Unfortunately, the one thing it cannot do is distinguish between real and imagined threat, so it sometimes gets it wrong.

As your subconscious is storing and filtering all your experiences, it focuses on what it thinks is keeping you safe; great if it is a real threat, not so good if it is an imagined threat. This is how you get into cycles of negative behaviour such as anxiety, fears and phobias. Hypnotherapy works by quietening the busy conscious mind and talking directly to the subconscious, breaking that cycle and teaching it a new pattern of behaviour for you get the outcome you want. 

How do you get hypnotized?

Hypnotherapy is incredibly soothing. I will put some music on, you will get comfortable and then I will tell you a relaxing story. How deeply hypnotized you become depends on you: some people let themselves become deeply hypnotized so they are not aware of what is being said, some people are fully aware of everything at all times. You are completely in control, even if you are in very deep hypnosis. Remember, your subconscious mind never sleeps and is always keeping you safe- it will continue to do that while you are relaxing, so you can just concentrate on having an amazing time.

How does NLP & Hypnosis work together?

 After practising hypnotherapy within NLP, I grew to love it more and more. Not only does it provide therapy to people, it also enables them to have an incredibly revitalizing and energizing experience, a time to pause. That is why I also trained as a Clinical Hypnotherapist.

NLP & hypnotherapy go hand in hand and, in most sessions, I use a combination of them both. NLP gets to the root of the limiting belief by asking questions and finding out how people would like things to be and then creating individualized strategies to achieve that. Hypnotherapy cements this in the subconscious so it is easier for people to change.