Frequently asked questions

Sessions last 60 minutes. As a rough guide, we will spend time exploring your issue. In the second part, we will use hypnosis to engage your unconscious mind to create and integrate your ideal solution.

It depends on the issue you would like to resolve. Everyone works at a different pace and rushing change can be counterproductive. Having said that, my aim is to keep therapy effective and focused. In the first session we will discuss your personal needs and expectations. Based on this, we will work out an attainable therapeutic outcome, and discuss the number of sessions you can commit to, to achieve your desired outcome.

Hypnosis is a state of absorption which can occur spontaneously, for example in day dreaming, reading, watching a film, story telling or while playing games . Using hypnosis can be just as effective with children and adolescents, provided that it is adapted to their understanding and needs and that they are willing to give it a go.

As with any form of complementary therapy, please consult your GP to verify that you have no contraindication. Because hypnosis alters brain wave frequencies, it is not recommended for people with a history of epilepsy or psychotic episodes. In the first session, we will discuss your medical history to ascertain that using hypnosis is safe and appropriate for you.

This popular belief comes from stage hypnosis, where dramatic effects are performed to entertain an audience. Hypnosis can affect motor activity, perception and sensations. During hypnosis, it is possible that someone’s arm will levitate or conversely the may feel unable to move their arm. This is called catalepsy, muscles are deeply relaxed. Hypnosis alters the brain-body control. Hypnosis may induce analgesia and reduce the sensation of pain in parts of the body. This is used very effectively in child birth, dentistry and certain surgical operation where analgesic drugs cannot be used, for example brain surgery. Hypnosis can alter perception, and induce positive or negative hallucinations, when a person sees something that is not there (a clock on a wall) or will not see something that is there (the therapist for example). Making someone do something involves coordinating a series of actions. Coordination is managed by areas of the brain that have not been identified as being responsive to hypnosis. This makes it unlikely that a hypnotist can make you do something against your will. I abide by the code of ethics and good practice of psychotherapists and use hypnosis to enhance therapeutic gains only.

Each approach contributes to our understanding of the formation and structure of the self, and how it operates. In a nutshell... In Rogerian, humanistic, also called client centered approaches the client-therapist relationship is central to the healing process. The relationship is built on the principles of unconditional positive regard, congruence and empathy, to allow clients' to develop greater agency. Psychodynamic approaches explore early life relationships and how they influence the way we relate to others and how we see the world. Cognitive behavioural approaches assume four levels of experience: body sensation, emotion, cognition and behaviour. All affect each other. Focusing on one level can promote overall change. For example increasing physical activity increases serotonin which is associated to a more positive mood state, in turn influencing thoughts. Systemic approaches assume that individuals are members of family systems, which evolve across time, adapting and transitioning as they go through different stages of life. This puts different stresses on the system which may be expressed at the individual's level. Compassion and mindfulness based approaches advocate for a shift in attitude, based on the understanding that suffering is part of life and the principles of non-resistance to what is, paying mindful attention to here and now, non-judgemental openness, compassion, letting go of expectations, flexibility and least effort to better manage suffering. Grounding ourselves in the moment can help regulate emotional states, and develop awareness of our automatic responses to experience. Gestalt therapy also focuses on experience here and now, to develop greater awareness of sensations and emotions felt in the body. The therapeutic relationship is central to exploring different aspects of the individual’s self, encouraging awareness and integration of aspects of self that have been split or disowned. Jungian psychology is essentially positive, assuming that we strive for growth and that psychological difficulty is an opportunity for learning. Jungian psychology accounts for the collective evolutionary dimension of our self. Our personality is organised according to traits, each measured along a continuum of opposites, for example intraversion and extraversion. Individuation involves the re-integration of opposite aspects of our self and those relegated into our shadow.