FAQs

Many hypnotherapists avoid answering this question! Some give vague answers like “it depends,” while others refer to research done by other people, often long ago or in other countries. But I think it’s a good question, so you can read my answer to it HERE.

Actually no therapy is effortless.
If a doctor gives you antibiotics, they will tell you to take them at specific times, and maybe to avoid alcohol.
If you see a physio you’ll usually be given exercises to do at home.
It is up to you to follow these instructions.
At the free initial discussion we will agree what you will be doing to help yourself.
Your effort plus my expertise = success!
You an read more here about how I work.

You probably know the words “comfort zone.”
There is a “comfort zone” where you’re right away from the thing you fear.
You also have a “horror zone” where you’re so close that it’s unbearable and you have to get away no matter what.
And there’s an “in between” zone which contains the situations where you’re not comfortable but you can stand it.
Therapy works by helping you to gradually step out of the comfort zone and into the “in-between” zone. With practice, the in between zone becomes part of your comfort zone.
You can then take another step and make your comfort zone even bigger, until you’re comfrotable with everything that isn’t actually dangerous.

There is probably more scientific evidence for hypnotherapy than for any other alternative therapy. Scientists have been studying hypnosis for more than two hundred years.
The most comprehensive scientific textbook of hypnosis is published by the world-famous University of Oxford. It is called the Oxford Handbook of Hypnosis: Theory Research and Practice and it contains hundreds of references to studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

The NHS website has almost no information on hypnotherapy, either for or against. However the British Society for Clinical and Academic Hypnosis includes many NHS doctors (both general practitioners and hospital consultants) , dentists, and psychologists, as well as university professors and researchers. Hypnotherapy is used in some parts of the NHS but is not widely available. This is mainly because very few doctors have trained in hypnotherapy.

Almost everyone, so long as they cooperate and don’t deliberately fight it. I see many clients who have previously seen other hypnotherapists and not been hypnotised even after several sessions.
Generally this is either due to poor technique by the previous hypnotists, or else the client was resisting hypnosis because they were afraid of it. If you have any fears about hypnosis we can discuss these at your free initial discussion and hopefully set your mind at rest.

No this cannot happen.
If someone hypnotised you and just left you, you would either come out after a short while, or else pass into normal sleep and then awake.
If an emergency occurred you would be able to come out of trance immediately.

The NHS website advises that people with epilepsy or schizophrenia should not have hypnotherapy.

Yes, although I still think face-to-face therapy is better for the deeper levels of hypnotic trance, however really deep hypnosis is not usually necessary in therapy. Somebody you see on TV can reassure you, inspire you or frighten you, even though you know they can’t see you, and they’re talking to millions of other people. So an experienced therapist can certainly do effective therapy on a Zoom call. I charge a bit less for Zoom therapy because I don’t need to book a room.

Just like any meeting on zoom. You need to have a reliable connection, and to position your camera so that I can see your face properly at a normal angle. I’d also need your mobile number just in case we lose connection. And obviously you need to be somewhere you can be comfortable and not be interrupted or overheard.

A competent and experienced hypnotherapist will know how to guide you through any powerful experience, such as a release of emotion known as an abreaction, which may occasionally occur.
This means you can expect to leave each session feeling better than when you arrived.

If anyone attempts to uncover hidden memories using hypnosis, very great care must be taken to avoid accidentally implanting false memories.
If a person is hypnotised and told something negative about their self, or something they would normally find unacceptable, this could cause serious distress.
Generally only stage hypnotists would ever do this, which is a good reason to avoid them.

Yes, because there are some bad people in every profession. There are very rare cases of hypnotherapists taking advantage of their clients.
Most people will reject unacceptable suggestions even in deep trance, but a few people are excessively trusting and obedient, especially if their defences have been gradually broken down.
These people are vulnerable in any situation, not just hypnosis.
I have for instance seen cases of an audiologist (hearing specialist) and a podiatrist (foot specialist) taking advantage of their patients.
Neither of them had used hypnosis.

Actually, by far the most common danger of hypnotherapy is the danger of wasting your money, by paying for ineffective therapy from an incompetent practitioner!
At present there are far too many training schools turning out far too many hypnotherapists, most of whom will never gain enough experience to be really effective.

Follow your “gut feeling.” Most people know instinctively if they can trust a person once they’ve met them face to face. So I always start with a free informal discussion, which includes some simple hypnotic testing to see which type of hypnosis is most suitable.

Open your eyes (if they were closed). Sit up. Take a deep breath and tell your therapist that you want to stop. If the therapist is competent he or she will immediately stop the hypnosis. You might feel a bit light-headed or disorientated for a few minutes. You can discuss with the therapist, maybe decide to go a bit slower and agree a signal you can use to pause the hypnosis. If the therapist won’t discuss or tries to carry on regardless, then just stand up and walk out. In deep trance you may feel like you’re not in control, but this is an illusion. You are always in control, even in the deepest trance.

Most experienced hypnotherapists specialise in particular problems which they have studied intensively and gained great experience in treating.
Also there will be some problems which they leave to others who are more into that area of working.
There’s also a few problems I don’t work with, because other people have more expertise.
Hypnotherapy is a huge field of knowledge, so no hypnotherapist can know everything!
To read more about what I do and don’t do, click HERE.

It’s a bit of both.
The stage hypnotist carefully selects his subjects after testing the whole audience for hypnotic suggestibility.
And the ones who come up on stage are volunteers who are “up for it.”
They who know how to act their part, participating in an entertainment.
Where stage hypnotists have caused harm it’s usually by touching on some underlying worry which the subject has not revealed.

Some techniques involve me lifting your arm, by gently holding your wrist. No other physical contact is necessary.
If you don’t like anyone touching you at all there’s plenty of other methods I can use.

Having had a phobia myself when younger, I never make fun of anyone who has any kind of phobia.
The experience of phobia feels totally real to the person who has it, however strange it may seem to somebody else.
It is no laughing matter.

All phobias work in much the same way and a competent therapist can treat them all using similar methods.
That’s why you need to see a therapist who understands the underlying factors.
Not somebody who just recites a script which they have memorised out of a book.
Even in the case of common phobias no two clients are alike.
For instance, some people with emetophobia cannot bear the sound of someone being sick, but have no problem cleaning up that person afterwards.
For others it could be the other way around.
So every client needs a therapy programme tailored to their individual needs.

All therapy requires the client’s cooperation.
There is no point forcing anyone to come.
In fact this could make things worse by giving them a phobia for therapy, so they’d never want to have it in future!
However, you could bring them for an initial chat, without therapy, and without charge, so I could explain to them exactly what therapy involves.
Peoples’ fears are usually due to mistaken ideas about what therapy involves.
A competent therapist will not make you do anything.

Yes but that is not my speciality. I work with teenagers down to about fifteen years old. All clients under eighteen must have a parent or guardian accompany them. Their parent must also sign a consent form on the first session.

I can’t answer every question on one page of a website, so if you have a question I’ve not answered here you can click HERE to contact me and get a personal reply by email. Every reply is written individually by me- not by an AI!