Hypnotherapy

As the name suggests hypnotherapy is a combination of hypnosis and therapy. A hypnotic state, can be described as a changed state of awareness that increases feelings of relaxation and allows for improved focus and concentration. Being in a hypnotic state is nothing more than this, an experience that provides temporary relief from stress and worries.  In fact, hypnosis occurs naturally - ever daydreamed and not realised you've gone past your motorway exit, whilst driving? This is a natural hypnotic state that all humans experience.

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​Hypnotherapy helps overcome longstanding difficulties and ingrained patterns of behaviour that may be limiting you.  Hypnotherapy directly works on the subconscious mind, the part of the mind that processes emotions, thoughts and behaviours automatically, without us even having to consciously act. 

 

Hypnotherapy provides fast-lane access to the subconscious mind, resulting in you seeing results within a short space of time,  changes that are long-lasting and will improve your overall well-being.  You will notice hypnotherapy produces results quicker in comparison to traditional psychological therapies.​ 

 

Alison can help you with specific goals or work with you more generally using hyptnotherapy to improve confidence and self-esteem or simply to assist you in relaxation and reducing stress-levels. 
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Here are some issues that hypnotherapy has been shown to help with:

• Improving self-confidence and self-esteem 

• Stress-management 

• Supporting personal wellbeing, by having set times just to relax in the hypnotic chair

• Resolution of psychological symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks

• Elimination of fears and phobias, such as fear of flying, fear of spiders or social anxiety

• Performance enhancement, including sport performance and work-related performance

• Breaking unhealthy habits, such as emotional eating and smoking 

• Weight Control and weight loss

• Sleeping Difficulties

• Relationship Problems​​

• Processing trauma-related symptoms 

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Hypnotherapy allows access to the subconscious mind, which is inherently more flexible and accepting toward new ideas, suggestions and alternative perspectives, compared to the conscious mind. This allows the hypnotherapist to work with you, on your therapy goals directly, without the mind overly resisting suggested changes. For example, you may work with a hypnotherapist to improve symptoms of insomnia.  In a non-hypnotic state, you would be very likely to reject suggestions made by the hypnotherapist, that you can sleep soundly, deeply, for the entire night and fall asleep easily, but in a hypnotic state, your mind would be much more amenable to believing this, accepting the hypnotic suggestions and in turn, this would affect changes in your sleep habits resulting in improved sleep.

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In this way, a hypnotherapist skilfully induces a state of hypnosis in a client, to bypass the ‘conscious mind’  to provide a 'gateway' to the subconscious mind, where effective and long lasting changes can be made that improve our wellbeing.  
 

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Visualisation is used during hypnosis. Some people find the idea of visualisation difficult and worry that they can't do it, but everyone can visualise, it is as natural as hypnosis. It is just that some people visualise differently and there is a common misconception that to correctly visualise, you need to actually create images in your mind's eye. This is not true - some people visualise using their imaginations to create images, yet others use sound to create the same and equally, many create a felt-sense or kinesthetic experiences in order to visualise. Some people just imagine themselves visualising by verbal self-talk. However you visualise is right for you and Hypnotherapy is effective whether you visualise using sound, kinesthetics, or visual images in the mind's eye.