Cognitive hypnotherapy is a modern approach to help you make the changes you want in your life. It works on the principle that trance is a normal and common state that we enter every day – for example daydreaming in a meeting or letting your mind wander when driving a familiar route – and that 90% of what we do is driven by our subconscious when we are in this state, meaning that we are not in control of our negative thoughts and behaviours. Our subconscious tries to look after us by guiding us in a way that avoids dangers and pain, but sometimes it can ‘misguide’ us, no matter how good its intentions!
Cognitive hypnotherapy works to ‘de-hypnotise’ you, allowing you to override your subconscious and choose your behaviours. Unlike many other therapies, cognitive hypnotherapists treat the individual, identifying what is at the heart of your behaviours and tailoring treatment accordingly. This means that your treatment will be completely unique but may feature a range of practices such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), positive psychology, neuro linguistic programming (NLP) and traditional hypnotherapy.
This short video explains a little more about the principles of cognitive hypnotherapy:
What can Cognitive Hypnotherapy treat?
Cognitive Hypnotherapy can treat a wide range of unwanted behaviours and thoughts that are stopping you from moving forward in your life. These include, but are not limited to:
– anxiety
– depression
– phobias
– eating disorders
– limiting beliefs
– pain
There are lasting benefits to Congnitive Hypnotherapy that will help you start to take control of your own situation and change the way you see yourself.
If you would like to explore whether Cognitive Hypnotherapy is right for you, get in touch to arrange a free consultation.
What to expect
I offer both face to face and online sessions, which means that geography shouldn’t stop you from working with the right hypnotherapist for you.
Face to face sessions take place in the warm, calming environment of my therapy room, which is situated in a Victorian House. This light-filled room, which has its own separate entrance, looks out over the garden and is designed to make your hypnotherapy experience as relaxing as possible.
If you choose online sessions, all you need is an internet connection and a device such as a PC, laptop, tablet or even a smartphone. Your surroundings are important, so try to use the most relaxing space available to you, away from distractions and interruptions.
Free phone consultation
It is important that we are the ‘right fit’ for working together, which I believe is essential in therapy, so I offer a free initial telephone consultation where we can explore what is troubling you and whether Cognitive Hypnotherapy is right for you.
First session
The first session will be longest session, at around 90 minutes. Because everyone comes to their problem their own way this session is unique to the individual, but I will ask you structured questions to investigate your journey, and look for what may be causing your problem.
Subsequent sessions
There is no set formula for how many sessions of Cognitive Hypnotherapy you will require, but I find I see most people between 3 and 6 times. Sometimes it may be less because the cause can be relatively simple, but in other cases it may take longer if someone is really struggling. Subsequent sessions last approximately 60 minutes.
There will also be work for you to take away and do between sessions.
All sessions and conversations are completely confidential in every way.
An Evidence-Based Approach
Quest Cognitive Hypnotherapy (QCH) launched a unique research project in 2011. Using a team of QCH therapists, clients with anxiety and depression were assessed using the same outcome measures currently used to assess the effectiveness of talking therapies within the NHS. The pilot study was published in the Mental Health Review Journal in 2015. It recorded that, using 118 cases measuring the effectiveness of Cognitive Hypnotherapy for the treatment of depression and anxiety, 71% considered themselves recovered after an average of 4 sessions. This compared to an average of 42% for other approaches using the same measures (like CBT). To our knowledge, this is the only hypnotherapy approach to have been validated in this way. For further information concerning the research project and pilot study released in the Mental Health Review Journal please visit the evidence-based therapy research page.
