Treatments
This section provides more information on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (“CBT”) and outlines some of the more common conditions that respond to hypnotherapy.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy ("CBT")
My approach as a therapist is to integrate cognitive behavioural therapy with hypnosis. Whilst cognitive behavioural therapy has been shown to be an extremely effective and quick form of therapy, a wide body of research indicates that its effectiveness is magnified when it is used together with hypnosis and hypnotherapy.
Stop Smoking - Without Weight Gain
Researchers from the University of Iowa carried out an overview of more than 600 studies (involving in total almost 72,000 people) in order to ascertain the most effective smoking cessation methods. The results, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, concluded that hypnosis was “many times more effective than Nicotine Replacement Therapy” (such as gum, patches, lozenges, nasal sprays and inhalers) for smoking cessation.
Hypnosis for Weight Loss
Whether you over eat due to habit or for emotional reasons, hypnotherapy can help change your way of thinking about food and help you to develop a new healthier attitude. Hypnosis will help you to eat only when you are hungry, to stop when you are full, and to eat those foods which are beneficial to you, rather than harmful.
Work Related Stress
Forces and events from the outside world impinge on every individual, causing stress and anxiety – literally meaning a physical, mental or emotional factor which causes a reaction of tension. It is often thought that stress and anxiety is necessarily a bad thing but this is not always the case – we learn from new experiences and they can help us to develop, even where those new experiences are a challenge.
Stress, Anxiety and Phobia
A phobia is an irrational and unfounded fear which causes anxiety, stress and panic, or can lead you to avoid the feared thing. From an evolutionary standpoint, there are reasons why panic, fear, anxiety and stress exist; if thousands of years ago you found yourself in the vicinity of a vicious animal, and had no means of protecting yourself, then your instinct to run was correct.
Anxiety and Depression
There are very few people who can claim never to have felt anxious. So many life events can lead to anxiety – fear of loss (of a job, a house, a loved one, a pet), fear of embarassment, fear of being physically or emotionally hurt, fear of flying or of public speaking – there are too many variations to set out.
Insomnia and Sleep Disorder
Most people will at some point in their lives suffer insomnia or some other form of sleep disorder, whether this takes the form of difficulty getting to sleep, or waking up too soon – during the night or early in the morning, typically between 3 and 5 – and being unable to get back to sleep. You may find that such problems arise, or worsen, when you are busy and at times of stress and anxiety, when it is difficult to “switch off” from your thoughts.
Dental and Needle Phobia
Dental Phobia is extremely common. Depending on whose statistics you read, the figures quoted are that between 35% and 80% of adults suffer from some level of fear at the thought of dental treatment. Many sufferers of dental phobia and needle phobia will simply avoid going to the dentist for years.
Pain Management and Pain Relief
Pain is a symptom of something being wrong with the body. It is warning signal to stop certain physical movements or activities, or an indication that medical attention should be sought. If you suffer from back pain this is in fact a sign that the activity you’re carrying out is unsuitable and is putting you at risk of further injury. Pain is therefore essential to allow us to flourish and survive. In general terms, therefore, pain has a function.
Hypnotherapy and Counselling to help Eating Disorders
Eating disorders take many different forms. Some people struggle with compulsive eating, binge eating (frequently in secret) sometimes to the point where they feel sick, or even make themselves sick (bulimia). Afterwards they often feel disgusted with themselves, and ashamed of their behaviour. Rewarding yourself with food is a way in which many people cope with stress, anxiety and other negative emotions.
Obsessive Complusive Disorder ("OCD")
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (often known as OCD) is a form of anxiety which affects between 1 and 2% of people, regardless of age, social group, gender or ethnic background. This form of anxiety commonly starts in late adolescence or early adulthood, but can begin at any time. Whilst the majority of individuals will at some point in their lives experience stress and anxiety, and perhaps may feel they are acting in an obsessive way about something, they are nonetheless able to live their lives without disruption. This is not the case for those suffering with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Hypnotherapy for Confidence and Self Esteem
What is self esteem? A number of things define those individuals who have confidence and healthy self esteem. They trust their own judgements; they have a healthy, realistic and positive opinion of themselves and feel comfortable about how and where they fit into the world. They are confident of their own abilities and views. they are able to evaluate their own worth and to know what it is about them that makes them unique, important, of value. Those with low self esteem often put themselves down, feel unable to stand their ground, and are more likely to suffer from stress and anxiety, sometimes feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope with every day life.
Fear of Flying
Fear of flying is extremely common. Hypnotherapy to help you with this works by training your mind to remain calm, and also by enabling you to question the assumptions you have about flying, and to think about these more realistically. To use hypnotherapy to help you to overcome your fear of flying, it is important to understand the different reasons people are scared of flying, and to know exactly what it is about flying that you fear.
Hypnosis and Fertility
An increasing number of both men and women are using hypnosis and hypnotherapy to help improve their fertility. The techniques used in hypnotherapy help you to remain calm and relaxed, whether you are trying to conceive naturally or undergoing IVF treatment. The ability to deal with stress when you are trying to get pregnant is very important as stress and anxiety are understood to be a significant contributing factor in infertility.
Tinnitus
Many people will suffer from tinnitus – ringing in the ears – at some point in their lives. Depending on whose statistic you read, the number affected at some point in their lives is thought to be between 20% and 30% of the population. This often happens after they have been exposed to loud noise – in the working environment, at a concert, or hearing a firework go off in close proximity, for example. For the vast majority of such people tinnitus is temporary, lasting from 24 hours to a week or so. Everyone experiences tinnitus differently – some find it is constant, some find it comes and goes. The noise which is heard is described by tinnitus sufferers in many different ways – ears ringing, roaring, buzzing, hissing, whistling, or like the noise which crickets make. Some people also experience a loss of balance.
Restless Leg Syndrome
Restless Leg Syndrome, sometimes called Restless Legs Syndrome – RLS – is a condition suffered by approximately 2% of British adults. Sufferers describe an irresistible urge to move their legs. Symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome are often worse when you are trying to rest, and improves when you are able to move.
Bereavement and Grief
When we suffer the loss of something or someone we love and value, we experience grief. Grief can take many forms and may not necessarily involve the death of a person, although this is the most widely known cause of bereavement; we can find ourselves grieving at the end of a relationship or a friendship, at the loss of a job or of financial security.
