FAQ’s

What problems can hypnotherapy help with?

A wide range of health and wellbeing issues can be addressed through hypnotherapy – for examples of some of these please look at the treatments page.  Please do get in touch if there is something specific you would like to discuss or if your particular interest is not listed. If you suspect you have a  medical condition it is always advisable to consult with your GP.

Does it matter if I don’t really believe in it?

You need to believe in it enough to turn up to your appointment!  Beyond that a certain level of scepticism is not unusual for those considering hypnotherapy for the first time.  The most important thing is that you genuinely want to make a change, and that you’re prepared to suspend disbelief for long enough to take part in the process.  Once the results start to be apparent the belief tends to kick in.

How do I know I won’t be made to do something I don’t want to do?

Hypnosis is just a state of focused attention or relaxation, not dissimilar to daydreaming.  Just as if when you’re daydreaming something happens that is out of place or dissonant you would snap back to full alertness, so it is the same with hypnosis.  You are in control at all times – hypnotherapy is very different to the sort of stage hypnosis portrayed by the media.

How long will it be before I feel better?

That’s difficult to answer as everyone is different, and every condition is different.  Quitting smoking is generally possible with just one slightly lengthened session, a phobia may be dealt with in 3 or 4 sessions.  Anxiety related conditions may take longer, and this would be explored as part of your initial consultation.  Generally speaking though Solution Focused Hypnotherapy would take effect faster than many other type of talking therapy, and improvements after 8 – 12 weeks are  likely.

I don’t want to talk about what’s bothering me – can you still help me?

Almost certainly.  Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is not about raking through the past – in fact this actively discouraged.  There are a few questions to answer, but these are more about what you’d like to achieve and how you’d like to feel than trying to analyse the “problem”.

How long is a session?

An initial consultation is around 45 minutes.  Allow up to 2 hours for a stop smoking session.  All others hypnotherapy sessions are around 55 minutes.

How often would I need to see you?

For anything other than a stop smoking session, which is a single attendance, a weekly appointment is recommended.

Where can I attend sessions?

I currently hold clinics in Settle and Skipton, North Yorkshire and in Littleborough, Lancashire.  I have a consulting room in each location which I ask you to attend.  In some circumstances it may be possible to arrange a home visit, at additional cost to cover travelling time and expenses.

Is it safe to drive afterwards?

Yes, completely.  Many clients leave their session feeling more refreshed and alert than when they arrived.

Managing Anger
Managing Anger The last year has been a challenging experience.  I often hear from new clients that they are surprised to find themselves struggling with new and destructive feelings of anger or short-temperedness where previously they had regarded themselves as calm and in control.  Most are relieved to hear that ... Read more
Changing Relationships
I've been reflecting lately on just how often "relationships" are at the heart of the reason that many of my clients seek help.  This was true even before the national lockdown, and if the media is to be believed we can expect an upwards trend as the pressure of enforced ... Read more

Managing Anger

Managing Anger

The last year has been a challenging experience.  I often hear from new clients that they are surprised to find themselves struggling with new and destructive feelings of anger or short-temperedness where previously they had regarded themselves as calm and in control.  Most are relieved to hear that there is a simple explanation and, more importantly, that we can do something about it.

Anger was one of the primitive responses the caveman had available to him to help him to survive.  Its purpose was quite simply to give him extra strength and energy to deal with an immediate threat – such as fighting off a saber-toothed tiger.

Nowadays we rarely face a threat so immediate and life threatening, but that anger response is still there.  We still feel it in response to a perceived threat, but the threats that we face in our modern day lives are somewhat different…..uncertainty over jobs or finances, worry about health or our children’s education….these things (and many others) are difficult and unpleasant but not instantly life-threatening in the same way as an encounter with a large and toothy wild animal.

Which means that our anger response is not being “burnt off” in a focused and physical effort as it would have been all those thousand years ago.  It hangs around and re-surfaces in ways we don’t expect, and often focused on the wrong target – our loved ones, other people around us, sometimes even ourselves.

So what can we do about it?  Anger can be an overwhelming emotion and difficult to control in the moment.

Solution focused therapy offers a positive and gentle way to gain control of our negative thought patterns and build our resilience to restrictions and uncertainty, helping to ensure that anger doesn’t get a chance to take hold in the first place.

Changing Relationships

I’ve been reflecting lately on just how often “relationships” are at the heart of the reason that many of my clients seek help.  This was true even before the national lockdown, and if the media is to be believed we can expect an upwards trend as the pressure of enforced isolation takes its toll.

Typically in a dysfunctional relationship we think of a victim and a perpetrator.

Certainly the effect on the recipient of abusive behaviour (whether physical or psychological) should not be underestimated or trivialised in any way.  It is very often the victim I am approached by to seek help with overcoming feelings of fear, anger, guilt, loss of confidence and self esteem, or even in extreme cases a form of PTSD.  All of this, I am happy to say, can often be effectively addressed using solution focused techniques to move forwards positively – correctly “filing away” memories of the past so that they no longer intrude on the present.

It would, however,  be wrong to label everyone on the other side of this relationship equation as “evil”.  I am often contacted by people (both male and female) who recognise the damage they are doing to their relationships through anger or other negative behaviours.  The question is always whether the type of therapy I offer can help them to change.  The answer is usually yes, almost certainly, if the intention to change is a genuine one.    The same solution focused techniques can be used to help with learning different behaviours and responses as well as reducing and managing anger in a more positive way.

Whether clients are seeking to mend a current relationship, find the courage to break with something unacceptable or are trying to manage the fallout of past relationship breakdown, hypnotherapy can give both parties the best chance to move forwards for a positive future.