I thought I’d write this post to address an issue that I have often come up against with my clients and indeed come across in conversation when I mention in social situations that I am a hypnotherapist.

Often, when I am asked what I do and I say that I am a hypnotherapist, people will almost automatically say “Are you going to control my mind?” or “are you going to make me cluck like a chicken?” I think some people are even wary of speaking to me because of their misconceptions of hypnosis sometimes!

Unfortunately, the media propagates an idea of what hypnosis is as mind control and some sort of magical power that the hypnotist has over their subject.

The fact is that hypnosis is nothing like this. Hypnosis is a collaboration between the hypnotist and the hypnotee and what’s more, it is important for the hypnotee to invest their belief and imagination in the process.

I define hypnosis as a guided engagement of the imagination and the use of suggestion to release the possibilities of change of beliefs from what the mind has decided is an unchangeable situation .

This definition does not mention the conscious and unconscious mind (also know as the subconscious mind) because that model is very much a metaphor for how the mind works and, in my view, gives power to the hypnotist with his clucking  chickens- the fact that a person can blame an issue they have on a part of their mind they themselves have no access to is not conducive to self- empowerment. Let’s face it, how much better would it be to know you have the resources to make changes and just need some guidance and collaboration to unlock those resources rather than being told that your problems are down to a part of your mind you have no control of and that needs someone else to delve in to to take control and make those changes.

So when a client comes to me with a problem or issue, I always urge them to engage in the process of hypnosis, believe in the process and be open to the idea that they are in control and that that is a really good way to make changes and to make them quickly!

Our lives and what we do are made up of what we believe we can and cannot do, what we believe is and is not true and what we tell ourselves is and isn’t possible. Hypnosis allows us to challenge those beliefs and even change them- how powerful is that?

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.