Hypnotherapy explained
Hypnotherapy
is the therapeutic use of hypnosis to help people achieve specific goals or
to facilitate healing. Hypnosis is very powerful and I love the fact that
it can be used for many different purposes and especially to help and to heal people quite quickly. I have
been using Hypnotherapy since
1994 to help people change habits, behaviours and attitudes; resolve persistent or recurring
problems; let go of fears or phobias; reduce alcohol and
quit cigarettes; lose weight and deal with eating disorders; improve
performance ie sport or academic; deal with 'physical' issues
such as pain and illness; and receive help with anxiety and depression.
The
Hypnotherapy I use is advanced and high level and incoporates many
different techniques and aspects of modalities such as NLP, Healing,
Counselling, Ericksonian Communication, Gestalt, Conflict Resolution
etc.
This is augmented by my extensive experience in counselling for more than
25 years and practicing hypnotherapy for the past 22
years.
I
try to keep the amount of times you have to come and see me to a
minimum,
to save you time and money. A treatment program rarely lasts more than
three sessions. A lot of people only require one session to
achieve their goal - and that includes a lot of smokers. I also
keep
the cost of my sessions relatively low so more people are able to
access professional and safe hypnotherapy in order to heal themselves
or to change their lives. I give discounts to people who are not in
full employment.
We will discuss your specific needs and individual circumstances in the first session and agree on a program that will suit you. Sessions are a mix of hypnosis and counselling and are different for each individual. I take into account your individual circumstances and the reasons why you are doing what you are doing, as well as your personality, your specific needs and your wishes.
As people have different life styles I am trying to be flexible when it comes to agreeing on the treatment program. If due to time constraints, personal choice or family commitments you prefer to have shorter but more frequent appointments we may be able to arrange that. Please mention your individual requirements when we discuss your treatment program. I also see people on weekends and after hours.
Below
I will answer some of the questions I am often asked.
It depends on the issue. Here are some examples:
Quit Smoking programs
usually involve 1 - 2 sessions and quite a few of my clients have quit
after just one session. Everything you need to help you quit goes into the first session. Everyone is different and
therefore each quit smoking
treatment is different. If you have 2 quit smoking sessions they
will be
spaced
approximately one week apart. Some people may require 3 sessions.
Everyone is different and everyone quits differently. Some people
quit instantly and some quit gradually
with several attempts over the space of some years. People often
feel desperate or guilty when they don't succeed at first.
When they finally try hypnosis they have a much greater chance of
succeeding. In a way you could say that hypnotherapy helps those
people 'across the line' and finally makes it possible for them to do what they
want to do. This can happen because with hypnosis we
can identify and deal with the underlying causes of behaviour.
Hypnotherapy doesn't just 'fix' the symptoms or the most obvious cause.
As
pointed out elsewhere - hypnosis has been
found to be the most successful method for quit smoking out of more
than 10 methods compared in a meta-analysis involving 70.000 people.
For Weight Loss programs I generally conduct a treatment of 2-3 sessions spaced over
one month. The
first two sessions are spaced approximately one week apart, and because
losing weight usually involves behavioral changes, or a change of
habits, a third
session may be beneficial for some people for long term success.
In the first session much emphasis is put on the
emotional reasons for weight gain, but there may be other
reasons. With hypnosis we can discover what is behind this extra
weight and why someone may have difficulties
letting it go or sticking to a specific diet. Then we use some
hypnotherapeutic or healing
processes to change/heal that. You will feel more in control and
finally able to do things differently - in a way that support one's wellbeing, happiness and health.
I
have helped many clients with fears, phobias, anxiety, depression, stress, low confidence, self-loathing
etc in just one hypnotherapy session. Fears, anxiety etc are
often a reaction to something that has occured in your life which may
have scared or traumatised you and which you may not be consciously
aware of. Or if you are aware of it you may not have realised its
significance and the effect it may have on you. The cause or reason for
your fears etc may be in your past or may have something to do with
your present situation. In any case, we will usually discover it
with hypnosis, which then allows you to heal, transform, change or
release it. If this has gone on for many years you may have
developed coping mechanisms (conscious and unconscious ones) that may
have shaped you into someone you don't really want to be. Where
there is a mismatch between how you behave on the outside and who you
really are (the 'real you') on the inside, then something has to
give. I believe that some of the anxiety, fear, panic,
depression, low confidence that people experience is caused by what I
call this 'incongruence' between the outer
and the inner Self. Using counselling and special hypnotherapy
techniques I can help you discover and support the 'real
you' hidden underneath all the pain and the superficial
coping mechanisms.Maybe I can even help you find back home to yourself.
Pain
relief and physical illnesses
need to be dealt with on a case by case basis. For example: work to
support and strengthen the body and the immune system during illness or
during chemotherapy can be done weekly or fortnightly for a specific
period of time. Hypnosis can help you stick to a strict dietary or
other remedial discipline, it can be used to directly influence the
body's self healing ability. Pain relief can be handled
similarly. In those cases you would also be taught how to apply
self-hypnosis, which can be learned in just one session. Pain
relief often involves giving you tools to scale down the pain. However,
since pain is also the body's warning signal that something needs
attention, it is important to distinguish between an appropriate level
of pain which may be necessary and a level which is too high and may
need to be scaled down. Hypnosis can be used to influence how we 'experience'
any pain that's there,
and to lessen its impact.
Note: As this is one area I do not specialise
in (although I have done work in this area in the past) I may refer you
to another hypnotherapy practitioner to get the best possible treatment. In recent years I have specialised in treating emotional, energetic and spiritual issues (and quit smoking).
How qualified are you ?
I am an accredited clinical member of the Australian Hypnotherapists Association (AHA) and the Australian Traditional Medicine Society (ATMS). In order to be accredited on an annual basis a practitioner has to be highly qualified and experienced, be insured, has to fulfill very strict assessment criteria and has to maintain this standard in order to receive annual accreditation or registration.
Is there something you do not treat ?
I
do not treat children as I have specialised in treating adults - I could recommend
other hypnotherapists in the area if you wish to treat a child or young teen.
Children respond extremely well to hypnotherapy.
Here are contact details of some hypnotherapists in my area who treat children:
Michelle 0414494745 michelle.nassner@gmail.com
Paul 66 252553 greenstone@optusnet.com.au
Lynne 0452256723
Most
hypnotherapists treat the full range of issues and problems, but we
also tend to have certain areas we specialise in. My particular specialities are emotional
healing, spiritual healing, acute sensitivity, phobias and fears, anxiety,
depression, confidence and performance, relationships and sexual issues, quit smoking,
eating disorders and weight loss.
How effective is Hypnotherapy ?
Some Examples
1. Quit smoking
A
meta-analysis published in the New Scientist Oct 1992, where 600 studies were
compared covering about 71000 people, showed that hypnosis was the best method
to quit out of 15 methods that were compared.
look at www.newscientist.com for this study
A study headlined " Hypnotherapy Outperforms Other Treatment Approaches for Smoking Cessation" was released in October 2007 by the American College of Chest Physicians. It showed that of hospitalized smokers who received hypnotherapy 50% were still smoke free after six months.
2.
Physical conditions and chronic illnesses
There is research which demonstrates clear benefits in treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Hypnotherapy in addition to the more conventional treatment. Other physical conditions can also respond well to hypnosis as an adjunct to more conventional treatment and healing can sometimes be greatly enhanced and accelerated and side effects and pain reduced. Even if a full recovery is not possible, symptoms can often be greatly relieved. Hypnotherapy can support the body to heal itself (as intended by nature), can improve wellbeing and quality of life, and can complement or accompany orthodox medical treatments (without having to choose between the two). I advocate using the best of both worlds. You can support your body's natural ability to heal, strengthen your immune system and reduce pain with the help of hypnotherapy.
3.
Performance
There is hardly a top athlete
these days who does not use Mind over Matter techniques. It doesn't matter whether
it is called Visualisation, or Meditation, or Motivation, or Self Hypnosis -
the results usually speak for themselves.
4.
Post Traumatic Stress, Anxiety etc
There are tremendous advantages and possibilities in the treatment of PTSD and anxiety using hypnosis. Using hypnotherapy we can deal directly with the subconscious /unconscious where traumatic events/emotions are stored and appear 'frozen' in time until they are moved on through a conscious decision to do that and to seek help. Talk to me first if you intend to see me for PTSD to check me out and to ascertain if my approach and who I am suits you. A good rapport and trust are vital and help with healing.
5. Mind over Matter and Placebo effect
Think
about the Placebo effect. It is an excellent example of how the
mind (what we believe) can influence and shape matter (how our body
reacts when we believe something). Such is the power of the
mind. I think it is a shame that the placebo effect is not
harnessed more often in the fight against diseases or similar issues.
Many elite athletes use a variety of mind over matter techniques to
enhance performance. Hypnosis, self - hypnosis, visualisations
are often used. I personally have helped people pass tests and
exams (elite sport, academic), improve performance (sport, music,
public speaking) and overcome fears and obstacles to success. Mind over
matter techniques can help you become the best you can be. I sometimes call this process 'self -mastery'.
The Process
Let me explain what you can expect to happen when you have your hypnosis sessions with me.
We will agree on a Treatment Program:
Treatment programs may involve 1 - 3 sessions spaced approximately one week apart, some issues require only one session. I will let you know at the beginning how many sessions might be needed to deal with your issue.
In
the first session we discuss your needs and your issue
in detail and we agree on a treatment program before we proceed with the hypnosis
and/or the counselling part. Sessions are not based on a strict time limit,
however, first sessions are usually 1.5 hours long.
If there is a second session it is usually one week later. There we build on what happened in session one, reinforcing and fine tuning
the changes that have already occurred and also providing effective support
during the initial phase of greater change. Session two lasts approximately one hour.
If there is a third session a week or two later we reinforce and cement the successful
changes. There is a focus on the future/new you, on taking charge of your life, using your new
tools effectively, empowering and preparing yourself for your new
future and getting used to living your life differently.
Shorter top-up or follow-up sessions are also available, as long as they are taken within a reasonable time frame (ie a few months) after conclusion of the treatment program and are related to the original issue you came to see me about.
How does it work ?
To
help you into the hypnotic state I use breathing and relaxation
exercises. There are no gimmicks or weird experiences or magic wands,
hypnosis will feel quite pleasant and somewhat normal to you. It is a
slightly altered state of awareness where the conscious or analytical
mind has been asked to step aside for a short while so we can access
other parts of the Self where changes can be made or where solutions
can be found. These other parts or aspects of the Self are usually
referred to as the 'subconscious'.
A
small percentage of people cannot be hypnotised and some hypnotherapy sessions
are
not successful. There are things that need to be dealt
with by other professionals or by a doctor and hypnotherapy would not
be your first choice (I will refer you in that case and not charge you
for something you did not get).
But in most cases, if you are ready for
change, having hypnosis can make the difference between success and
failure. That is so because hypnosis makes it possible for you to make the changes that
you want to make, often surprisingly easily, as it works on
the deeper levels where our behaviour usually originates.
About
Me:
I believe in the person and not in their qualifications. However, it's
okay to check this out. For your information:
I've completed a university major in
Psychology in 1988 and a Diploma in Hypnotherapy in 1994. Since then
I've undertaken further studies in Reiki, Thought Field Therapy,
Prime Tuning and Muscle Testing (a kind of kinesiology), Energy balancing and Chakra
cleansing, Meditation, Group Training Methods, Mediation and Conflict Resolution, NLP, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Grievance
Counselling, Ericksonian Communication, Sports Hypnosis, Art Therapy
and Soul Collage, Health, Nutrition and Alternative
Therapies, Mindfulness in Therapy (this is a Buddhist philosophy) and Holographic Kinetics (an Aboriginal Healing Modality). There's
been plenty more - would have to go through my filing cabinet.
My work experience stretches across many boundaries. Several years
as conflict manager and grievance counsellor for
the NSW Public Service in Sydney.There I also worked as a staff trainer,
mediator, equal opportunity co-ordinator and change agent. I've been a Hypnotherapist since 1994 and
am fully accredited with the AHA (Australian Hypnotherapists'
Association) and the ATMS (Australian Traditional Medicine Society).
I am also recognised as a counsellor by the Psychotherapy and Counselling
Federation of Australia (PACFA) but I have retired from their current register. As a matter of fact - I hav fully retired at present (2020) and left all associations for now, but may offer sessions again in the future.
I personally welcome clients who ask a lot of questions before making a booking. I probably could not help a person who doesn't relate to me at all and could not relax as a result of it. Thankfully this is very rare. I have specialised over time in certain areas and will refer you to another hypnotherapist (at no charge of course) if I do not treat your issue.
About Past
Life Regression and Spiritual Healing
(Spirit State Healing)
More and more people are asking me if I do past life regression or spiritual work. The answer is YES. Hypnosis is a wonderful tool for this kind of work. I use it to guide my clients through specific processes which allow them to access past life memories or the spirit realm.
During
spirit state healing sessions people experience their pure spirit state
and remember themselves as the immortal souls they are. In that
state people can access their innate wisdom and can put their human
lives and everything in it into a broader perspective. As I gently
guide them through this experience, people often report meeting spirit
guides, angels or deceased loved ones who provide comfort, assistance
or clarification. Some people discover their life’s purpose during
these sessions, or they gain clarity and inner peace. Some are shown
the lessons they are meant to learn. I keep notes or record these
sessions, but people generally remember everything after they come out
of hypnosis. You are welcome to record the session on your own device,
alternatively a CD of the session can be mailed to you for a small fee.
During past life regressions clients usually experience themselves in a different body, incarnate at a different time which their immortal soul or spirit remembers. Valuable lessons can be learned from observing their previous Self dealing with the experiences from a previous life. Healing often happens as people understand for the first time why they do what they do in this lifetime.
The journey
of discovery and the gaining of awareness are wonderful and valuable things,
but in addition I often guide clients through processes which allow
healing to happen, so clients can move on in their lives. I keep notes or record
these sessions, but people generally remember everything after they come out
of hypnosis. A recording can be made on your own device or a CD of the session can be mailed to you for a small extra fee.
The fee for a two hour session is $ .
I am writing a book about Spirit State Healing but I am not sure when it will be published.
For
more detailed information on Spirit State Healing and Past Life Regression Therapy go to the relevant page by clicking here