FAQs 

.Sally is lovely, very kind and caring, she really wants to help you move on into a better mind set. Sally helped me out of a very negative time in my life.'

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How does Solution Focused Hypnotherapy Work?
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy takes best practices from Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy and Neuro Linguistic programming to offer a powerful, permanent, rapid path to positive change. What I think is its real strength is its broad approach - recognising that, although more traditional forms of hypnotherapy can tackle issues in the short term (making cake taste like sawdust for weight management for example), if the underlying issues aren't addressed (poor eating habits due to stress or anxiety), this approach will not offer permanent results. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy addresses your deep wellbeing, empowering you to make all the choices you need to enjoy life to the full.

I'll use careful questioning to focus on how you'd like to be, rather than the problems that have led to where you are, and help you visualise that brighter future vividly in hypnosis.  In this relaxed state of hyper-focus your subconscious will work on the suggestions and images I offer to make that future a reality, and over time new, more helpful neural pathways will grow, so those changes feel natural rather than forced. 

For an idea of how solution-focused questioning works, see my wellbeing tip Use Your Loaf.

There's nothing 'alternative' or 'woo woo' about Hypnotherapy - it's been recognised by the British Medical Association since 1892!


What happens in the brain during hypnosis?
There's nothing weird about hypnosis, it's an absolutely natural state that we drift in and out of many times each day. Every time you perform a routine task but don't remember doing it, or are so absorbed in a hobby or pastime that if someone speaks, you jump –that's trance! And of course, in this state you can 'snap out of it' at any time should circumstances dictate. In hypnosis your busy, Beta brainwaves quieten down and creative, Theta brainwaves dominate, creating an optimal neuro-environment to help facilitate positive change.


Why is Solution Focused Hypnotherapy effective?
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is becoming rapidly recognised as an effective treatment for a wide range of issues. By recognising that you have all the skills and knowledge you need to solve your problem, and focusing on desired outcomes rather than that problem, you can start feeling more optimistic immediately. This can be particularly beneficial for issues such as PTSD, as there's no need to rake up the past again – we're focusing on your future now.  Solution Focused Hypnotherapy uses best practice from relevant established therapies to maximise benefits from sessions. I like to think there's a short path and a longer path to feeling better. The short path is that ... hypnosis is nice! Trance sessions are enjoyable and give instant relief from stress and anxiety, while, over time (the longer path), your subconscious mind can get to work, building new, more helpful neural pathways in the brain, and letting the pathways of your less helpful coping mechanisms grow over.


Is Solution Focused Hypnotherapy safe?
Absolutely. Look at it from my point of view - I wouldn't keep clients for long if they felt uncomfortable or 'out of control', or found themselves eating onions like apples if anyone said a trigger word after a session! There's nothing strange about hypnosis or anything weird about inducting it - no swinging watches I'm afraid! I just drone on for a very, very long time, using carefully worded 'language patterns' to bring your mind to a comfortable, receptive state, while weaving pleasant tales of sunny beaches and secret gardens etc. When you are in a state of deep relaxation and focus, I'll then give your subconscious mind positive suggestions to work on. And that's all they are ... suggestions. Your subconscious mind will reject any that don't feel right. Some clients hear every word, some drift in and out of listening, and some don't hear much beyond the first few sentences, but everyone is in control throughout. And just like doing that dull chore where your mind drifts off somewhere else entirely, you can 'snap out of it' at any moment if necessary. You may feel a little woozy for a minute or two, but you'll feel back to normal again pretty quickly.

As a member of the AfSFH and NCH you can trust that I abide by strict codes of conduct. I have been trained to a high level of competency and am obliged to undertake regular continuing professional development as part of my membership.


How long does Solution Focused Hypnotherapy take?
The great thing about Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is that it can effect permanent increased overall wellbeing rather than promise a 'quick fix' for specific issues. The approach recognises that, if underlying problems aren't addressed, just focusing on the symptom means that 'quick fix' won't last long. We suggest 8-10 sessions but that's a very general estimate - specific phobias and smoking/vaping cessation (where there are no underlying issues eg anxiety) can be a more rapid process, whereas other clients prefer to come over a longer period. We can chat about this during our Initial Consultation - I'm always happy to work at the pace that feels right for you.


Does Solution Focused Hypnotherapy work online?
Very much so. We've all learned to live and work in different ways recently and in truth I don't notice much difference between outcomes for online and face to face clients - it's more to do with what will work best for you. For some suggestions of what to consider around this choice, check out my Services page.


How much does Solution Focused Hypnotherapy cost?
I wish Solution Focused Hypnotherapy was available on the NHS, then I could see everyone who needs me, but until that happens I have to provide a private service. I try to keep costs as low as possible, therefore your Initial Consultation is free online (£10 face to face), your first two sessions are £30 each, and subsequent sessions are £55. I appreciate that self-care can be the first area for economy when times are tight, but to put things into context, £30 is about the same as a medium round in the pub, and £55 is around half a tank of petrol at current prices. Investing in just a few sessions can offer permanent, beneficial changes to your life ... how much is your wellbeing worth?


Will I be pressured into booking sessions at the Initial Consultation?
Not at all. I'm happy to offer an Initial Consultation for free online (£10 face to face) and if you think we can work together I'll be delighted to book you in ... but I'll not put any pressure on you, I promise.  


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with anxiety?
Definitely. The combination of a solution-focused approach with the calming effect of hypnosis, which works with your brain's amazing plasticity to forge more positive ways for reacting to life's challenges, coupled with plenty of information about why you're feeling the way you are, offer a powerful recipe to destress quickly and then naturally develop more helpful ways of behaving and feeling. See my Wellbeing Tip, Your Brain on Stress, for more information on this.


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with stress?
For sure. Having a safe space to explore how you'd like life to be, coupled with the deeply relaxing experience of hypnosis, offers a powerful opportunity to 'switch off' from daily stress quickly and then naturally develop more helpful ways of responding to life's challenges going forward. See my Wellbeing Tip, Your Brain on Stress, for more information on this.


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with depression?
Most certainly. Understanding the brain's processes around depression can be a powerful first step in tackling difficult emotions and demotivation - and the anxiety that can sometimes come along too. You'll then have space to explore how you'd like to move into 'thrive mode,' and use hypnosis to visualise your positive future so vividly the change seems almost inevitable. See my Wellbeing Post, Your Brain is an Idiot! for more information on this.


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with phobias?
Very much. First we'll need to explore what's behind your phobia - a specific incident, perhaps, or more generalised anxiety - then we can work together to deactivate that unpleasant response and replace it with something more positive.


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with confidence and self-esteem?
Absolutely. Recognising your true strength and resourcefulness, and using those skills to visualise a future where you are in control can enable rapid positive change. See my Wellbeing Tips, What Happened to Me? and What Do I Want? If Only I Knew for more information on this.


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with feeling stuck?
It can. As with confidence and self-esteem, recognising the uniqueness we bring to the world, and visualising how we would prefer that world to be in hypnosis, can really help realise our best hopes for positive change in a way that feels very natural. See my Wellbeing Tips, What Happened to Me? and What Do I Want? If Only I Knew for more information on this.


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Yes. The unique solution-focused approach to postive change means you don't have to rake up your trauma all over again - we're looking to your future now, and it's entirely up to you how much you share. Focusing on how you'd like things to be, and using the immense resources and skills that life's challenges have taught you, can be very liberating and empowering. 


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with compulsive thoughts and behaviour, and OCD?
It can. Firstly by giving you a much clearer understanding of why you feel stuck in repetitive thought patterns or compelled to repeat certain actions, then by reducing overall stress and anxiety around these thoughts and actions, and also by engaging your subconscious to help you move on from these repetitive thoughts and behaviours in a gentle, natural-feeling way.


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with unhelpful habits like smoking, drinking and weight loss?
Indeed. We're hard-wired to resist change, even if we know how much it will improve our lives, and willpower is situated in a part of the brain that tires easily! By enlisting the tireless, emotional part of your brain, via the subconscious in hypnosis, we bring a powerful extra energy on board - the energy that never stops loving the things we hold dear! If you're used to relying on willpower - over and over again - feeling 'fired-up' to make the changes we need in a way that will keep us going when willpower needs a rest, and can make those positive changes we would like to see feel more natural than we might have imagined. See my Wellbeing Tip, Not Another 'New Year, New You' Post (Phew) for more information on this.


Can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help with chronic pain?
Definitely. I'll explain how the brain processes pain, and help you regain control with positive thoughts, actions and interactions, reinforcing those changes in hypnosis to make it easier to override chronic pain signals and enjoy life again.


Can a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist control my mind?
No. I’ll make suggestions during hypnosis based on your best hopes for the future, but your brain won’t accept anything with which it doesn’t fundamentally agree. This means suggesting that cake tastes horrible and snakes are cuddly won’t really work either! Instead, solution-focused questioning can really get to the heart of how you’d like life to be, and I can then offer suggestions your subconscious will accept more readily, for example, visualising how much better you will feel when you have made the changes you need. Don’t forget those stage hypnotists’ stooges, eating onions like apples and dancing with brooms, have volunteered to be hypnotised in public in the first place – showing off in front of strangers doesn’t hold any fear for them, or they would have stayed in their seats! See my snippet, How Weird Is Hypnotherapy, anyway? for more information. 


Can anyone be hypnotised?
Yes – if you want to be. I’ve no watches to swing or weird rituals to impose on you but will instead use careful language to relax you deeply and take you into trance-like focus. I do go on for a long time, and if you find your attention has drifted you can gently bring it back to the sound of my voice as your brain gradually slows to a calm state of awareness. With repeated practice (using your free audio track every night, for example) it will become easier to go into trance, and go deeper into trance. See my snippet, It's not for me, I'd never switch off for more information. Of course, you may decide that whatever I do you will resist hypnosis, in which case I won’t be able to force you (see above), but wouldn’t you rather be feeling better instead?!

 
Can I get ‘stuck’ in hypnosis?
No … despite what you might have seen on Netflix! Our profession has not been treated very kindly by film and TV but these depictions of innocent souls forced to kill by a ‘trigger word’, or left behaving outlandishly after a stage stunt gone wrong, have no basis in reality at all. I may make suggestions to help you achieve your best hopes outside of our sessions but, as above, your brain will not accept any suggestion with which it disagrees.

If you need to ‘come round’ before the end of a session, the waking parts of your brain will simply kick in and bring you back to consciousness quite naturally, the same as when you wake up in the morning or ‘snap out’ of a daydream. You may feel a little ‘spaced out’ for a few moments, but will return to alertness within a minute or two.
 

Will hypnosis solve my problem?
No! But I can help YOU solve your problem, with the aid of hypnosis! Empowering you to make the changes you need is far more effective than trying to force your brain to think in a certain, different way to what you’re used to (see above). See my snippet, It takes two flints to make a fire, for more information

 
Will I see immediate benefits from Solution Focused Hypnotherapy?
Possibly. Focusing on solutions, rather than problems, can move you to a better place quicker than you thought possible. It’s important to mention, however, that like most things in life you get out what you put in, and the more actively you engage with the process, the more you’ll get back. See my snippet, It takes two flints to make a fire, for more information. Of course, if you’ve been experiencing difficulties for a while then they may take a little untangling, but you may be surprised at how rapidly positive change can set in.

 
Is Solution Focused Hypnotherapy an alternative therapy?
I don’t think so. The NHS describes it as a complementary therapy, but it is based in neuroscience and psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy has been approved by the British Medical Association since 1892. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy incorporates a goal-focused, evidence-based therapeutic approach which promotes a positive mindset rather than looking back over problems, and is becoming increasingly recognised as an effective intervention for many issues
Please note that hypnotherapy is not regulated in the UK and anyone can set themselves up as a practitioner. As a member of the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapists (AfSFH) and the National Council of Hypnotherapists (NCH), you can relax in the knowledge that I am fully trained in the theory and practice of Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, and am subject to both bodies’ Codes of Conduct.
 
Are hypnotherapists weird?
Some are … just like some non-hypnotherapists are weird! Most of us are just normal, caring individuals who enjoy helping people for a living (and I like to think I’m in the latter group!). Choosing a suitably qualified hypnotherapist ensures a professional approach, however, and it’s always worth ‘shopping around’ to find a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist with whom you feel rapport. See my snippets, How weird is hypnotherapy anyway?, It takes two flints to make a fire, and even Reasons to be cheerful, for more information.