FAQ                                                                                                                                   
Is Hypnotherapy safe?

Providing it is carried out by a trained therapist then, yes, it is safe.  An untrained person using hypnotherapy may put the client at risk in a number of ways. He or she could forget to cancel an earlier suggestion such as telling the client his/her arm will feel heavy.  He or she could regress a client (or the client may regress themselves as I recently experienced) to a traumatic time in their life, causing horrific memories, once buried, to surface and stay with the client.  Another risk is that the untrained hypnotist may induce anaesthesia as a solution to a client's complaint of a painful wrist for example.  If the hypnosis is successful the pain will either have been removed or greatly alleviated.  Is the client cured?  Could the client have a broken wrist?

A trained therapist is aware of these risks and will act in a sensible and professional manner.  It is wise to make sure the therapist is a member of an association.  Membership of one of the various associations ensures the therapist has completed training in a recognised course. If a therapist fails to live up to the charter of the association he could lose his or her membership and would therefore be unlikely to get insurance and lose many clients and potential clients thus becoming effectively redundant.                                                                                                                          
Do you perform hypnotic Gastric Band surgery?

No!  I have spent time studying actual gastric band surgery and virtual (or hypnotic) gastric band surgery and have reached two negative conclusions. First, there is no evidence that virtual gastric band surgery is completely safe. Hypnosis convinces the mind that a physical procedure has been carried out. There is nothing to stop the mind allowing side effects to occur. Second, again there is no evidence that conventional weight loss hypnotherapy is any less effective than virtual gastric band. Until I discover contrary evidence, I will continue with the reliable highly successful weight loss scripts.
                                                                                                                                                 
What if I don't come out of the hypnotic state?

Occasionally a clients eyes will remain closed after the therapist has suggested that their eyes will open and they will be wide awake.  It could be the suggestion wasn't clear and so repeating it may be the answer.  More likely the suggestion has been received loud and clear but such is the pleasant depth of relaxation that the client is quite happy to remain in the state a little longer.  There are two options for the therapist here.  1. He/she leaves the client as they are, knowing that sooner or later (usually a few minutes) the hypnotic state will shift to a normal sleep and they will awaken normally, or   2.  The therapist repeats the suggestion to awaken, adding that the fee is now charged hourly!!!


Can anyone be hypnotized?

Potentially, yes. Obviously people who do not understand the suggestions will not respond.  It is recommended that you do not use hypnosis when dealing with someone with Multiple Personality Disorder nor with anyone that has epilepsy, as it is believed that hypnosis can trigger an epileptic fit.  That said, there are many therapists that have used hypnosis with epileptics for many years and have never seen a fit being triggered by hypnosis.  It is also believed that hypnosis should not be used when a client is suffering from depression. When depressed the brain emits chemicals similar to endorphins.  The brain releases endorphins when we are happy and relaxed.  When a deep hypnotic state is reached endorphins are abundant and due to the similarity with the chemicals released during depression can result in a deepening of the depression.  Again many therapists are happy to use hypnosis in this case and indeed, many see hypnosis as the ideal tool to counter depression.  I personally, would use other forms of treatment such as NLP methods, EFT or Guided Imagery for example.

How much will I remember?

You will most likely remember most if not all of the session.  You are not asleep, you are in an altered state and you are aware of what is happening and in control.

Why didn't I feel hypnotized? 

Some people feel as if nothing had changed when they were supposedly in a hypnotic state.  Some feel warmer (or colder) than they would expect to feel in their current location. Some feel light headed or heavy.  Heavy limbs and tingling fingers/toes are also common. Some feel as though they are floating.  An experienced hypnotist is looking for signs that a suitable state of hypnosis is reached before proceeding with therapy.


What if I don't want to do what the hypnotist suggests?


If a hypnotist suggests you modify your behaviour in a way that you feel won't benefit you, then you will either reject that suggestion or come back up from the hypnotic state. If a therapist suggests during weight loss therapy that when you have a craving for chocolate you eat an apple instead, you will accept this if you don't mind eating apples.  If  you do not like apples then this suggestion is rejected.  Likewise you cannot be made to tell the truth under hypnosis.  You may have seen a stage hypnotist suggest to a 'subject' that he or she must tell the truth and then the hypnotist will ask what may be a reasonably persoonal question.  This is answered  'truthfully' to the amusement of the audience.  Two points here are: Was it answered truthfully?  The hypnotist cannot know for sure and neither can the audience with the possible exception of one or two friends of the subject and secondly, how personal was the question?  Was the subject asked if he or she had ever gone out without wearing underwear?  Some people might not wish other people to know that and would have answered no, even if this was not true.  Others may not be too bothered about other people knowing and therefore told the truth.



How many sessions will it take?

This depends on the therapy required and the response of the client.  Smoking cessation can often be successful in a single session although a second session may be required. Other therapies such as weight loss and low confidence can take three or more sessions as there is often underlying reasons as to why someone  is overweight or has low self-esteem and any barriers have to be removed. 


How long does a session last?
 
Session usually last around one hour.  The first session can take up to one and a half hours as this extra time is used to allow me to get as much relevant information as possible about the client's history and also to explain hypnosis and what to expect from it.  This also allows time for me to answer any questions the client may have.  The first part of further sessions is used to discuss the effects of the previous session. 

Is EFT safe? 


Yes, although common sense should prevail when using EFT.  Whilst useful when dealing with headaches, back pain etc, it must be remembered that any undiagnosed pain should be checked by a qualified medical professional.  Pain is a warning that all is not as it should be.


By removing a phobia does a person become reckless?


By that question, it's suggested, for example, removing a fear of heights would leave the individual with no sense of danger as regards high places.  This is not the case.  With EFT you can remove fear of heights, spiders , snakes etc but you don't remove common sense.  If faced with a common house spider in the UK you are likely to have enough confidence to safely remove the spider from your home.  If you were abroad and came across a spider that could be a Black Widow you would most certainly not have the confidence to remove it.  You may be able to stand 3ft from a harmless grass snake but unless you're Steve Irwin (Croc Files) you wouldn't go within 30ft, never mind 3ft, of a cobra.