Hypnosis is a natural state we all go into when daydreaming, watching TV, driving, and many other times when we are focused on one stimulus without distractions. This natural state can be also be induced (made to happen) by yourself or by a hypnotist. Please be aware that not all hypnotists are trained hypnotherapists.
Hypnotherapy is a talking therapy that takes place when you are under hypnosis by a competently trained hypnotherapist. Hypnotherapy aims to encourage ("suggest") positive ideas which lead to improvement. You will not be asleep or unconscious. An induction is used which helps to by-pass your conscious mind and directly communicate with your unconscious mind. Because the unconscious is the store of all your resources and problems, this is the reason why Hypnotherapy is a lot quicker at getting results than other types of psychotherapy. Simply put, Hypnotherapy gets the conscious, critical you, out of the way so that useful and positive information can be given to your unconscious mind without negative interference.
Thousands of positive experimental and clinical research studies on Hypnotherapy have been published. It was recognised as an effective treatment by the British Medical Association (BMA) and American Medical Association (AMA) in the 1950s and, more recently, by the American Psychological Association (for obesity) and NICE guidance (for Irritable Bowel Syndrome) used by the NHS.
Each person is different, but most feel very relaxed due to the suggestions made by the Hypnotherapist. Your limbs may feel heavy and your breathing will slow down. Most people hear everything that is said and remember all the suggestions after waking. In trance, you may find you pay attention to what the Hypnotherapist says and at other times your conscious mind may go blank or start to wander. This is normal, but most importantly your unconscious mind will hear everything that's being said.
Most Hypnotherapists use relaxation techniques, and you are also likely to be asked to concentrate on certain things. For instance you may initially be asked to focus your attention on your breathing and to relax as you slowly breathe out. As there are many ways to induce hypnosis your therapist will use a method best suited to you.
No, your co-operation is required. If you really don't want to be hypnotised then no one in the world can do this to you.
Most people can be hypnotised. The exceptions will be people who have learning difficulties or are mentally impaired through brain damage; people prone to certain types of psychotic episodes, or those who are 'high' on drugs or alcohol; and very young children. Everybody else who reasonably co-operates with the process can be hypnotised.
Some people are very easy to hypnotise, whilst others take longer, and most people remain in a fairly light state of hypnotic trance, whilst a very small percentage naturally go to much deeper levels. Sometimes people drift in and out of lighter and deeper states. All this is perfectly normal. Deep states of hypnosis are not required for successful therapy.
No. You will know what is going on and you will retain your intelligence and your self-control. Hypnotherapy requires both you and the therapist to work together in a spirit of co-operation in order to help you to control your own mind, and to learn to function in a more effective and beneficial way. For Hypnotherapy to be successful you need to be comfortable with what is going on in the session. If you do not agree with a particular suggestion you will reject it. If anything was suggested to you that went against your beliefs or moral code you would come out of the hypnotic trance.
Stage hypnosis relies on group dynamics and selecting the most extroverted and suggestible people from the audience to take part. Most of the people who volunteer for stage hypnosis are extroverts and would do the majority of what hypnotists tell them, even if they were not hypnotised. These people obviously have a desire to join in the show and perform, or they wouldn't volunteer to go on stage in the first place. The stage hypnotist also goes through a subtle but careful selection process to find the most cooperative person. Hypnosis merely helps remove any remaining inhibitions to performing in public.
Please do not confuse Stage Hypnosis with Hypnotherapy. The aims and context are very different.
There are many psychology and NLP techniques that can be used instead of hypnosis, so if you do not want to be, or can't be hypnotised, you will still be able to benefit from a session. Some of the techniques that can be used are EFT, NLP, CBT and solution focused therapy. David has experience and training in all of these.
Yes. Most people find their senses are heightened in hypnosis, so you will probably be more aware of what is happening than normal.
Even if a hypnotist did not give you any suggestions to emerge, you would either fall asleep or you would come out of the trance naturally. Sometimes, people do not emerge straight away because they like the feeling of being in trance, but this is very rare and they just need a little bit more encouragement to bring them out of trance. No one has ever been stuck in hypnosis.
Except for smoking cessation, Hypnotherapy usually requires more than one session. However, it is probably one of the briefest forms of psychological therapy, and in clinical studies the average number of sessions is around 4 - 6, as opposed to pure CBT which averages about 10 - 20 sessions, and counselling or psychotherapy which are measured in months and years respectively. Smoking, and simple phobias, can normally be resolved in one session. David specifically designs strategies to cut down on the number of sessions by making sure that the preparation work has been done before the next session and by sometimes giving home assignments for the client to complete between sessions.
Generally a week between sessions will give you enough time to complete any home assignments and to notice the changes in your beliefs, values, habits, behaviours, etc.
No, but you may find it useful to write down any questions that you want to get answered. All questions are valid and useful as they are doorways into your unconscious mind.
It depends on what you mean. For most people, it offers a fast and effective treatment. One of the things David will do is to check how your presenting issue affects you before you start therapy, and what solution you would like. This will be done in a free 10 -15 minute phone conversation where both you and David can decide if this kind of therapy is for you. This avoids unnecessary waste of time and money. David will not agree to see you unless he has a very high degree of certainty that he can help you.
