Hypnotherapy
The hypnotic state is incredibly powerful. In this state we can become our most amenable, intuitive and most creative selves.
What happens during hypnosis is the agreed upon surrender of your body and mind.
You allow yourself to relax fully and open up. You become receptive to safe suggestions and positive changes.
A number of ailments can be treated with professional hypnotherapy, from obsessions to anxieties, phobias, depression, eating disorders, insomnia and even the physical pain associated with cancer or migraine. Hypnotherapy has also been proven effective for increasing self-confidence and self-esteem, and even improving athletic performance.
Hypnotherapy has the power to dig deep into the root causes of our troubles, so we can learn to understand them and regain a sense of self-control, emotional freedom and true empowerment.
How can we help you?
Hypnoanalysis.
While most conventional therapies are incredibly useful in diagnosing and treating problems at the presentational level, hypnoanalysis allows us to attack the issue at its root cause.
Just as a pain in your knees can stem from somewhere distal like flat feet, so too can a seemingly straightforward psychological obstacle. Psychological issues can be traced right back to a single event that you suffered in your formative years or your childhood. This type of treatment is called regression therapy. It is the point at which hypnoanalysis becomes immeasurably beneficial. By finding the root cause of a problem and solving it where it starts, together we can clear up a host of other ailments or troubles that you might be experiencing.
It is important to keep in mind that not all issues have a deep origin. Therefore, hypnoanalysis is incredibly potent and can facilitate lasting beneficial change it is not a one-size-fits-all type of panacea. As your therapist, I have the expertise to work through your unique situation and find what is right for you. I will work with you to tailor your treatment and guide you on a path to recovery, healing and a better quality of life.
Anxiety.
Anxiety is more than feeling worried, unsettled, or stressed. Anxiety and its related stressors dis-empower us, interfering with everyday living, interpersonal relationships, overall self-worth and even physical health. Professional hypnotherapy is proven highly effective in treating anxiety and the behaviours arising from it.
Anxiety and panic attacks are the result of the Stress Response, known as ‘The Fight or Flight Response’, which is part of our defence mechanisms that protect us from danger.
The therapeutic approach must be tailored to each individual, anxiety treatment:
Identifies the root cause of anxiety
Changes our unrealistic and fearful thinking (stops us overthinking and catastrophising manageable situations)
Diminishes the physical symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks, including racing heart, hot/cold flushes and shallow breathing
Allows us to live life on our own terms.
Manage work stress.
It’s easy to see why a clean and tidy workspace, and an organised and stable working environment produces better results. But we often underestimate how important it is to maintain good psychological hygiene––to keep a clean office-space within, so to speak.
Those of us who function, day after day, at a higher level whether on the field or in the office, are prone to performance specific stressors. These stressors can be difficult to identify on our own, let alone manage without proper intervention from a trained expert. Self-esteem issues and anxiety can be debilitating, so we need clear procedures, organisational support, courage, and a willingness to manage our issues with the help of an expert. We don’t hesitate to hire a trainer for our muscles, yet we baulk at the thought of someone helping us exercise our subconscious…why?
As your therapist I can alleviate these symptoms of workplace stress, burnout, perceived incompetence and depression. I have the tools to empower you to develop positive feelings, experiences and behaviours that facilitate positive change. I can teach you how to train yourself to know your goals, orient yourself towards them, meet them, establish new targets, and embed this skill for life.
Weight Loss.
Over indulgence can be a form of self-punishment for some people, for others it is a welcome comfort. The battles we face with food and eating are often difficult to navigate and usually connected, in some way, to other underlying issues. Because of this, hypnosis for weight loss is not to crash diet, but rather a way for us to identify the root-cause of our under or over-eating. Research has proven the incredible power and long lasting effects of hypnotherapy for weight loss. Hypnosis allows us to let go of the idea of ‘good’ foods versus ‘bad’ foods and the associated guilt and shame that comes with these misguided labels. It helps us to set ourselves free from the hold that our eating habits so often have over us.
Hypnotherapy gets to the core of the psychological reasons dysfunctional eating habits form, and helps to build new relationships with food, and an overall healthier lifestyle.
Depression.
Sadness, as a passing emotion, can be useful in identifying something that is misaligned within ourselves. But depression, as an ever-present and unshakeable feeling of intense sadness over weeks, months or even years is something entirely different, and in no way beneficial.
While the symptoms can present themselves subtly at first (inability to concentrate, indecision, lack of confidence, ennui) they can soon become compounded into far more serious and detrimental manifestations like frustration, feelings of worthlessness or failure, self-imposed isolation from loved ones, inability to feel true joy, substance abuse, insomnia and self-harm. While this is not an exhaustive list of the signs of depression, it is enough to raise concern in anyone feeling these symptoms.
Pain Management.
Hypnosis can have a positive impact on brain activity. It enhances concentration and heightens responsiveness to suggestions, which can alter behaviours, thoughts, feelings and even pain perception.
Pain is our body’s way of telling us that something is wrong. An experienced hypnotherapist can use hypnotic suggestions to target mental activity that signals pain and discomfort to the rest of the body, and if not completely eradicate, then certainly alleviate that discomfort.
Chronic conditions often require a comprehensive plan that targets more than just the singular pain experience. The plan should include exercise, restoration of proper body mechanics, healthy diet, and other habits that foster vitality and wellbeing.
Sleep Difficulties.
We have all felt the effects of insomnia or sleep deprivation, but for some, getting to bed is a never-ending struggle. Restlessness, continuous tossing and turning, and waking up countless times night after night can leave a person feeling drained and completely depleted. Insomnia causes low energy levels and diminished concentration at work, which leads to other unhealthy feelings and poor performance. It leaves us frustrated and preoccupied with restlessness, perpetuating our already negative feelings around sleep.
Research shows that hypnosis is highly successful and widely used in the treatment of insomnia. Hypnosis helps identify and address the underlying reasons for insomnia, allowing us to achieve a more relaxed state, thereby improving the quality and duration of our sleep.
Hypnosis provides an ideal method for identifying and eradicating the true cause of insomnia–the subconscious mechanisms of survival–the ‘fight or flight’ state. This state compels us to stay awake and alert to deal with a perceived threat stemming from our unconscious mind. Clinical Hypnosis is clinically proven to reach those unconscious thoughts to treat this subconscious cause of insomnia.
Business Performance.
Confidence, fear, anxiety, memory, skill sets, motivation–these are all factors determining your career trajectory and velocity. Hypnosis is a powerful tool that you can use to improve across all these areas of your performance at work. The improved mindset hypnosis brings helps us cope better with stress in the workplace, bringing greater fulfilling life and self-awareness.
Hypnosis helps us achieve mastery in or control over the following areas:
Confidence
Fear
Anxiety
Memory
Skills
Hypnosis helps to reframe the way we think by teaching the subconscious mind to be a supportive partner through positive self-talk.
Manage work stress.
It’s easy to see why a clean and tidy workspace, and an organised and stable working environment produces better results. But we often underestimate how important it is to maintain good psychological hygiene––to keep a clean office-space within, so to speak.
Those of us who function, day after day, at a higher level whether on the field or in the office, are prone to performance specific stressors. These stressors can be difficult to identify on our own, let alone manage without proper intervention from a trained expert. Self-esteem issues and anxiety can be debilitating, so we need clear procedures, organisational support, courage, and a willingness to manage our issues with the help of an expert.
As your therapist I can alleviate these symptoms of workplace stress, burnout, perceived incompetence and depression. I have the tools to empower you to develop positive feelings, experiences and behaviours that facilitate positive change. I can teach you how to train yourself to know your goals, orient yourself towards them, meet them, establish new targets, and embed this skill for life.
Sports Performance.
Being a good athlete is all about mind over muscle and an unwavering thirst to be the best. In addition to the volumes of anecdotal evidence from elite-level athletes, like Mike Tyson, Tiger Woods, and Billie Jean King, sports hypnosis has been scientifically proven to have performance-enhancing functions that impact the mental state of athletes during training, and competition, by improving their subconscious thoughts.
Hypnosis also has the supplementary benefit of helping athletes to manage anxiety and stress during training and competition. The mental relaxation, achieved through hypnosis allows athletes to focus on the task at hand and achieve optimal results – negating any and all distraction. This translates to better skill retention in the training room and perfect execution of skills on the field.
Fears & Phobias.
A phobia is an irrational fear of a specific object, activity or situation, as it were. Examples include, but aren’t limited to, wind phobia, balloon phobia, and aquaphobia as well as needle phobia. When have unusual fears or phobias we are often aware that our feelings are irrational, but thinking logically isn’t enough to defuse the fear.
Hypnosis has long been used to allow people crippled by irrational fears or phobias to lead healthier lives. Most phobias develop as a by-product of traumatic experiences. So, during hypnosis sessions, the patient works on detaching the stimulus or trigger from the emotional response (fear), and ‘updating’ their brain with a new, more realistic response to this thing that they know shouldn’t cause them so much distress.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders & Trauma.
The conscious mind is rational. It analyses and judges. By contrast, the subconscious mind retrieves and stores information and data. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is rooted in the subconscious mind. The best way to sanitise the toxic residue we’ve stored in our subconscious mind from a traumatic experience, is to better understand our triggers.
Hypnotherapy is so effective for treating PTSD because it is like a key that unlocks the subconscious mind, allowing us to effectively relieve the symptoms of trauma and underlying causes of PTSD.
Relationships.
Humans are social beings in need of healthy interaction with others. That is why relationships are essential to our wellbeing. Limited beliefs or unpleasant experiences can get in the way of building healthy connections with others. If you, like countless others, find it challenging to build mutually respectful, loving bonds, hypnotherapy can help.
Building relationships can be a challenge because of past experiences or limited self-belief. Our subconscious, where we store information from our previous experiences, drives our behaviours, thoughts and desires. So, to change these for the better, we must reprogram the subconscious. Through the process of hypnosis, you can re-learn how to communicate openly, express yourself clearly, show genuine interest in your partner, and create intimate and lasting relationships.
Fear of public speaking.
The thought of public speaking can drive fear into the hearts of even the most confident individuals––it overrides all logic. While it’s easy to talk to family, friends and even limited strangers in front of an audience, our hearts pound, our hands shake and many of us almost lose the ability to speak. When preparing for public speaking, you might experience racing or distracting thoughts, which create even more anxiety and stumbling. Often, we set unnatural expectations for how we want to perform, and when it doesn’t go to plan, anxiety takes over.
Hypnosis helps us identify the root cause of this fear so we can actively change our automatic, often irrational response to public speaking. It can help us to overwrite our unhelpful thoughts, take control of them and implement positive thinking patterns so that we can feel empowered, in control and confident. Through the profundity of hypnosis and reframing techniques, we can correct unwanted beliefs and behaviours, dissipating fear and allowing self-confidence to flourish.
Gambling Addictions.
Gambling addictions were thought to be a problem with impulse control, but recent evidence shows that it actually has a similar profile to other types of physical addiction, such as cocaine and alcohol. Dopamine is responsible for our overall physical and mental well-being, contributing to the brain’s reward-motivated behaviour. A person with a gambling addiction has lower dopamine (the feel-good hormone) levels or at least has less sensitive dopamine receptors.
The anticipation of rewards increases the level of dopamine in the brain. Therefore, the anticipation of a big win in gambling can contribute to a temporary high.
Hypnosis is an effective way to treat gambling addiction because it helps people re-route those dopaminergic reward systems. It helps us to surface and deal with issues we are trying to avoid. Hypnosis can treat gambling addiction by helping find productive ways to deal with the underlying issues fuelling the addiction, so that gambling no longer needs to be an outlet.
IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a painful and limiting gastrointestinal (GI) disorder affecting one out of seven Australians (more women than men). It leaves sufferers disheartened and embarrassed, it restricts food choices and freedom of lifestyle and in extreme cases can even result in loss of work.
The cause of IBS is unknown, and it is not associated with any noticeable structural changes to the gut flora. Drug treatments are usually unsuccessful, leaving sufferers with constipation, diarrhea, nausea, bloating, cramping and lethargy. Some of the psychological effects of IBS include anxiety and depression.
Other modalities such as psychotherapy and psychology are highly recommended in conjunction with hypnosis to treat IBS, but Hypnosis for IBS is safe and effective, regardless of the patient’s hypnotic capacity. It relieves gastrointestinal symptoms and has long-term psychological benefits, decreasing anxiety and depression. Given the high prevalence of psychopathology in IBS patients, this is a major breakthrough and a welcome treatment to those suffering who, until now, have had limited treatment options.