Clinical hypnotherapy uses hypnosis within a therapeutic setting to help you focus your attention and engage more fully with the changes you are working towards.
You may have seen hypnosis portrayed as losing control, being asleep or having someone take over your mind.
Clinical hypnosis is very different. You remain aware and involved throughout the experience. You can hear what is being said, respond if you choose and remain able to make your own decisions.
Rather than something being done to you, hypnotherapy is a collaborative process in which your attention is deliberately focused towards therapeutic goals.
A focused therapeutic approach to support the changes you want to make.
Clinical Hypnotherapy
What Is Clinical Hypnotherapy?
Hypnosis involves a focused state of attention in which outside distractions may become less important and you can become more absorbed in particular thoughts, images, sensations or suggestions.
People experience this differently. You may feel deeply relaxed, particularly focused or simply more absorbed in the experience. There is no particular feeling you have to achieve for therapeutic work to take place.
During clinical hypnotherapy, therapeutic suggestions, imagery and focused attention can be used to reinforce useful responses and explore different ways of thinking, feeling or behaving.
The work remains connected to your goals and the changes you have chosen to make.
How I Use Clinical Hypnotherapy
At ILAMOS, clinical hypnotherapy is not treated as a stand-alone solution or a one-size-fits-all technique.
It may be integrated with strategic psychotherapy, counselling and behavioural approaches depending on your individual needs and goals.
This means we first consider what is happening for you, what you would like to change and what may be keeping the current pattern going.
Hypnotherapy may then be used to:
reinforce therapeutic work
rehearse different responses to familiar situations
strengthen helpful patterns and associations
support behavioural change
work with imagery and future-focused experiences
increase confidence in responding differently
reinforce skills and strategies developed during therapy
The particular approach will depend on you and what we are working towards.
What Can Clinical Hypnotherapy Be Used For?
Within ILAMOS, clinical hypnotherapy may form part of therapy for concerns such as:
Habits & Behaviour Change
Hypnotherapy may be incorporated into programs for stopping smoking, quitting vaping, gambling and other unwanted habits, alongside work focused on triggers, routines and different ways of responding.
Anxiety, Fears & Performance
It may be used alongside therapy to rehearse more useful responses to situations associated with fear, anxiety, public speaking or performance.
Confidence & Self-Belief
Hypnotherapy may support therapeutic work around confidence by helping reinforce more useful ways of responding to situations where self-doubt has previously taken over.
Weight Management
Clinical hypnotherapy may also form part of a personalised weight-management program focused on eating patterns, habits, cravings, routines and behavioural change.
What Does Hypnosis Feel Like?
There is no single experience of hypnosis.
Some people notice a sense of relaxation or physical stillness. Others become highly focused on the therapist’s voice, imagery or their own internal experience.
You may notice that time seems to pass differently, or simply feel absorbed in what you are focusing on.
You remain able to hear, think and respond throughout.
You cannot be made to reveal information or act against your wishes simply because you are in hypnosis. Your involvement and willingness remain part of the therapeutic process.
Is Clinical Hypnotherapy Right for Me?
You do not need to know whether you need hypnotherapy before booking. We can first explore what is happening, what you would like to change and what approach may be most useful for you.
If hypnotherapy is appropriate, we can discuss how it may fit within your therapy and what you can expect.
Where a concern requires medical, psychiatric or other specialist care, hypnotherapy does not replace that treatment and additional support or referral may be recommended.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
You do not need to know which therapeutic approach you need before you begin. We can start by understanding what you would like to change and develop an approach tailored to you.