Your Questions – Answered

What is Clinical Hypnotherapy?
Clinical Hypnotherapy is a brief therapy which combines the use of Counselling/Psychotherapy and uses Hypnosis and depending on the therapist's skills, sometimes other modern mind changing techniques. An assessment session is carried out in the first instance to help build a good therapeutic relationship, establish exactly what you need help with and recognise the what is preventing you from achieving what you want. It also helps your therapist create an approach that is tailored to you to help you change thoughts, habits, feelings and behaviours. Some hypnotherapists are not clinical, in so far as they do not spend any time finding out about you and your problem and instead they simply start doing hypnosis. The reason we do a clinical assessment is to work out the best options for you. After all you wouldn't expect to go under a surgeon's knife before finding out what is wrong and what treatment you need. It's the same for a therapist because every person who comes for therapy is unique and have different issues that deserve to be fully considered before offering treatment.

What is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis itself is considered to be a range of consciousness between being asleep and being awake. Whilst experiencing hypnosis, you remain aware and in control. It is not sleep although it is usually a very comfortable and enjoyable state which is similar to day dreaming. The state of Hypnosis allows suggestions to be more easily accepted and absorbed than usual. Everyone experiences hypnotic states every day and night. It is not an unusual state but rather a naturally occurring state that can happen through relaxation. This is why your therapist will help you to relax by ensuring a comfortable and safe environment to discuss your problems. Hypnotherapy is very safe and I take time to listen to you and help you to move forward. Although a part of Hypnotherapy is similar to Counselling, by giving you a safe space to talk, explore and understand feelings, Hypnotherapy differs due to the use a variety of techniques aimed at helping you change your thinking and behaviour at an unconscious/subconscious level, where many automatic habits and thinking occurs.

Why do you use hypnosis?
We use hypnosis because it helps speed up therapeutic change and can make it easier for a person to learn a new way of thinking or feeling or behaving, more quickly than it might otherwise take.

Is Hypnosis the same as Mindfulness?
Whilst there are similarities, Hypnosis is a different mental state than Mindfulness. Mindfulness has its's own qualities and we sometimes use Mindfulness as part of a Hypnotherapy session but the intention of using Hypnosis is aimed at changing unwanted behaviours, feelings and thoughts, whilst the purpose of Mindfulness is more aimed at acceptance, compassion and building resilience.

How does Hypnotherapy work?
Most people who attend a Hypnotherapist have problems with their thinking, usually due to past learning through events and trauma that cause unwanted outcomes such as anxiety, bad feelings and problematic behaviours. Hypnotherapy is not a medical matter but rather an intervention which is thought to help by adjusting or re-routing neural pathways in the brain. This affects thinking patterns, leading to changes in feelings, reactions and behaviours. In simple terms, it can be viewed as a greatly speeded up learning process where a client learns at an unconscious as well as conscious level. A Hypnotherapy session with Rae may also incorporate skills from other therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, Energy Psychology, Brain Working Recursive Therapy and NLP.

What happens in Session One?
An initial Hypnotherapy session with Rae Jenson, Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist, consists of a discussion about the problem for which you seek help. Rae will ask some important questions which will give her information on which to base your treatment and to help you move forward in the way you want to.Most of this first session time will be used to give you an opportunity to talk about the problem and to set some manageable goals. This is a very important element of therapy in itself and can offer a much needed safe space to talk freely about what's troubling you and help to motivate you. Sometimes there maybe a little time left to start doing some other therapy interventions.

What about Session Two?
Rae will give you an opportunity to feedback on how you have been between sessions and will then use some therapy interventions to help you with your problem. You will also be given access to a special self hypnosis recording that can help boost the suggestions given during your sessions and help to keep you calm and relaxed.

How many sessions will Need?
The number of therapy sessions you will require will depend on the type of problem you have brought to therapy as well as how you respond to therapy. It's not possible to give an exact indication of how many sessions you will require, however Rae may be able to give you an estimate after discussing your problem.

The sessions are kept to the minimum number required and it is always up to you how many sessions you decide to have. Rae does not do block bookings or contract you into having a certain number of sessions. This is because some people do not need a block of sessions. Some problems can be quickly resolved but most people do require a minimum of two sessions to start their therapeutic journey.

It's also perfectly acceptable to take a break from therapy or end therapy at any time you choose, especially when you are seeing improvements in yourself and no longer feel the need for support. However, the door is always open for booster sessions if you need them.

Author Rae Jenson. Copyright (C) Rae Jenson 2021.