How Could Hypnotherapy Help Me?

Often when a client comes to see me with phobias, nervous twitches, depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, sexual problems, and the like, they already have some idea of what they THINK the therapy will entail. 

Most people who consult me think that I am somehow going to hypnotise them and tell them they no longer stutter, are no longer afraid of spiders, or are no longer anxious, and that dealing with the presenting symptoms is all it takes.

But…perhaps we should be asking the question: why do they have the problem in the first place?

Different Types of Hypnotherapy

You may be surprised to learn there are lots of different types of Hypnotherapy. You wouldn’t be alone if you thought ‘it’ was all the same, when in fact there are a number of different types of therapies that use hypnosis. Of course, they all have similarities but the approaches may be different depending on the problem and the therapist.

When I first trained as a Hypnotherapist (nearly 20 years ago) I decide to specialise in two; those that were are at the either end of the spectrum of all the different types of therapy. Why? Well, in my youthful wisdom, I decide that if I were to choose those two therapies, I would be able to help most people, most of the time; I would be covering all bases.

Thankfully, that decision has been a positive one, because all these years later, I still specialise in the same two therapies (using hypnosis) to this day: Suggestion Therapy and Hypnoanalysis.

Suggestion Therapy

This is usually the type of therapy people think about when they hear about Hypnotherapy. Suggestion therapy essentially is where I hypnotise a person and give their mind post-hypnotic suggestions that their behaviour pattern is going to change.

If you were a smoker and you had consulted me to help you stop, that is exactly the type of Hypnotherapy I would use. I would hypnotise you and suggest to you that now you were a natural non-smoker and that you feel happy now that you are that non-smoker.

Surprising as it may seem, after about an hour or so of treating you in that way, you would most likely find that you were a non-smoker and that it had been comparatively easy.

A few years ago, I did a little experiment to explore how effective the treatment was for smokers. I followed up on each smoker who had visited me over a twelve month period, and sure enough the success rate was somewhere in the region of 98%.


But… before I sound like a megalomaniac… I knew the percentage was going to be high with smokers even before I started. How? With smokers I cheat, I only take on those people who I know are going to stop.


Of course I meet every client first, whatever problem they consult me with, and with smokers in particular I want to know: do they really want to stop? We can all have good intentions, but I want to know that they really want to stop, and really want to stop now. You can’t make anyone do something they don’t want to do, and nor should we, and this is particularly true for someone wanting to stop smoking.

But that’s a smoker… what about other things?

Suggestion therapy is great for habit based problems. Minor problems that are an irritation rather than something which is significantly affecting someone’s life.


Imagine… a client consulted me today and said:

I’m not sure if you can help me…I have my driving test next week. It’s my third one and I have to pass. I can do it, it’s just every time I have the test I get so nervous and make mistakes. It’s so frustrating. The rest of the time I am fine, it’s just when I have to take the test. 

Pre-test nerves is a common problem and we could use suggestion therapy. I could treat them in the same way I did the smoker. I could hypnotise them and give them some post-hypnotic suggestions that they were doing to feel calm and focused during their driving test. Just like with the smoker, a significant number of people are going to find they do mange to get through their driving test feeling much calmer.


Sounds good, right? It can be very useful to help a person over a minor ‘bump’ as well as being a useful aid to general relaxation.

What if the problem is more than a habit? 

Let’s imagine someone comes to see me and they have been suffering with claustrophobia, the pathological fear of enclosed spaces…

Listen to them tell you how they cannot go into a lift. They are unable to go to the cinema and theatre because it all feels too dark and enclosed. If they did force themselves to go they would have to sit on the end of the isle so they could make a quick exit. They might tell you how they used to work in London, but now they work from home because travelling on the underground was too much.

You can see how this is much more than a minor habit. This person’s anxiety has taken over much more of their life than the person who is nervous about their driving test.

You might think that we could use suggestion therapy, and treat them in the same way as that smoker…

I wouldn’t treat them with suggestion therapy… but let’s imagine I did… 

We could hypnotise them and give them post-hypnotic suggestions to the effect that they are going to feel calm and relaxed in enclosed spaces. The result? A significant number of people are going to find that either their claustrophobia as gone or at least as reduced a great deal.

So why wouldn’t I treat them in that way? 

A month or so later, that ex-claustrophobic, treated with suggestion therapy, is likely to find they are becoming anxious about something else… perhaps they are now becoming anxious about going out.

One day they had been walking through town and suddenly they began to feel anxious, everyone seemed to be looking at them. They now felt just as anxious in the open as they did in enclosed spaces… they really didn’t feel better until they got home with the door shut and the curtains closed. It seems now they have agoraphobia; the fear of open spaces.

A symptom substitution has taken place… 

Suggestion therapy focuses largely on the symptom. Perhaps we should be asking the question: WHY has this person developed claustrophobia in the first place? WHAT is the root cause of this anxiety?

Why has this person developed this particular problem, and yet we could find many more who have never had this problem and never will?

Rather than focusing on just the symptoms, perhaps we should concern ourselves with resolving the underlying psychological reason the person has the problem.

To achieve that… we need a different type of Hypnotherapy: Hypnoanalysis. 

Hypnoanalysis

Whenever someone consults me with anxiety, phobias, depression, panic attacks e.t.c., I think it is fair that we could say they are suffering with… 

Something inside themselves but outside their control

They are behaving in a way they would rather not, but feel powerless to change it. Alternatively, they are not behaving in a way they would like, but feel equally powerless to change it.

Hypnoanalysis works under the principal of cause and effect. For every effect (symptom) there has to be a cause. There must be an unconscious cause for those symptoms. The role of Hypnoanalysis is too uncover and, by doing so, remove the unconscious causes of problems.

All psychological problems are outward expressions of an inner cause. We can block the expression of that symptom using post-hypnotic suggestion, but the cause remains and will create another symptom.

Where does the problem comes from? What caused it? 

Hypnoanalysis works by removing the underlying cause. Removing the cause, relieves the symptoms and prevents any substitution. No underlying cause, no symptom substitution.

Is it a talking therapy?

We resolve the underlying cause of the problems by talking, but in a particular way. We set your mind on a search, a search through your memory to clear away the bottled emotion you (and every one of us) have accumulated over the years. We do that using a process of free recall.

While nicely relaxed in hypnosis (yes, you can speak while in hypnosis), you would be asked to use your memory and grab hold of a recollection from your past, anything… doesn’t matter what it is… just a memory…

You may well find you say something like…

Well, I was just thinking about driving here today. I remember I came up to the traffic lights and they went to red, I remember thinking I was going to be late. 

You’d be surprised to find that I am pleased with what you had said. Even though it seems to have nothing to do with your problem. Nevertheless I would ask you to do the same. I would ask you to let your memory wander away and tell me the next memory you find yourself thinking about. You may well be surprised to find you were remembering something like…

Okay, now I remember one day when I was at school. I was late, for some reason this day. But I remember the teacher shouted at me in front of everyone. I felt so embarrassed.

And then another memory, you just happen to think about…

Now I’m remembering being in an assembly at school. I think I had to collect something from the front of the hall…but I remember everyone staring at me and I felt really self-conscious.

I would be asking you to continue in this way, following your memory pattern as it searches through the many experiences you have had in life. It is quite likely that you will think of things that are emotional, that surprise you, that you now think about differently using hindsight.

Over the course of your sessions the free recall is removing the bottled emotions and it is likely you will find yourself thinking about things you haven’t for many years… you will be resolving the unconscious cause of your problem. You will remember where is came from and the emotions that were created at the time, and through that process, your problem is removed.

How long does Hypnoanalysis take?

Analysis using Hypnosis is usually 6 to 8 sessions, each an hour in length and on a weekly basis. Whilst benefits are felt during therapy, problems tend to be resolved in one or a series of experiences towards the end of therapy. 

The Initial Consultation

Everyone, regardless of their problem, is invited along for an initial consultation (at no charge) so that we can go through things in a bit more detail, and discuss the best approach for them.

Find out more and book you initial consultation at www.ketteringhypnotherapy.com or call David direct on 01536 350328