Let me start by clearing up a few myths to help explain how hypnotherapy works.

Some people believe (probably from watching stage hypnosis shows) that by ‘looking into my eyes’ and with a swing of a watch, and a spot of ‘magic’ or ‘mind control’, it is possible to magically make a lifetime of unwanted thoughts and bad habits disappear instantly.

That is NOT how hypnotherapy works.

Whilst it is possible to make quick changes, those changes often take a few sessions to become long-lasting.

And it is certainly not a passive process where you sit there and have hypnosis done to you.

It is a collaborative process between us where we co-create the changes you desire.

My job is to offer your unconscious mind more helpful suggestions, and your role is to become deeply focused and absorbed so that your unconscious mind has an opportunity to accept the suggestions.

To give you an analogy: if you went to the gym, you would not expect a Personal Trainer to do all the exercises for you whilst you sat in a chair and somehow you magically got fit.

The same is true for hypnotherapy.

Think of me as a Personal Trainer for your mind.

I offer your mind ‘exercises’ to help you make the changes you really want to make.

In hypnotherapy, I can show your mind the ‘mental path’, but you need to ‘walk’ along that path to change.

If you don’t want to walk along that path, I can’t make you.

That’s because you are always in control.

And you have to be open to change.

This might seem like an obvious thing to say.

You might say, “of course I want to change, I want to stop smoking” but it is the underlying emotional triggers that require your focus and change.

Hypnotherapy cannot change you if you do not want to be changed.

That is a fundamental part of how hypnotherapy works.

Lastly, you need to believe that hypnotherapy can help you, and you need to believe in yourself.

If you think that hypnotherapy can’t help you, then you are probably right.

If you resist the process, what chance does hypnotherapy have of being successful?

Hopefully, I have cleared up a few myths about how hypnotherapy works.

Hypnotherapy is a wonderful technique to make quick and lasting changes that other forms of therapy take much longer to produce.

It is a versatile and amazing process that continues to delight many of my clients.

You can read my client’s amazing success stories here.

How hypnotherapy works

Hypnotherapy is essentially a teaching tool.

You teach your mind to think differently about situations and triggers.

You use the natural capabilities of your unconscious mind to help you behave differently in the future.

Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis as a therapeutic tool.

Hypnosis is a natural, everyday occurrence, and we all use hypnosis many times a day.

What is hypnosis?

Imagine you are driving down a very familiar road.
You have driven down this road many times.
When you reach your destination, you suddenly notice you cannot remember the last few miles and whether you stopped at a particular set of traffic lights.

Or imagine you are sitting with a group of friends enjoying a meal. You suddenly hear someone ask you “What do you think?”. Shamefully, you realise you have no idea what they are talking about.

These are two everyday examples of hypnosis.

At those moments, you were accessing your deep inner mind.

You were in a focused state of attention, or to put it another way, you were daydreaming.

You were not sleeping but were deeply absorbed.

We all naturally experience an altered state of awareness more than 50 times a day.

During hypnosis, you enter a state of heightened awareness.

You focus your attention on a very narrow corridor of thought.

When your unconscious mind is so intensely focused in this way, external influences are no longer analysed by the conscious mind.

At those times, your unconscious mind has assumed more control.

Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis to allow you to access your unconscious inner mind.

You can still hear what is going on around you, and you can still function normally.

Some people say hypnosis does not feel particularly unusual.

Well, apart from an opportunity to deeply relax and shift your focus to your internal world, there is nothing unusual.

Remember, we all experience a focused state of attention at least 50 times a day.

How Hypnosis Helps You Make Changes

Think of your conscious mind as a helpful (but sometimes over-protective) gatekeeper.

This part of your mind is analytical and critical.

It’s the part that might be saying, “I’ve tried everything,” or “I’ll never be able to change.”

It’s just trying to protect you based on past experiences.

Your unconscious mind, however, is like the vast library or control room where all your habits, beliefs, and automatic responses are stored.

This is where real, lasting change happens.

Hypnosis is simply a natural way to relax that analytical “gatekeeper.”

It doesn’t put the gatekeeper to sleep, but it does allow it to ease up, become less critical, and step aside for a little while.

This gives us direct, collaborative access to the unconscious “control room.”

When your mind is in this focused, open state, it’s incredibly receptive to new ideas and positive suggestions.

We can then work directly with the part of you that runs your habits, helping it to learn new, more helpful ways of responding.

This is why you can make changes so quickly; we are working with the very source of the behaviour.

What’s Really Happening in Your Brain During Hypnosis?

You might be wondering what’s actually happening in your brain when you are in hypnosis, and experience that focused state of attention and the deeply relaxed feeling of “trance.”

It’s not magic at all.
It’s a scientifically measurable natural brain state.

Recent scientific studies, including research from Stanford University, used fMRI scanners to look inside people’s brains during hypnosis.

They found three specific things that happen that explain how hypnotherapy works.

Your “Watchtower” Takes a Break.

There is a part of your brain that acts like a ‘watchtower’. It is the part that’s always critically analysing, worrying, and second-guessing. This part becomes quieter and less active.

When this part relaxes, your mind becomes open to new, positive suggestions without immediately judging them or pushing them away.

Your “Mind-Body” Connection Gets Stronger

At the same time, your brain creates a much stronger ‘mind-body’ connection.

The ‘control centre’ of your mind (the part that plans and focuses) starts communicating far more directly with the part that processes your internal bodily sensations and emotions.

This is the ‘how’ because it’s what allows your focused mind to have a real, physical influence, like turning down the pain or calming an anxious gut.

Your “Mind-Wandering” Fades

Finally, the ‘mind-wandering’ network in your brain (the part that’s usually busy thinking about yourself, the past, or the future) temporarily “unplugs” from your attention network.

This is why you feel so ‘absorbed’ and focused, just like when you’re lost in a good book or a great film.

Your mind simply isn’t being distracted by its own self-conscious chatter.

So, you see, the hypnotic ‘trance’ isn’t mysterious at all.

It’s just a natural brain state where you are less critical, more connected to your body, and perfectly focused, which is an ideal state for learning and making lasting, positive changes.

What happens during a typical hypnotherapy session?

Whether your session is online or in my Harrogate clinic, your hypnotherapy session will always be tailored to your needs.

All hypnotherapy sessions are unique.

Depending on the hypnotic technique used, you will either go into a deep or light hypnotic trance.
Sometimes you listen throughout, and sometimes you will communicate whilst in trance.

A typical hypnotherapy session has four parts:

#1. Hypnotic induction

This is when you enter a heightened state of awareness. This is normally experienced as a stillness, heaviness and calmness in the body.

#2. Deepening

After you have entered a state of hypnosis, you begin to deepen the experience and feel deeply relaxed. Your focus becomes more internal. You may find the analytical chatter of your conscious mind is reduced as you deepen your hypnosis.

#3. Therapeutic suggestion

Your unconscious mind listens and embraces the positive suggestions it is offered.

Suggestion therapy is highly effective and based on positive affirmations that provide more beneficial responses to problem situations and conditions.

Because that busy, critical “gatekeeper” is relaxed, your mind is wonderfully open to learning.

This focused state allows us to create new, positive neural pathways—new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. We can help your mind understand that it is safe to let go of an old fear or that it no longer needs an old, unwanted habit.

This process allows you to change not just your thoughts, but the physical and emotional responses that are connected to them, such as those related to anxiety, habits, or mind-body communication.

#4. Reorientation

You gently shift your focus to the external world and return to the present moment. You retain all the new thought patterns so you can respond in a positive way to problem situations.

Whilst a typical hypnotherapy session will have these four parts, the transition from one part to the next is seamless, and you will have one continuous experience.

Would You Like To Find Out More?

If you would like to find out how hypnotherapy works for you and see how it can help you get more out of life and be truly happy, please get in touch and book a free discovery call.

Hypnotherapy sessions are available online from anywhere in the world or face-to-face in my Harrogate Clinic.