How hypnotherapy works

No swinging watches, no clucking like a chicken, and nobody takes control of your mind. Here is what really happens, and why it works.

Hypnosis is a state you already know

You have probably drifted into something like it today: driving a familiar route and arriving with no memory of the journey, losing yourself in a film, or those few drowsy minutes before sleep. Hypnosis is that same absorbed, inward-focused state, entered on purpose and put to use.

You stay awake. You can hear everything, talk, move and stop whenever you like. What changes is where your attention goes: the busy critical commentary quietens, and the part of the mind that runs habits, reactions and emotional associations becomes easier to work with.

Why it works

Many of the things people bring to Tim are learned responses. Not a flaw in your character or a lack of willpower, but a reaction your mind built at some point, often for a good reason, that is no longer helping you. A fear may have been learned in one vivid moment and never updated. A habit may have been repeated so often it runs on its own. Talking about a response and changing it are different jobs, and hypnotherapy is built for the second.

Research supports combining approaches. A 2019 review of 17 controlled trials found hypnosis reduced anxiety substantially, and worked even better when combined with other psychological therapies (Valentine et al., 2019). That is exactly how Tim works: Ericksonian hypnotherapy, NLP, coaching and mindfulness, chosen for you rather than read from a script.

What happens in a session

1. Understanding the pattern. What sets it off, what happens in your body, what the response might be trying to protect you from, and when it started.
2. Relaxing into hypnosis. A calm, conversational induction, with no commands and no theatrics. Many people say it is the most relaxed they have felt in a long while.
3. The work itself. Depending on you, this may include regression to revisit an old experience safely, reframing, NLP techniques, and direct and indirect suggestion.
4. Rehearsing something new. Rather than just removing a reaction, you practise a calmer, more helpful response in its place.
5. Tools for you. You learn self-hypnosis and mindfulness techniques to use between sessions and for the rest of your life.

How long it takes

Hypnotherapy is a short course of sessions, not open-ended therapy, and many clients notice progress after each appointment. Sessions last one hour. Stop smoking work is a single 2-hour session. Tim will give you an honest estimate at the free consultation, before you spend anything, and after 7 hours (usually five sessions), any further sessions for the same issue are £97.50 an hour (see the halve-fees promise).

Sessions take place in person at 9 Coldbath Square, Farringdon, London EC1R 5HL, or online. Fees are £150 an hour online, £195 in person; see prices.

What hypnotherapy is not

• Not mind control. You cannot be made to do anything against your values. People on stage do what they do because they want to perform.
• Not sleep. Most people remember the session and are surprised by how ordinary it feels.
• Not a replacement for your doctor. Hypnotherapy works alongside medical care. Please see your GP about any medical condition, and keep taking prescribed medication unless your doctor advises otherwise.

The research

• Valentine KE, Milling LS, Clark LJ, Moriarty CL (2019). The efficacy of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 67(3):336–363. PubMed 31251710

More background is in what is hypnotherapy? and the FAQ. Individual experiences vary.