DOES HYPNOTHERAPY WORK?

Well this is a typical question that comes up in conversation when I tell people that I am a hypnotherapist, and I’d like to address it both directly and indirectly.

In a profession tainted by the fantastical exploits of stage hypnosis , which is about as far removed from what happens in a hypnotherapist’s clinical practice room as Bob the builder is to a professional building company, we come to expect an atmosphere of doubt and suspicion from the general public. Having worked for a long time in the field of education, I have very rarely been asked by anyone if education works even though one in five adults in the UK, that’s about 8 million, struggle to read and write.

Staying with education, we can see very clearly that was does work with children and adults, who are struggling to learn, is an individualised and tailored approach. Approaches such as the phono-graphix approach to teaching literacy skills is both tailored to the individual’s needs and respectful of their stage of development.

Similarly, hypnotherapy works well when it is tailored, respectful of the individual and not one size fits all therapy. The best therapists, in my opinion, adapt their style , methods and approach according to the needs of the client.

In my practice I do follow protocols and ethical guidelines but adapt to each individual as much as I am able to and as much as it serves them. My intention is to help a client feel that they are at the centre of the process of change.

On an objective level – does it work? There is a huge amount of evidence based scientific literature which supports the application of hypnotherapy for a variety of psychological and physical issues. I will include some of these studies in my next posts.