Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions which are not answered here, please get in touch via the contact page.

Which type of therapy do I need?

The most appropriate type of therapy for you depends on your situation and the problem or issue you would like to address.

Most therapy sessions involve a blend of different psychological therapies depending on your situation. We will discuss your situation at your first session and decide on the best approach for you.

How long is each session?

Standard therapy sessions are 50 minutes in order to maximise concentration and get the best from the process. Your first session is usually a little longer (approximately 60 to 90 minutes) to allow sufficient time to discuss your situation and answer any questions you may have.

What happens in a therapy session?

Therapy sessions provide a safe space for you to explore your situation. During your first session, we will discuss a number of areas connected with your problem or issue including everyday events, problems, feelings, thoughts, memories, past experiences and the future. At each session, we will discuss your progress since we last met and a combination of therapy techniques will be used during your session, to help you get to where you want to be.

You may also be given exercises or tasks to complete between your sessions to build on the work done during your session and to help you develop new skills and responses to enable you to overcome the problem or issue.

How often do I need sessions?

Hypnotherapy sessions are typically 2 to 3 weeks apart as this allows sufficient time for your subconscious mind to process new ideas and for you to start making changes.

Other types of talking therapy sessions such as Counselling, are usually weekly, especially in the early stages.

We will discuss the frequency and number of sessions during your first session.

Are therapy sessions confidential?

Everything that we discuss during your sessions, on the phone, via Zoom call or via email, remains confidential and is not discussed with anyone else without your permission.

There are a few exceptions to this, for example, if someone was at risk of harm or where a referring healthcare professional required a progress update or report. In such cases, I would endeavour to discuss this with you first before any information was disclosed.

Further information regarding confidentiality can be found in the Client Agreement.

What types of therapy do you offer?

I use a variety of different talking therapies, depending on your individual situation. Each type of therapy works in a different way to help you change the way you feel about an event or situation and some types of talking therapy are more suitable for some situations than others. The talking therapies that I often use include:

Everyone’s situation is unique and I often use a combination of different therapies to help you make the changes that you need to achieve the outcome that you want.

Can I book an appointment for a friend or relative?

You are more than welcome to enquire about therapy sessions on behalf of a friend or relative and it’s great that you want to help them. However, motivation and participation are essential in order for therapy to be successful.

A person must want to overcome their problem or issue for themselves, rather than because they’re doing it for someone else. For example, someone who wants to stop smoking, must want to genuinely stop smoking for themselves, not because their family want them to or because their doctor has recommended it. For this reason, it is important that your friend or relative contacts me directly before any appointments can be booked. This is to ensure the suitability of therapy for their situation.

Please note: Appointment bookings on behalf of another person will not be accepted, except where the client is under 16 years old and the appointment is booked by their parent or guardian.

Do you offer online sessions?

Yes. I offer online sessions via Zoom and work within The National Hypnotherapy Society’s guidelines for the provision of online therapy.

Please note that online therapy is not always suitable for every person, depending on their individual situation. If online sessions would not be appropriate for your situation, you will be offered a face to face appointment at the clinic. Alternatively, if you are unable to travel to Leeds, I can provide advice on finding a therapist nearer to your location.

How much does it cost?

Please see the fees page for more information.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach in therapy, so it’s difficult to say exactly how many sessions you may need because everyone is different and some people experience changes more quickly than others.

The number of sessions required also depends on the problem or issue, along with your level of motivation and participation in your therapy sessions.

Hypnotherapy involves working on a subconscious level and is often relatively rapid, with many issues requiring between 4 to 6 sessions, depending on you and your situation.

With talking therapies such as Counselling or CBT, a course of 6 sessions is often recommended in the first instance, followed by a review. Working with and resolving issues can often be achieved in a fairly short number of sessions and some issues may require longer term therapy. Often problems are resolved in short term therapy (12 sessions or less).

During your first session, we will talk about your situation and decide on the most appropriate therapy approach for you.

Will therapy work for me?

If you are committed to making changes, the chance of success is high. However, there are a variety of factors that can affect the outcome of therapy and for this reason, it is unethical to offer any guarantee of success.

Generally speaking, there are usually three reasons why therapy may not be as successful as desired:

You are not ready to fully embrace or participate in the process, or you are not genuinely ready to make changes.
You do not want to make changes for yourself, but are actually participating in therapy sessions for the benefit of someone else (e.g. feeling under pressure because a partner or friend want you to have therapy).
There are hidden ‘secondary gains’ which mean that there is an unintended benefit from continuing with the problem behaviour or response (e.g. if you have a fear of flying, the fear may continue because you are actually afraid of being away from home or may experience separation anxiety when away from a partner or other family members).

Talking therapies have a good track record in helping people to make lasting changes, however everyone responds differently and therefore results may vary from person to person. Your motivation and participation are the key to success, so you need to play your part too.

Why do I need to complete therapy tasks between my sessions?

The problems or issues that people often seek help with, have usually occurred as a result of past experiences and unhelpful thought processes. In order to overcome a problem or respond differently, the desired change comes from within; therefore, we need to change our thoughts and behaviours.

During your therapy sessions, you may be shown how to use self help tools and techniques to enable you to make the changes that you desire. How you use these tools and the level of effort applied, will affect how quickly you experience positive changes. Remember, your motivation and participation are the key to your success.

I'm interested in hypnotherapy, but I'm worried about what it involves...

There are a lot of myths and beliefs about hypnosis and many of these stem from what people have seen or heard about stage hypnosis.

In reality, hypnosis is actually a completely normal and natural psychological trance-like state which we all experience several times a day. Every time you day dream, drive to work and can’t remember the journey or lose track of time whilst reading a good book, you’re experiencing hypnosis.

You can read more about some of the myths about hypnosis in this blog post here.

Can hypnotherapy help with medical conditions?

Hypnotherapy can be beneficial for a variety of medical conditions including Migraines, Tension Headaches and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) to name a few.

However, it is important to know that hypnosis and hypnotherapy cannot ‘cure’ a medical or physiological condition, despite some of the claims that are often made, especially regarding the treatment or management of cancer and other associated conditions. Despite some of the fancy titles such as ‘Hypno-Oncology’ which can often be found on the internet, hypnotherapy cannot change or treat physical problems. Where it can often help, is by reducing stress and anxiety, thereby changing the way that some of the symptoms may be perceived or experienced and therefore enabling people to cope better with their condition.

If you are seeking hypnotherapy for a medical, physiological or psychiatric condition, you will need to consult your doctor first to confirm that they are happy for you to receive hypnotherapy. Depending on your individual situation, I may also need to ask your permission to contact your doctor in order to discuss the suitability of hypnotherapy for you.

Do you offer a free consultation?

I offer a free 20 minute online consultation which is an opportunity to meet, briefly discuss your situation and answer your questions to help you decide whether therapy is right for you. The consultation takes place online via Zoom and does not include any therapy.

Please visit the contact page to get in touch and book your consultation.

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