Setting the record straight
You will be awake. You will remember it. You are in charge.
Almost everything people believe about hypnosis comes from a stage show or a film, and almost all of it is wrong. Here is the accurate version, which is considerably less theatrical and much more useful.
What it actually is
Focused attention with the analytical commentary turned down. That is genuinely all. You have been in this state many times: absorbed in a book, driving a familiar road and arriving without remembering the journey, lost in a piece of music. The difference is that here it is deliberate and pointed at something you want to change.
What it is not
It is not sleep. It is not unconsciousness. It is not surrender of your will, and nobody can be made to act against their values, which is why stage hypnosis only ever works on volunteers who quite fancy the attention. You will not be stuck. You will not say anything you did not choose to say.
Why it reaches what reasoning cannot
Habits, fears and old beliefs are not run by the part of the mind you argue with. That is why sensible arguments bounce off them for decades. Hypnotherapy is a way of addressing the department that is actually running the program rather than the one that keeps writing memos about it.
Where it sits in my work
I am a Certified Hypnotherapist and I have used it for forty years. I will be straight with you: it is not the tool I reach for first any more, because Brainspotting goes deeper for most of what people bring me. Where hypnotherapy earns its place is habits, single specific fears and the mind that will not quiet at night.
Questions people ask about this
- What if I cannot be hypnotized?
- Almost everyone can enter this state, because almost everyone already does daily. People who think they cannot are usually people who expected to feel unconscious and instead felt relaxed and aware, and concluded it had not worked.
- Will I reveal secrets?
- No. You are awake and you choose every word you say.
- Is this medical care?
- No. I am a coach and a Certified Hypnotherapist, not a licensed mental health provider, and I do not offer this as a substitute for medical care.
How I would work with this
No swinging watch. No clucking. Just your attention, pointed somewhere useful.
Start with a free 15 minute call
We talk, you ask questions, and you decide if this is right for you. No pressure either way.