In this article I want to answer the question – “What is a hypnotherapist?”
What is a Hypnotherapist?
Gavin Bowtell Hypnotherapist
Sometimes people believe a hypnotherapist has special powers over others, but this isn’t true. A hypnotherapist uses your natural ability for hypnosis to bring about the change that you want. A hypnotherapist cannot make you do anything against your will – which is why you have to want to give up smoking, for example.
How is a Hypnotherapist Trained?
Hypnotherapists are trained in many different ways. There is little regulation in the UK for the training of hypnotherapists. In a sense this is a good thing. Most of us appreciate that the “one size fits all approach” doesn’t work. If you were to visit me, you might expect that I tailor your sessions to suit your needs and not blindly follow the protocols of my training. My training has been extensive with a number of leading therapists: “New Steps” school of hypnotherapy and NLP, the Essex Institute of Clinical Hypnosis, the Past Life Regression Therapists’ Association, Institute of BrainWorking Recursive Therapy, Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training, and UK Hypnosis Academy, for example.
How Do I Choose a Hypnotherapist?
Choosing a hypnotherapist can be confusing. Many of us have a lot of training and experience. Some hypnotherapists like me have advanced qualifications or are accredited by a professional association. I am accredited by the National Council for Hypnotherapy, which mean I choose to abide by the highest professional and ethical standards. It also means that you can rest assured that my training, experience, and approach to therapy is considered to be of a higher standard.
Some hypnotherapists are specialists, some are generalists. Some hypnotherapists are solution focused, some are analysts. Some use authoritarian techniques, others will be Ericksonian. Many hypnotherapists, like me, will be trained in a variety of styles and methods to be able to choose the best match for you. This isn’t something that you need to think about – that’s our job.
So how do you choose the right hypnotherapist for you? In my opinion the best method is to speak to the person you are thinking of working with. Get a sense of whether you feel comfortable with that person, whether they seem to understand the issues you have. Have your questions ready, and ask them!
How Does a Hypnotherapist Work?
As you might have guessed by now, there isn’t one way for a hypnotherapist to work. Some work via Skype, others only in person. Some offer house-visits, others work from a business address, others from home. There are hypnotherapists that work with flair and panache, and with others you wouldn’t recognise what they were doing as hypnosis at all. It’s all good – there’s a lid for every pan.
Most of us however, have an understanding of how things go wrong in the mind, which allows us alter, alleviate, resolve, or reverse engineer that problem into something you would prefer. Often I work with eyes closed, sometimes I do not. How I work depends on YOU, my client, and what I believe will be best for you, what you bring with you, and the change you require.
What is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is a way of helping you change using hypnosis. That’s it – pure and simple. It won’t make you bark like a dog, quack like a duck, nor make you irresistible to the object of your desire. Hypnotherapy is not magic, but sometimes I can seem that way. Hypnotherapy is not a single process; it is a variety of processes. You do not have to be in distress to visit a hypnotherapist, you might come because you want to stop smoking, or being able to make better decisions. You might come because you want to be free of trauma, or you might want to feel more confident. You might come simply because you want to get the best out of life by being a better version of yourself!
Hypnotherapy is something that should be aimed at helping you become more the person you could be if all the crap hadn’t got in your way.
There is NO Silver Bullet”
There is no silver bullet. Yes people can stop smoking in one session. Yes people can be pain free in one session. Yes people can be free of depression in one session – I know that from personal experience. But there isn’t a therapy in the world that will suit every issue, and not a therapist in the world that can “heal” every client. What is really important to remember about this is – just because one therapy didn’t help you in the past, it doesn’t mean you are unfixable! Lots of my clients have come to me having tried other approaches. It might just be that the time wasn’t right before. So don’t give up – find the therapist that suits you!
If you have any questions about how I might be able to help you then give me a call or drop me an email! To help you work out if I am the right therapist for you I offer a FREE thirty minute consultation via telephone, Skype or equivalent.
I’m waiting for your call!
