Hypnotherapy - Paddy Landau

Here are some questions and sometimes comments that I get quite often.

How do the sessions work?

Typically, the first session is where I get to ask you lots of questions and find out more about you and your problems.

You get to learn:

• … a bit about how your own mind works
• … how you unconsciously create your own emotions
• … how you can learn to take control of your own mind

In the later sessions, you have a bit of fun learning to play with your mind in a way that helps you feel good and take control. There is, of course, hypnosis, and it's always good to learn self-hypnosis so that you can experience those good feelings whenever you like.

Will I get stuck in hypnosis?

That will never happen. The worst that's ever been recorded has been that someone falls asleep and wakes up after a good sleep! The worst that has ever happened with me was when someone who enjoyed it so much, that when I asked him to come out of hypnosis, he sleepily shook his head and said, "No!" I laughed and persuaded him to wake up.

But what about self-hypnosis? Surely I can get stuck in that?

No, that's impossible. In self-hypnosis, you are more in control of yourself.

I don't want to quack like a duck.

Well, that idea comes from stage hypnosis (and its relative, street hypnosis). Remember that stage hypnosis is for entertainment, and it's a show. The stage hypnotist is out to amaze you, to mystify you, and to make you laugh.

I don't do stage hypnosis. I do therapy and education. Just as a car mechanic wouldn't race your car on the race track when you take it in for an MOT, so I won't hypnotise you to ask you to quack like a duck.

Besides… Do you really need to be hypnotised to quack like a duck? I think we can find far more useful things to do with hypnosis, don't you?

What if it doesn't work?

Hypnotherapy is like any other therapy, medical or otherwise – it's not perfect. There will be some people for whom hypnotherapy just doesn't work, and we may never know the reason. That's why I offer a simple money-back guarantee: If we do the work together, and you don't get the results I promised you, then I'll return your fee and, if you want, refer you to someone else.

What is hypnosis anyway?

Many people answer, "An altered state of consciousness." However, that doesn't really answer the question, does it?

A more useful definition may be, "A state of mind where you are more receptive to suggestions." Even that doesn't quite do it; after all, politicians and salespeople probably do that to you regularly. (Some people do call that hypnosis!)

I know hypnotists who say that hypnosis is where you can't help but follow the instructions of the hypnotist, provided that trust is there.

In a therapeutic situation, hypnosis is more like a mix of the first two: You are in a relaxed and calm state, and are more open to suggestions that will improve your state of mind, your beliefs, and the way you unconsciously react to things.

I won't remember anything afterwards, will I?

Actually, you're likely to remember most of it, almost as you would a normal conversation. In my experience (in a therapeutic situation), people tend to forget something only when their subconscious mind seems to decide that they aren't yet ready to deal with it consciously.

What if I don't like what's going on?

Contrary to popular opinion, when you're in hypnosis, you aren't someone's slave! At any time, you'll be able to talk, and even to get up and leave. People stay not because they can't leave, but because they enjoy the pleasant experience of improving their lives.

Is hypnosis just like sleep?

If you've seen stage or street hypnosis, you'll immediately realise that hypnosis can be like anything. It doesn't have to be like sleep. In therapy, we usually do it in a sleep-like way, because a calm and relaxed state helps you to make deep changes. However, even when you're there with your eyes closed, feeling deeply relaxed, you are usually more aware than usual. That's not at all like sleep!

This "subconscious" thing – it doesn't really exist, does it?

Well, no scientist has ever "found" the subconscious. But then, no scientist has ever "found" the conscious. The subconscious is part of a model of the mind, and even though it's quite simplistic, it really does work exceedingly well. I'd be surprised if the subconscious didn't exist, in some form or other.

I've had conversations with people's subconscious, and asked the subconscious to do things that they consciously didn't know would happen. It's fun to do with yourself (yes, you can learn to do it yourself), and is quite freaky at first! Although I can't say for sure that the subconscious is "real", I truly believe that it is.

I can't be hypnotised!

Well, it's our experience that anyone with an imagination can be hypnotised. However, not everyone will accept hypnosis from anyone, for several reason.

Sometimes, I haven't been able to hypnotise someone at first, but later on it's worked. I've also had success with some people who couldn't be hypnotised by someone else, for one reason or another. (And, probably, someone else has had success with someone that I wasn't able to hypnotise.)

If you really want to experience hypnosis, and find that you "can't", then there's a reason. And any reason can be addressed and solved.

I don't want to lose control.

OK, that's fine. As I mentioned above, you're ultimately in control anyway. However, I usually teach my clients self-hypnosis. So, if it's control that you're worried about, we'll do it with self-hypnosis, and you remain in total control all the time.

I don't want to blab out stuff that would embarrass me.

Aside from the fact that I've probably heard it all before, and that everything we do in the therapy room is entirely confidential, remember what I wrote above: You are in control. I'm not going to embarrass you; I'm a therapist, not a stage hypnotist.