How to choose a good hypnotherapist

 So, you decide that a certain issue in your life, be it your weight, anxiety or a phobia, is getting in the way of you leading a happy and fulfilling life. Having made the decision to have hypnotherapy, you are then faced with the unenviable task of choosing a hypnotherapist.

If you google hypnotherapists you will be greeted with pages of them in the local area. So, how to you go about choosing the one that is right for you?

 It’s an important decision to get right. Hypnotherapy is a very safe form of treatment. However, it does carry some risks and needs to be done by a competent professional. Many hypnotherapists regress clients back to their childhood, regardless of the problem. This is a bad practice for a number of reasons. Firstly, many of our issues do not stem from deep-rooted childhood issues. Secondly, regressing people back to childhood events or traumas can re-traumatise them. Thirdly, memory is reconstructed. Things that people “remember” in hypnosis may be imagined or distortions of the truth. For these reasons I am very careful with when I use regression techniques in my practice and only use them when it is appropriate to do so.

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are very broad subjects and range from stage hypnosis and magicians, to hypnosis being used in a very clinical NHS setting to treat IBS, to past life regressions and the more psychic/occult. I come from quite a scientific background and apply a scientific approach to my practice. I am very much against using hypnosis for past life regressions. I do not believe in past life regressions and believe that performing them can cause more harm than good. I saw a young man some time ago who had a recurring behaviour pattern which was causing him many issues in life. He had been to see another hypnotherapist who had performed a past life regression. During this regression this young man ‘saw’ or imagined that in all his previous lives this same issue had been a problem. This led him to believe that it was part of his very core and could never be resolved. He believed he was a victim and was doomed to always suffer with this problem.  Clearly, this belief was very destructive and had prevented him from overcoming the issue.

There are a number of ways you can make an educated decision and chose a hypnotherapist who is right for you. Firstly, look at their qualifications and the professional bodies to which they belong. There are various qualifications a hypnotherapist can hold, all of which allow them to practise. The most highly accredited qualification is the Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD). There are also various professional bodies looking after hypnotherapy in the U.K.

The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) is a particular well regarded professional body and its members adhere to a strong code of ethics.

In addition to looking for these qualifications in a potential hypnotherapist, it’s also vital to trust your instincts. Most hypnotherapists offer a free consultation. Before making a decision, try visiting a few different hypnotherapists and see which one makes you feel most at ease and who you have the most rapport with. Often, you will be telling a hypnotherapist quite personal information, so it’s important that you feel comfortable with them.

I believe in educating my clients and explaining how treatment works and what we are doing as we go along. Any hypnotherapist worth his or her salt will explain and educate you in the techniques and processes they are using.

When you are undergoing therapy, remember you are always in control. Although the therapist is there to guide you, ultimately you know what you want to achieve from your sessions. If something ever doesn’t feel right, you don’t need to go along with it.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have any further questions  please do get in touch via my website: www.cs-hypnotherapy.co.uk. +Catherine Swatridge Hypnotherapy 

www.cs-hypnotherapy.co.uk