Hypnotherapy for the 21st century

The Hollywood director, Woody Allen, apparently, visits his psychoanalyst every week and has done so throughout his life, crediting the support of his analyst for his success. By all accounts it does not seem to have done much for his anxieties and neuroses which are his trademark. The question surely is, if psychoanalysis worked, why did he need to keep going back throughout his life? Do people who undergo psychoanalysis expect to get “better”, or merely to make their life a bit more manageable?

For those of us who do not have the income of a Hollywood director, and have limits on our time, and want to have some help to deal with anxiety, or depression, fears or phobias or to stop smoking any psychotherapy must be readily available, affordable and result in a positive outcome in the briefest possible time.

One route is Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy. It is one of the fastest growing psychotherapies in the UK. It was developed by David Newton who founded the prestigious Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy School in Bristol. He combined hypnotherapy with a particular kind of “talking therapy” – which is “solution-focused”. In SFHT, the therapist sees the client as a person, not as a collection of problems, past experiences, or trauma. The therapist and client work together to focus on the client’s strengths and resources, not their weaknesses and problems, enabling them to look forward to a more positive future, coping better with challenges and feeling more in control.

Drug-free treatment for anxiety disorders

Hypnotherapy differs from other psychotherapies as it is drug free and the conscious mind, with all its anxious thoughts, is bypassed. It is the conscious mind which can often hinder the success of other forms of psychological work such as counselling or psychotherapy. With SFHT the client and therapist work together to focus on the changes that the client wants to make in their life.

Hypnotherapy is a brief therapy

Good outcomes can be achieved faster than with other psychotherapies because there is no focus on the past or on problems, but on the best hopes for the future. It is a brief therapy, six to eight sessions are usually all that is needed for a good outcome, though they can be more or fewer.

Using the tool of hypnosis, the therapist guides the client into a completely relaxed state enabling direct access to their subconscious mind. There is no regression to the past as in Freudian psychoanalysis (and no past life regression!) and the client always stays in control.

Solution-focused hypnotherapy is often used to help clients to stop smoking, deal with fears and phobias, reduce anxiety such as when facing dentistry, cataract operations and MRI scans, help with weight control and reduce general anxiety and depression. It has been used very successfully to enhance performance in sport or in public speaking. It is particularly effective with young people.

Margaret Capon is a Solution-Focused Hypnotherapist based in the London Road Clinic in Milborne Port www.sansomehilltherapy.com