Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy combines hypnosis with elements of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and mindfulness in order to help you create meaningful change in your life. We look at the interaction between your thoughts, feelings and behaviours to see what might be behind your unhelpful habits of body and mind.
The aim is not just to use hypnosis to help you achieve your goals, but to shift your understanding of what caused the issue in the first place. The process will equip you with the knowledge and the skills you need to avoid falling into the same traps in the future.
Here are five very good reasons why Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy could be the treatment for you:
- It’s funIf you’ve never been hypnotised before, the first thing you should know is that most people find it very enjoyable indeed. Imagine becoming so deeply relaxed that you start to forget where you even are, floating away on river of suggestions that allow you first to envisage your new self. And then consider the idea by envisaging that new self, you are bringing that self into existence. Sounds pretty good, right?And then there’s this: by engaging with CBH you learn about yourself. You start to understand the unhelpful habits of thought and behaviour that have been holding you back. Experiencing those little ‘Aha!’ moments is always enjoyable. Those moments are all about making positive change in your life, and that’s definitely fun. As is the opportunity to talk about what’s been troubling you in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental environment. Often, the more challenging and difficult a subject is to talk about, the better it feels to do so.
- It’s fastCBH is a short course, targeted therapy. Because hypnosis is such a powerful tool, you can achieve your goals in a short space of time. This means a course of CBH doesn’t drag on and on for months or even years. The more committed you are to the process, the better it works, and people often notice improvements after just one session. However, you can usually create lasting, meaningful change in just 4-6 sessions.
- It’s effectiveCBH is evidence-based, and the work we do in the session is supported by solid academic research. Hypnosis has been shown to be six times more effective than willpower alone when it comes to smoking cessation. It’s approved by the NHS, British Medical Association and the British Psychological Society as an effective therapy for a wide number of conditions. CBT is currently the NHS psychological therapy of choice for its ability to help people achieve change quickly, it has been shown that combining CBT with Hypnosis improves results in the fields of smoking cessation and weight loss, with research pending in other areas.While this doesn’t mean that results are guaranteed, it does mean that the therapy you receive has worked for many people, and that if you’re fully committed to the process, there is no reason why it shouldn’t work for you.
- It’s empowering
Anyone who’s ever had a habit that they felt they can’t control (and let’s face, who hasn’t?) will recognise the sense of frustration that comes from powerlessness. The feeling of being doomed to committing the same mistake over and over again. There are few better feelings than taking back that control, proving to yourself that you are in charge. To make that positive change in your life is to show that anything is possible, and what could be better than that?Moreover, because of its intrinsically collaborative nature, CBH allows you to enjoy the responsibility for your improvements. After all, only you can make the changes you want to make – sometimes you just need a little help! - It works in more ways than oneThe beauty of a learning-based approach that helps you understand your thoughts, feelings and behaviours better is that everything new skill you acquire is generalisable. If you gain the ability to relax in one situation, you can do so in another. You seek therapy to improve your confidence, and suddenly your motivation improves with it. You learn how to deal with a bad habit, and you can cope better with the stress of public speaking.
So if you want to give CBH a go, drop me a line to arrange a free consultation and see how you can start making the changes you want in your life.