Hypnotherapy is a treatment that is based on the premise that the mind and body do not work in isolation. By sending the patient into a hypnotic state, the therapist aims to trigger the body's mental and physical self-healing processes that lie in the subconscious.

Anybody can be sent into a hypnotic state; it is not a sign of gullibility or suggestibility on the part of the patient. Hypnosis induces a state of relaxation and concentration that practitioners claim is a natural manifestation of the mind at work.

When undergoing hypnotherapy, patients are conscious and aware, but are open to the power of suggestion. They cannot be induced to do anything against their will.

Hypnotherapy is a two way process between the therapist and the client, a professional partnership. A person cannot be hypnotised unless he or she agrees and co-operates - this cannot be stressed enough. Also whilst hypnotised, nobody can make you do anything which you do not want to do. Even those people on television eating raw onions and pretending to be Madonna are doing it because they want to! They have chosen to participate. It must be emphasised here that what hypnotherapists do is, by definition, therapeutic. Stage hypnosis is very different. It is a form of entertainment.

The first stage of a hypnotherapy consultation will generally involve an informal chat and some questions from the therapist to ascertain the nature of the issue and the necessary route to overcoming or dealing with it. The next stage is hypnosis. The following notes are taken from an information sheet published by the National Council for Hypnotherapy (please e-mail us for a free copy of the full brochure).

You are led, by means of the hypnotherapist's gently guiding voice, into a state where your body and mind are relaxed and nearly asleep. To an onlooker it might seem as if you were totally asleep but in fact, though you will normally feel very relaxed, you will remain awake enough to be aware. Also awake will be those parts of your mind which the therapist is working with to induce beneficial changes. This may mean that you will be picturing, as in a daydream, the things which are being spoken of and that you may experience the associated pleasant feelings.