Does online hypnotherapy actually work?
In these strange times of the pandemic, when people are naturally a bit nervous about mixing with strangers and visiting a hypnotherapist in their home or place of work, this is a question that is often being asked.
The simple answer to the question is yes, online hypnotherapy can sometimes give great results.
There are two main types of online hypnotherapy:-
- In its simplest form it is possible to do a Google search and there are thousands of hypnotherapy downloads available for a few £’s, for virtually any problem known to man!
These can be useful but what you have to remember is that these are generic recordings and they are not personalised in any way. What you are getting is a “one size fits all” type of solution. It may or may not be applicable to your particular circumstances. - The second, and in my opinion more likely to be effective, type of online hypnotherapy is where the therapist conducts an in depth interview with the client preferably via a video connection such as Zoom or Skype, in exactly the same way as if the client were visiting face to face. The hypnosis part of the session can then be tailored to fit the exact needs of the client. The hypnosis session can then either be given straight away via video or can be recorded and sent to the client a short while later.
To give you an idea of how this can work I received some wonderful feedback from my brother-in-law Nigel, who I helped to overcome a “fear of driving through tunnels” phobia. As he lives 150 miles away from me, the hypnotherapy session was carried out remotely. The initial interview consultation was done using Skype and then I recorded a hypnotherapy session which was sent securely over the internet as a mp3 file. Nigel was then able to listen to the hypnosis recording in the comfort of his own home. For best results I always recommend that clients listen to the session quite a few times over a couple of weeks. This gives the brain plenty of time to adjust and change, to develop new desirable habits.
Nigel has given me permission to publish his comments and here’s what he had to say:-
“I must write to say how delighted I am with outcome of my hypnotherapy session with you a while ago. I had a tremendous anxiety (in reality, a pure fear) of driving through tunnels. This was a reasonably recent event, since in my earlier years, I had no such concerns at all. Indeed, I used to drive up to 50 Or 60,000 miles a year without hesitation as part of my job. The fear was so bad, I would deliberately choose routes to avoid tunnels, even if that meant the journey would take hours longer.
I’m sure this was all too distressing and annoying for my wife too when she was travelling with me. Especially since we make long journeys several times each year.
Long story short, after just one hypnotherapy session with you, I felt a lot more confident about my driving including a lesser fear of those dreaded tunnels. I knew I was never going to go into a tunnel without some sort of hesitation, but I would go in with a different mind set.
Quite out of the blue, I found myself driving into a tunnel at Heathrow T2 the other day. I had no choice but to keep driving. I admit, the old fear and thoughts made an attempt to spook me just like before, but I used your advice and put my new technique into practice. Before I knew it, I could see the daylight (literally) and I was driving out the other end! The feeling of achievement was great. I felt so much better for doing this and more so, because I was on my own in the car with no one else to distract me. After I had picked my passenger up, I had to make the same journey in reverse and second time round, I got through that tunnel as if it was the open road!!
The joy!!
Very many thanks for your kindness and understanding, Pete in helping me. I know it will still take some time to be more confident still, but I’m sure with small steps, I’ll get there.
A brilliant outcome.”
Nigel Metcalfe – former owner and MD of NDSM Ltd.
Article by Peter Smith- Forest of Dean Hypnotherapy